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White
750ml
Bottle: $14.94 $16.25
12 bottles: $14.64
This pretty Gewurztraminer has golden yellow hints. Nice aromatic intensity and exotic fruits. The bouquet is intense...
White
750ml
Bottle: $23.90
12 bottles: $23.42
Pale yellow with yellow gold sparkles Complex and intense nose, floral and spicy at the same time. It has weight as...
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White
White
750ml
Bottle: $22.00
12 bottles: $21.56
Lush and exotic, displaying honey and floral aromas and flavors, yet deftly balanced and expressive. Well-structured...
White
750ml
Bottle: $24.40
12 bottles: $23.91
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White
750ml
Bottle: $19.93 $21.80
I love the extrovert wealth of orange aromas ranging from blossoms to zest and candied peel. Wonderful balance of...
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92
White
750ml
Bottle: $27.40
12 bottles: $26.85
What an attractively floral gewurz this is, not only roses, but also honeysuckle and jasmine. More substance than it...
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93
White
750ml
Bottle: $67.20
How can a gewurztraminer be this concentrated, have 14% alcohol and still be this subtle? It has all the floral notes...
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94
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94
White
750ml
Bottle: $30.94
12 bottles: $30.32
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White
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $20.94
A racy Gewürztraminer, boasting exuberant lychee, sappy peach and ginger layered with floral perfume. Despite the...
WS
91
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White
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $64.94
Intense rose petal and lychee nut aromas. Rich and spicy with purity of flavors, beautiful elegance and great...
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White
750ml
Bottle: $28.40
12 bottles: $24.39
Though expressive and perfumed, this has good balance, with ripe star anise, lychee and baking spices upheld by racy...
WS
90
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Long-term Pre-Arrival
White
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $191.95
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
White
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $53.95
How can a gewurztraminer be this concentrated, have 14% alcohol and still be this subtle? It has all the floral notes...
WA
94
WE
94
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
White

Gewurztraminer Mavrodaphne Mencia France Alsace 750ml

Gewurztraminer is renowned for being a particularly tricky grape varietal to grow and cultivate, but is one which plenty of wineries persevere with due to its unique properties and excellent flavors The vines themselves are highly robust, and can even be unruly when in the correct type of soil, but they cannot grow well in terroirs which contain chalk or other similar components. They are also extremely susceptible to a wide range of diseases and rot, and due to their early budding and fruiting, they cannot survive frost. However, despite these problems, in cooler climates and on the right terroir, the Gewurztraminer grape varietal produces wonderful results quite unlike any other vine. The pink grapes are packed full of elegant and sweet flavors, their relatively high sugar content offering a light sweetness alongside floral notes, perfumed and aromatic aromas, and a distinctive taste of lychees.

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?

Year in, year out, France enjoys its prestigious reputation as the producer of the finest wines in the world. With a wine making history which spans several thousand years and owes its expertise to the Romans, it comes as little surprise that this most highly esteemed of the Old World wine countries continues to impress and enchant both novices and experts to this day. Despite the rise in quality of wines from neighboring European countries, not to mention the New World, the French wine industry continues to boom, with up to eight billion bottles being produced in recent years. However, France prides itself on always putting quality before quantity, and the wide range in fine produce is a testament to the dedication and knowledge of the wineries across the country. Indeed, from rich and complex reds to light and aromatic white wines, French wines are as varied and interesting as they are enjoyable to drink, making this country a firm favorite for wine lovers across the globe.

Alsace has to be one of the most fascinating regions of France, with a history which stretches back millennia, and demonstrates perfectly the kind of blended culture that can arise from being located on the border between two enormously important, yet very different countries. Indeed, being on the border between France and Germany has resulted in Alsatian wines being something of a mix between the wines of these two countries. Riesling varietal grapes are grown in enormous quantities here, and display all of their crisp, dry complexity perfectly in the famous wines of Alsace. Alongside this typically Germanic wine, Alsatian vintners also produce plenty of Pinot Noir, Gewurztraminer, Muscat and Sauvignon Vert wines, all of which are superb when it comes to expressing the finer features of the wonderful Alsatian terroir.