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750ml
Bottle:
$11.62
$12.91
12 bottles:
$11.52
COLOR: Ruby red with purple highlights.
NOSE: Elegant fruit aromas of cherries and plums with an enticing warm,...
750ml
Bottle:
$29.64
$31.99
Alluring aromas of dark-skinned berry, exotic spice and an earthy note of tilled soil come together in the glass. The...
750ml
Bottle:
$87.99
6 bottles:
$86.23
Like all great wines, Barbera too has its own crus. In certain areas and vineyards where it reaches the highest of...
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$124.85
The 2019 Barbera d’Asti Ai Suma is laced with blackberry jam, crème de cassis, sweet spice, licorice, lavender and...
750ml
Bottle:
$15.93
12 bottles:
$15.61
Light, bright, clean, and fresh. A varietally perfect example of Barbera.
750ml
Bottle:
$12.57
12 bottles:
$12.32
This is a tangy and juicy red with notes of oranges, red plums, red tea and olive stones. Medium-bodied with tight...
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$13.00
Dark ruby color, with some orange shades. Complex, with primary scent of red fruits and secondary of spices, leather...
750ml
Bottle:
$17.94
12 bottles:
$17.58
This is dark-fruited with notes of chocolate and dark spices as well as bark and wet soil. Full and creamy with...
750ml
Bottle:
$14.93
12 bottles:
$14.63
This is bright and fruity with raspberries, blueberries, violets and dark chocolate on offer. Medium- to full-bodied,...
750ml
Bottle:
$59.93
6 bottles:
$58.73
A plush, modern style, this Barbera offers sweet, ripe plum, fig and toasty oak flavors. Remains fresh, with balance...
750ml
Bottle:
$15.93
$16.76
12 bottles:
$15.92
Sleek and elegant, this Barbera boasts rose, cherry, raspberry and iron flavors. Linear and bracing, with fine...
750ml
Bottle:
$16.58
This vibrant and exuberant Barbera opens with aromas of boysenberry, tart blueberry, fresh violets and roasted herbs....
750ml
Bottle:
$15.38
$17.09
12 bottles:
$13.18
This has aromas of nutmeg, chocolate, cherries and poached plums. It’s medium- to full-bodied with lightly chewy...
750ml
Bottle:
$17.09
12 bottles:
$16.75
Franco Amoroso Barbera'Asti is elegant and polished with layers of dark red cherry fruit, lively acidity and subtle...
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...
750ml
Bottle:
$17.00
12 bottles:
$16.66
COLOR: Garnet red color with delicate purple reflections.
NOSE: Intense, fresh nose with red fruit aromas and...
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$63.21
Ambitious and satisfying, with spicy oak accenting the blackberry and plum aromas and flavors. The wood adds...
Barbera Mavrodaphne Italy Piedmont Asti
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 countries in the world with a viticultural history as long or as illustrious as that claimed by Italy. Grapes were first being grown and cultivated on Italian soil several thousand years ago by the Greeks and the Pheonicians, who named Italy 'Oenotria' – the land of wines – so impressed were they with the climate and the suitability of the soil for wine production. Of course, it was the rise of the Roman Empire which had the most lasting influence on wine production in Italy, and their influence can still be felt today, as much of the riches of the empire came about through their enthusiasm for producing wines and exporting it to neighbouring countries. Since those times, a vast amount of Italian land has remained primarily for vine cultivation, and thousands of wineries can be found throughout the entire length and breadth of this beautiful country, drenched in Mediterranean sunshine and benefiting from the excellent fertile soils found there. Italy remains very much a 'land of wines', and one could not imagine this country, its landscape and culture, without it.
Situated in the north-western part of Italy, the region of Piedmont is known worldwide and is highly respected for the quality of the wines produced there. Many of the most successful sub-regions in Piedmont produce many of the world's finest red wines, such as those made from the excellent Nebbiolo grape varietal in areas such as Barolo and Barbaresco. However, the historic wineries which typify this region use a relatively wide variety of grapes, including Dolcetto and Barbera for their red wines, which are typically aged and have a delightful velvety character. Piedmont isn't all about beautifully complex red wines, though, as it is also famed for high quality, elegant sparkling wines, notably the Asti wines made with the white Moscato grape. The region benefits from a range of terroirs which are often well expressed in the sparkling wines, and a wonderfully consistent climate ideal for vineyard cultivation.