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Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $34.90
Very intense and elegant ruby red colour; broad and complex fruity fragrance with hints of plum, cherry jam and...
12 FREE
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $24.94
Ripe crunchy red forest fruits with notes of candied dark cherries. Rich and bold, with juicy tannins. (Bronze) -...
DC
89
Sale
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $16.94 $17.50
12 bottles: $16.63
The effusive violet and blackcurrant-pastille aromas draw you into this elegant and silky, mid-weight Brouilly with...
WA
90
JS
90
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $41.94
12 bottles: $41.10
Needs a moment in the glass for the forest-berry aromas to open up. Very minerally and smoky with plenty of...
12 FREE
JS
96
Sale
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $15.75 $18.00
This structured wine gives concentration as well as broad and ripe black fruits. The wine is full, rich, and can age...
WE
93
WA
90
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $27.90
12 bottles: $27.34
12 FREE
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $9.94
12 bottles: $8.94
Notes of ripe plums, cherry jam and tobacco characterize the bouquet of this pure varietal Primitivo from the Apulia...
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $13.99
Offering up aromas of sweet red berries, orange oil, spices and vine smoke, the 2021 Beaujolais-Villages Le Perréon...
WA
91
JS
91
Sale
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $35.18 $40.20
Silky texture and long finish.
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $76.94
Undergoing a four-week maceration followed by approximately nine months in French oak (50% new), Es is intoxicating:...
12 FREE
DC
96
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $31.94
The 2021 Fleurie comes from vines on granitic soil located at 470m altitude, 1.7-hectares split over two parcels. The...
12 FREE
VM
92
JS
91
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $18.90
12 bottles: $18.52
This cuvée takes the Vin de France appellation, because the Beaujolais’ governing body decided to do away with the...
Sale
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $22.05 $23.59
Ripe red berries are laced with hints of schist from the soil, expanding through a soft finish of well-integrated...
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $17.94
12 bottles: $17.58
Intense and complex of ripe red pulp fruit (cherry, plum, raspberry) in a balanced bottling with light wooden notes....
12 FREE
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $22.80
Dark ruby red, with garnet hues. It opens with notes of ripe blackberry and raspberry, followed by intense aromas of...
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $13.99
12 bottles: $13.72
On the nose, there are abundant notes of macerated strawberries with hints of herbs. The acidity is bright with soft...
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $24.90
A heady dose of sweet spices grace the nose, with baked black-cherry and plum tones at the core. This is ultrasoft...

Gamay Other Italian Reds Primitivo Rapid Ship

The French wines of Beaujolais are widely regarded as some of the finest table wines in the world. This is due in part to the qualities of the Gamay grape, from which they are made. Gamay produces beautifully, juicy, rounded and gulpable red wines, usually drank young and full of their natural fruit character. However, it would be a mistake to say that Gamay is limited to easy-drinking, soft wines - it’s a highly flexible and versatile grape, capable of producing aged wines of serious complexity and structure, full of expression and fascinating characteristics.


The majority of Gamay wines from France are labeled under Beaujolais Villages or Beaujolais, and these are the standard table wines we’re used to seeing in French restaurants, at bistros, and at our local wine store. Usually great value for money, these are the light, slightly acidic examples of what the grape can do. Far more interesting are those Gamay wines from the 10 cru villages, just north of Beaujolais, where generations of expertise and a unique soil type made up of granitic schist result in far more unique, complicated wines. The best examples of Gamay feature intense aromatics, all black fruit and forest fare, and are worth cellaring for a few years.

As with many European grape varietals, there is some debate regarding the precise origins of the Primitivo grape. Most people now agree that it probably came from Croatia, where it is still used widely in the production of red wine, and it known as Tribidrag. However, today it is a grape most commonly associated with the powerful red wines of Puglia, the heel of Italy’s boot, where the intense sunshine and brisk Mediterranean breezes produce grapes of remarkable character and balance. Primitivo is a dark grape, known for producing intense, inky, highly tannic wines, most notably the naturally sweet Dolce Naturale and the heavy and complex Primitivo di Manduria wines. Primitivo tends to be naturally very high in both tannin and alcohol, making it ideal for both barrel and cellar ageing, which brings out its more rounded and interesting features.


Primitivo is not the easiest grape to grow or manage, and it has had something of a difficult century. Indeed, by the 1990s, there was little interest in Puglian wines in general, and winemakers were neglecting their Primitivo vineyards and looking to other, more commercially viable varietals. However, the last decade has seen this grape come well and truly back into fashion, with new techniques and a heightened interest in native Italian grape varietals bringing Primitivo back into the spotlight. It is now widely loved for its intensity and ability to be paired with strongly flavored foods.