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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...
750ml
Bottle:
$12.96
$15.00
An inviting nose of peaches, sliced pears and dried orange peel. Medium-bodied with delightful texture. Bright and...
1.8Ltr
Bottle:
$74.67
$78.60
A stout, robust and incredibly dry sake, prominent notes of black walnuts and caramel shading into spicy flavors of...
720ml
Bottle:
$36.48
$38.40
A stout, robust and incredibly dry sake, prominent notes of black walnuts and caramel shading into spicy flavors of...
720ml
Bottle:
$91.28
$96.08
6 bottles:
$88.01
Delicate tropical aromas of melon, lychee, and pineapple with the floral hint of honeysuckle. Feather-light, layered...
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...
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...
750ml
Bottle:
$59.90
$63.19
The 2021 Fire By Night, formerly known as Broom Ridge, has a lovely, seductive bouquet with mirabelle, jasmine and...
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...
750ml
Bottle:
$16.20
$18.00
12 bottles:
$14.25
Crisp passion fruit and lemon leaf with a whiff of white pepper on the nose. The same flavours make an immediate...
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...
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...
1.8Ltr
Bottle:
$32.49
$34.20
6 bottles:
$31.20
A remarkably elegant honjozo popular with local Miyagi drinkers, this is made from premium Yamada Nishiki rice milled...
Chenin Blanc Mavrodaphne Mencia Sake
Originating in France yet now grown in many parts of the New World, Chenin Blanc is one of the most versatile and highly regarded white wine grape varietals on earth. These green skinned grapes hold a relatively high acid content, and as such can be used for making still white wines of exceptional quality, as well as superb sparkling wines (such as the Crémant wines of the Loire Valley) and extremely aromatic dessert wines. Their natural transparency means that they are a fine grape for expressing their terroir in the bottle, and winemakers often experiment with this varietal to coax unusual and intense flavors from the grapes, such as allowing the development of noble rot on the fruit in order to make sweet and viscous wines of a unique character.
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?