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Rapid Ship
White
750ml
Bottle: $19.94
12 bottles: $19.54
The bright mirabelle, Amalfi-lemon and white-pepper aromas pour from the glass of this energetic gruner veltliner,...
JS
92
Sale
Rapid Ship
White
750ml
Bottle: $16.36 $18.18
A classic Gruner Veltliner for the notes of lentil, white peach, smoke and milled pepper. Lithe and creamy, this...
WS
90
Sale
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $30.24 $33.60
100% Cabernet Franc from the Ampeleia di Sopra parcels at 450-600 meters above sea level. Vines were planted between...
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $22.40
A seductively floral, fruity and vibrant nose with a good lift of freshness and fruit. Crushed stones, blueberries,...
JS
94
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $17.90
12 bottles: $17.54
Blue fruit and floral lift on the nose. Juniper and blueberry tart, with a floral, peppery, and delightfully smooth,...
12 FREE
DC
92
Sale
Rapid Ship
White
750ml
Bottle: $15.94 $16.66
12 bottles: $15.83
A crunchy, fresh style, with a bitter edge framing green apple and nectarine flavors. Slightly waxy, with honeyed...
WS
89
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $12.00
12 bottles: $11.40
Black fruit, dark plums, tobacco leaves, violets and allspice on the nose. Bubblegum, too. Medium-bodied with sleek...
JS
91
Sale
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $21.90 $23.20
Against all odds, the 2020 Cabernet Franc, from a warm and dry year, feels fresher and more harmonious than the two...
WA
93
VM
93
Sale
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $94.94 $109.94
The 2019 Gran Enemigo Agrelo Single Vineyard shows the completeness of the vintage, a year with good yields and a...
12 FREE
WA
97
JS
97
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $67.82
Another beautiful wine in this lineup is the 2018 Cabernet Franc, which is 100% varietal and spent 22 months in 80%...
12 FREE
JD
97
VM
95
Sale
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $19.25 $22.00
100% Cabernet Franc. Les Barnabés stands apart from Raffault's other main sites, Les Picasses and Les Peuilles,...
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $54.90
The 2008 Chinon Les Picasses is an authentic representative of the vintage as well as of the domain. The 2008 has a...
12 FREE
WA
93
VM
92
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $27.93
100% Cabernet Franc. Les Picasses is the most famous Chinon lieu-dit, close to the village of Beaumont-En-Véron on...
12 FREE
Sale
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $62.64 $74.94
Black raspberry in color with an expressive nose of blueberry fruit, matcha tea, violet, and medium toasty oak. A dry...
12 FREE
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $69.94
The 2021 Poggio de Colli, 100% Cabernet Franc, is stunning. It’s peppery and floral throughout, with masses of...
12 FREE
VM
94
Sale
Rapid Ship
White
750ml
Bottle: $42.94 $49.94
The ripe mirabelle, pineapple and grapefruit aromas pour from the glass of this concentrated and seriously structured...
12 FREE
JS
95
WA
92
Sale
Rapid Ship
White
750ml
Bottle: $61.20 $68.00
The 2021 Grüner Veltliner Ried Lamm has a hint of nutty, creamy oak. The palate also has a creaminess, and a flavor...
VM
96
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $15.63
12 bottles: $15.32
The 12% alcohol NV Volage Crémant de Loire Rosé Brut Sauvage is a pale pink colored single-vineyard sparkling wine...
12 FREE

Cabernet Franc Gruner Veltliner Mavrodaphne Rapid Ship

Cabernet Franc is not simply an important grape varietal for the fact that it is one of the most widely grown strains of vine in the world, but also because it is a vital grape in the production of many of the finest wines the world has ever seen. For centuries in its native France, it has been a varietal synonymous with elegance and high quality, and has become a key fruit in the production of the Bordeaux and Bordeaux-style blended wines which have gone down in history thanks to their magnificent flavors, aromas and levels of aged complexity. However, Cabernet Franc is also a wine grape varietal for use in single variety, unblended wines, and has plenty to offer on its own. Most commonly, it is renowned for its wide bouquet, which often includes fascinating notes of tobacco, violets or bell pepper over a beautifully pale and decadent liquid.

Gruner Veltliner is a pale skinned white wine grape varietal most closely associated with central European countries such as Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In recent years, it has spread somewhat to several New World countries, where it is becoming gradually more popular and regularly seen in wine stores. One of the main attractions of this grape varietal for winemakers is the fact that it is highly versatile, and can be used for the production of several different wine styles, including young, dry white wines, excellent sparkling wines, and it is also a grape varietal which is well suited for aging Gruner Veltliner has the ability to express much of its terroir, and the best examples are generally those which are full of delightfully mineral-rich flavors alongside the more usual notes of citrus fruits and peach.

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?