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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: $25.50
12 bottles: $24.99
The young red 2020 Castro Candaz, from a very warm vintage in Ribeira Sacra, is quite fruit-driven, straightforward...
12 FREE
WA
90
Red
750ml
Bottle: $39.00
A seamless red, medium-bodied and lightly chalky in texture, with fine tannins enmeshed with flavors of mulled cherry...
12 FREE
WS
91
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Rapid Ship
Red
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,...
WA
97
JS
95
Red
750ml
Bottle: $24.92
12 bottles: $24.42
12 FREE
Red
750ml
Bottle: $12.57
12 bottles: $11.94
Stewed blackberries, baked blueberries, earth and wet tobacco on the nose. Medium-to full-bodied with powdery...
JS
90
Red
750ml
Bottle: $12.94
12 bottles: $12.68
A fruity nose of cherries, blackberries, violets, orange zest, spices and dried herbs. Medium-bodied with firm, round...
JS
91
Rapid Ship
Red
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...
DC
97
Sale
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $16.20 $18.00
The 2020 A Merced was produced with grapes from north-facing vineyards in Ponferrada on slate and quartz soils. It...
WA
93
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $19.38 $20.40
Intensive Red color with violets hints. On nose it is extremely fresh. Red fruits such as berries and wild berries;...
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 3
Bottle: $1196.54
The pale and delicate 2020 La Faraona is the lowest in alcohol at 13.5% and is more reductive than its...
WA
99
JS
99
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 3
Bottle: $152.63

Mavrodaphne Mencia Sake 2020

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?