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Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $15.89 $17.09
12 bottles: $15.57
‘Telleira’ is the Galician word for tile factory. In the past, tiles were made in this plot with the clay from...
Red
750ml
Bottle: $17.92
12 bottles: $17.56
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $150.39 $167.10
97-98 Spicy and complex with cardamom, green apple, pineapple and dried lime. Hints of white chocolate and mango,...
12 FREE
JS
98
DC
96
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $159.12 $176.80
12 FREE
Red
750ml
Bottle: $31.94
12 bottles: $31.30
• Varietal Mencía from a few parcels, some younger and some up to 100 years old. • Spontaneous fermentation in...
12 FREE
Red
750ml
Bottle: $18.94
12 bottles: $18.56
There is a note of dry hay and esparto grass in the 2022 Fusco, which made me think of some wines from Douro in...
WA
90
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $59.94 $64.08
Native to the northwestern corner of the Iberian Peninsula, mencía is known for its thick skins and dark fruit and...
12 FREE
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $11.31 $12.57
Our wine stands out because of its marked fruity character which brings out all the qualities and characteristics of...
Red
750ml
Bottle: $36.00
12 bottles: $34.20
A new paraje bottling from Antoine Graillot, the 2021 Encinas La Rata is from just below El Rapolao, on clay-rich...
WA
94
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $25.89 $26.40
12 bottles: $25.37
The 2021 Encinas feels cleaner and less reductive than previous years but still has the earthy rusticity that seems...
WA
93
Sale
Red
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,...
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $21.50
A vin de soif, made in a light, refreshing style. Earthy with some smoked meat aromas on the nose. The palate is...
12 FREE
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $19.01
A vin de soif, made in a light, refreshing style. Earthy with some smoked meat aromas on the nose. The palate is...
Red
750ml
Bottle: $26.00
12 bottles: $25.48
Produced from very old vines (60-65 yrs!), this Barbera exudes floral, black currant, and licorice aromas. The palate...
Red
750ml
Bottle: $20.95
12 bottles: $20.53
100% Barbera from vines located in Perno in the village of Monforte d'Alba, on the right slope in front of...
12 FREE
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $19.38 $20.40
6 bottles: $17.50
Laced with blackberry, black cherry and spice flavors, this red is rich and juicy. Well-structured too, yet balanced...
WE
90
WS
90
Case only
White
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $15.94
The Collection’s Bordeaux Blanc, made from Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon, explodes with freshness on the palate, in...
Sale
Red
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...
WE
93
Red
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...
12 FREE
White
750ml
Bottle: $18.94
12 bottles: $18.56
With a floral and fruity bouquet, this wine is fresh and fruity on the palate, vivid and a floral freshness and...

Barbera Mavrodaphne Mencia White Bordeaux 750ml

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?

France is widely known as being the home of many of the world's finest white wines, and within France, the name which rings out across the wine world and is always associated with excellence of quality and flavor is Bordeaux. The white wines of the magnificent Bordeaux region are typically blended, and rely on the winemaker's skill and expertise to achieve the fine balance between the primary grape varietals used. Most blended white Bordeaux wines are made up of Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon and Muscadelle varietals, although there are actually nine grapes officially allowed by French wine law for the inclusion in Bordeaux white wines. The other six are Sauvignon Gris, Merlot Blanc, Ugni Blanc, Colombard, Ondenc and Mauzac, although the use of these other grapes has been in steady decline over the past century.