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Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $68.94 $73.20
Rated 97 - This Barone Ricasoli 2018 Casalferro is a selection of the best Merlot from three different vineyards with...
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WNR
97
JS
95
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $67.13
Ruby red in color, with purple hues. Rich, intense and persistent aromas of liquorice, violet, plum and vanilla....
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Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $31.54
Color: Dark ruby red, of exceptional intensity and compactness. Perfume: Of great elegance and complexity; the wine...
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $39.94
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $38.90
12 bottles: $38.12
Blackcurrant, blueberry, praline, chocolate and hazelnut aromas. Crushed stone, too. It’s full-bodied with firm,...
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JS
94
WA
93
Sale
Red
1.5Ltr
Bottle: $102.20 $113.56
6 bottles: $99.20
Juicy, with good cut to the savory-inflected dried red berry and cherry tart flavors. The sleek finish is crisp and...
WS
89
Red
750ml
Bottle: $17.91
12 bottles: $15.83
Savory and a little old-fashioned on the nose with anise-like spices, bark and earthy berries. Full-bodied on the...
JS
90
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $34.88 $38.40
12 bottles: $34.18
An effortless mix of blackberries and baking spice, the Merlot is complex and elegant, offering smooth layers of...
Red
750ml
Bottle: $18.80
12 bottles: $18.42
Born from the blend of grapes coming from two areas, Langhe and Roero. Langhe give depth and volume, and Roero...
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $28.00
12 bottles: $27.44
Ruby-red color with purple hues. A suitably intense bouquet of red berries and syrupy fruit with traces of tobacco...
Red
750ml
Bottle: $21.68
12 bottles: $21.25
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $22.35
A firm, fruity red with plum, chocolate and walnut aromas and flavors. Medium body. Fine tannins. Drinkable now, but...
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JS
91
DC
90
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $15.17
Dark maroon colour with good cover. On the nose it is fruity, with notes of berries and aromas of grape skins due to...
Red
750ml
Bottle: $14.30
12 bottles: $14.01
This 100% Merlot Bordeaux is traditionally crafted and very food friendly. Supple and round, with red fruits like...
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $83.90
Aromas of spices, such as cloves, dark berries and some herbs. Full-bodied and layered with chewy tannins and a...
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JS
95
JD
95
Red
750ml
Bottle: $18.00
12 bottles: $17.64
This wine is a "Gran Merlot", born in a special terroir in our vineyards of Padre Hurtado that, thanks to the...
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $27.05
Red
750ml
Bottle: $40.84
6 bottles: $40.04
Exciting, multi-dimensional, lifted, with peppermint tea, violets, and dark plums with wonderful purity. A modern...
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DC
92
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Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $35.60
A classic Old World nose starts with tar, leather and pencil shavings before cranberry and blackberry notes emerge....
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WE
93
DC
90
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $16.89
A ruby red color with violet hues. On the nose, fragrant aromas of wild berries and herbaceous notes of violet. So...

Barbera Mavrodaphne Merlot 2018

For centuries now, the beautiful red grapes of the Barbera varietal have been grown in Italy, where they are prized for their unusual high acid content and low tannins, brought about by their thin skins. The Barbera grape varietal thrives in warmer climates, and has had some success overseas in the new world, where its strongly aromatic flavors of intense hedgerow fruits make it a favorite with wineries and wine drinkers looking for a grape which offers plenty of interesting characteristics. Interestingly, the differences between young and aged wines made from this varietal are quite significant, with younger bottles holding a plethora of berry flavors, including blueberry and raspberry notes, and oak aged wines made from the Barbera grape being much loved for their ability to become extremely complex and spicy, and picking up vanilla flavors from the wood they are barreled in.

In the Archaea region, high in the Northern Peloponnese mountains, the predominant grape varietal grown is the prized Mavrodaphne. Meaning 'Black Laurel', the Mavrodaphne grapes have extremely dark skins, and ripen slowly under the Greek sunshine, helped by the mineral rich soils the vines thrive in. This grape varietal is mostly used to produce the opaque, inky fortified wine of the same name, which is popular all over Greece and elsewhere in the world. This fortified wine allows the grapes to really show off their complex and fascinating flavors, which range from a rich marzipan to flavors of bitter chocolate, sweet coffee, dried figs and prunes, as well as plenty of jammy fruit notes.

Mavrodaphne is produced in a traditional method which involves leaving the grape juice exposed to the sun in large vats, before having its fermentation halted by the addition of various distillates taken from previous successful vintages. This mixture contains plenty of residual sugar, which gives the end result its characteristic sticky sweetness, and also helps with the next fermentation process, which typically takes place in large underground cellars. The final product is a heady drink, absolutely bursting with unusual, rich and sweet flavors and carried in a dark and slightly viscous Port-like liquid.

Mavrodaphne grapes are also used for the production of still red wines, but are generally blended with varietals such as Agiorgitiko or imported grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon. Mavrodaphne grapes are excellent for mellowing more acidic varieties, and producing deliciously rounded wines, which have taken the international market by storm in recent decades.

Additional Information on Greek Wines


Greek Wines
Ancient Greek Wines – A Brief History of Wine in Greece
The Myth of Dionysus, Greek God of Wine
What is Retsina?

With its dark blue colored fruits and high juice content, Merlot varietal grapes have long been a favorite of wine producers around the globe, with it being found in vineyards across Europe, the Americas and elsewhere in the New World. One of the distinguishing features of Merlot grapes is the fact that they have a relatively low tannin content and an exceptionally soft and fleshy character, meaning they are capable of producing incredibly rounded and mellow wines. This mellowness is balanced with plenty of flavor, however, and has made Merlot grapes the varietal of choice for softening other, more astringent and tannin-heavy wines, often resulting in truly exceptional produce. Merlot is regarded as one of the key 'Bordeaux' varietals for precisely this reason; when combined with the drier Cabernet Sauvignon, it is capable of blending beautifully to produce some of the finest wines available in the world.