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Red
375ml
Bottle: $21.40
Tight and polished with a beautiful center palate and density. Full-bodied, ripe and polished. Really delicious fruit...
JS
92
DC
91
Sale
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $27.59 $31.54
Tight and polished with a beautiful center palate and density. Full-bodied, ripe and polished. Really delicious fruit...
JS
92
DC
91
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $47.94
Deep purple robe with black hints. The nose is complex and discreet, the bouquet will further develop upon ageing....
12 FREE
Red
750ml
Bottle: $18.80
12 bottles: $15.05
Bordeaux generally does not have high elevations. This wine, boasting the fact that the vines are at 278 feet, is...
WE
91
Red
750ml
Bottle: $18.00
12 bottles: $17.64
Attractively structured and bright, this wine layers tannins with black fruits. Tannins are already well integrated...
WE
88
Red
750ml
Bottle: $37.93
12 bottles: $37.17
Blackberry, blueberry, graphite, clove, tobacco and mahogany on the nose. It’s medium-to full-bodied with firm,...
12 FREE
JS
94
DC
90
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....
12 FREE
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $384.75 $427.50
Exquisitely fine tannins to the currant, lead-pencil and chocolate character. The palate is full, yet very refined...
12 FREE
JS
97
WA
94
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...
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $232.38 $258.20
The second wine of Château Ausone, always produced in limited quantities, provides a fine echo of the top wine. Bold...
12 FREE
WE
96
JS
95
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $400.95 $445.50
I loved the 2018 Château Angélus from barrel last year and it blew me away from bottle, epitomizing the new,...
12 FREE
JD
100
WE
98
Red
750ml
Bottle: $51.30
12 bottles: $47.60
Showing brilliantly, the 2018 Château Barde-Haut comes from a beautiful, cooler terroir on the eastern side of...
12 FREE
JD
95
DC
94
Rapid Ship
Red
12 FREE
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $74.94 $80.70
This estate makes an incredibly classic, elegant Saint-Emilion. The 2018 Château Beau-Séjour Bécot is based on 80%...
12 FREE
VM
96
WE
96
Sale
Red
375ml
Bottle: $13.36 $14.85
24 bottles: $12.87
90-92 Close to an even split of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, with 8% Petit Verdot, the 2018 Château Beaumont...
WE
92
JD
92
Case only
Red
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $45.94
A dense, rich red, yet the tannins are so fine and integrated with beautiful texture and finesse. It’s full-bodied,...
12 FREE
JS
95
DC
94
Red
750ml
Bottle: $49.50
12 bottles: $48.51
Aromas of plums and berries with bark and light chili undertones. Medium body with round tannins and pretty balance....
12 FREE
JS
93
JD
92
Red
750ml
Bottle: $74.00
12 bottles: $72.52
Blueberry, plum, praline, dark=chocolate and cedar aromas. Dried lavender, too. It’s full-bodied with firm, sleek...
12 FREE
JS
95
WA
94
Red
750ml
Bottle: $81.49
12 bottles: $79.87
92-93 A tannic and rich red with medium to full body and blackberry, dark-fruit and sweet-tobacco character. Chewy....
12 FREE
JS
93
DC
92

Barbera Mavrodaphne Red Bordeaux 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?

There are few regions in the world with stricter regulations in regards to wine production and grape varietals than those found in Bordeaux, France. Here, in the home of the world's finest wines, the type and quality of grapes used is of utmost importance, and the legendary wineries which work on the banks of the Gironde river have mastered the careful art of juice blending to find the perfect balance for their produce. Whilst there are six 'official' Bordeaux grapes, the two key varietals for almost every fine Bordeaux wine are Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and with good reason. Whilst Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are renowned for their acidity and astringency, strong fruit and spice flavors and full body, Merlot grapes are notably rounded, soft, fleshy and lighter on tannin. The combination of these two varietals, along with a small percentage of (commonly) Petit Verdot or Cabernet Franc, is the perfect balancing act – the two grape varietals cancel out each others weaker points, and accentuate all that is good about the other.