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750ml
Bottle:
$9.84
$10.58
Aromas of cocoa and mocha, with flavors of boysenberry, blackberry and blueberry.
750ml
Bottle:
$47.99
$51.60
Only a 30-minute drive southeast of Napa, Suisun Valley (which became an AVA in 1982) is still largely undiscovered....
750ml
Bottle:
$63.00
$72.00
I was blown away by the 2020 wines in barrel in June 2021 and found the 2020 Villa de Corullón very ready, open,...
750ml
Bottle:
$51.89
12 bottles:
$50.85
The vino de villa village red 2021 Corullón is extremely floral and elegant, clean, precise, fresh and very complete...
750ml
Bottle:
$139.94
The ultra elegant, sleek and mineral 2021 Moncerbal has amazing freshness, ultra refined tannins and lots of...
750ml
Bottle:
$26.64
$28.64
2021 is clearly the finest vintage of the trio of 2020, 2021 and 2022, and the bottled 2021 Pétalos delivers what...
750ml
Bottle:
$12.99
Anyone who has ever seen photographs of the steep slopes of Ribeira Sacra will wonder how it is possible to produce a...
750ml
Bottle:
$20.95
12 bottles:
$20.53
The 2020 A Merced was produced with grapes from north-facing vineyards in Ponferrada on slate and quartz soils. It...
750ml
Bottle:
$18.00
12 bottles:
$17.10
Sourced from several parcels wityh vines that are at least 50 years old, the blend is 90% Mencia and 10% “other”...
750ml
Bottle:
$34.33
$36.80
A wine of weight and substance, the 2019 Petite Syrah Lytton Estate is fabulous. Best of all, readers won't have to...
750ml
Bottle:
$11.99
Spellbound Petite Sirah has an intense color and generous bouquet of rich blackberries and blueberries, vanilla bean...
750ml
Bottle:
$89.94
The 2021 Petite Syrah Hayne Vineyard comes from vines planted in 1953. Opaque ruby-black in color, this has some...
Mavrodaphne Mencia Petite Sirah 750ml In-Store or Curbside pickup
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?
Petite Sirah was first brought from France to America in the 1880s. It later went on to become one of the only grapes to make it through the devastating Phylloxera virus in the 1890s, both World Wars, and the Great Depression. During Prohibition, it was a main ingredient used to make sacramental wines. In fact, through the 1960s it was a major blending grape in a number of the finest wines produced in California.
By itself, a bottle of Petite Sirah usually has no problem making a quick impression on consumers. With a large amount of natural color and tannins, wines made with the grape commonly feature intensive sweet fruit characteristics like fresh raspberry or blackberry jam, black pepper spice, and plenty of backbone or structure.
There are a number of different styles available. Some concentrate on highlighting fresh, fruity flavors; others are bigger, more voluptuous; and it keeps going up the ladder until you reach the powerful, more machismo-style category.