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Red
750ml
Bottle: $44.72
6 bottles: $44.00
Intense, deep red in colour, Desiderio 2019 reveals inviting notes of sweet cherries and raspberries, rose petals and...
12 FREE
Red
750ml
Bottle: $79.94
6 bottles: $78.34
A rich, dark expression of Merlot, this red walks the line between austerity and generosity, the latter gaining...
12 FREE
WS
93
Red
750ml
Bottle: $14.20
12 bottles: $13.92
The Block & Row Merlot leads with impressions of ripe cherries and fresh raspberries accented by seductive aromas of...
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $14.26
Color: Ruby red very intense with purple reflexes. Bouquet: Strong and distinctive with sensations of spice and ripe...
Red
750ml
Bottle: $98.89
12 bottles: $96.91
A pretty red with aromas of blueberries, plums, incense and tea leaves. Full-bodied and structured with a creamy...
12 FREE
WS
94
JS
94
Red
750ml
Bottle: $69.94
6 bottles: $68.54
The 2019 Merlot Liu' is another outrageously beautiful wine from Rampolla. Deep, inky and explosive, the 2019...
12 FREE
WA
94
VM
94
Red
750ml
Bottle: $57.90
12 bottles: $51.87
The 2019 Château Lafleur-Gazin showed nicely, with an elegant, seamless, classy style as well as textbook Pomerol...
12 FREE
JD
91
WA
90
Red
750ml
Bottle: $49.80
12 bottles: $48.80
I continue to just love this château, which is located in one of the cooler terroirs in the appellation, sitting on...
12 FREE
JD
95
WA
94
Red
750ml
Bottle: $15.17
12 bottles: $14.87
This classic Merlot based Bordeaux from the Castillon opens with an elegant nose of red currant, blueberry and black...
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $17.88 $18.80
12 bottles: $17.52
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $12.45
Fragrant aromas of red berries, soft round fruit flavors and a smooth stylish finish
12 FREE
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $35.64
This varietal Merlot aged in 100% stainless steel has a fairly good layering of flavors with notes of blackberry,...
WE
89
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $50.47 $56.08
6 bottles: $50.40
There is a milk chocolate nuance with integrated spicy oak. Coupled with the rich dark fruit, there is a hint of...
Red
750ml
Bottle: $42.94
12 bottles: $42.08
Our 2019 Napa Valley Merlot opens with lively bright red fruits and a soft, lush texture. Delicate floral aromas...
12 FREE
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $87.89
Lots of black olives with some conifer and mushrooms. Raspberries, too. Full-bodied with soft and round tannins....
12 FREE
JS
95
WS
94
Red
750ml
Bottle: $69.94
Lavish and aromatic on the nose with lots of blackberry, dark-chocolate and hazelnut character. It’s full-bodied...
12 FREE
JS
94
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $17.28
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $53.94 $57.60
Gutsy yet refined, this red balances a broad-shouldered structure with rich, multilayered flavors of blackberry and...
12 FREE
WS
93
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $16.42 $18.25
COLOR: Ruby red color with distinct violet shades. NOSE: The bouquet is slightly vinous with fruity notes of...
Red
750ml
Bottle: $16.66
12 bottles: $15.83
Dark, brooding and spicy, the 2019 Primitivo di Manduria lifts up with notes of crushed rocks, cardamom and black...
VM
89
JS
88

Grenache Merlot Primitivo 2019 750ml

The Grenache grape holds the honor of being the most widely planted wine grape varietal on earth. It has a long and impressive history, and has been the backbone of the some of the planet’s most respected and famed wine regions, blended with Syrah in regions such as Chateauneuf du Pape, and in certain other Loire and Languedoc regions where it reigns supreme as a single varietal wine grape. In other key areas, such as Spain’s La Rioja (where it is known as Garnacha Tinta), it is blended with Tempranillo to make that country’s signature red wine, and is widely used as a blending grape in other old and new world countries, due to its unique character and jammy, fruit forward character.


For a long time, the Grenache grape was somewhat looked down upon as an ignoble varietal, incapable of producing wines of any particular interest. However, times are very much changing - in the right hands, Grenache grapes result in astonishingly intense and complex wines, full of fascinating features, and capable of achieving plenty of expression. For a while now, Grenache has been a major player in Australian wines. While not yet quite as extensively planted down under as Shiraz is, the Barossa Valley is bringing out some of the finest examples of this grape’s wines in recent years.

With its dark blue colored fruits and high juice content, Merlot varietal grapes have long been a favorite of wine producers around the globe, with it being found in vineyards across Europe, the Americas and elsewhere in the New World. One of the distinguishing features of Merlot grapes is the fact that they have a relatively low tannin content and an exceptionally soft and fleshy character, meaning they are capable of producing incredibly rounded and mellow wines. This mellowness is balanced with plenty of flavor, however, and has made Merlot grapes the varietal of choice for softening other, more astringent and tannin-heavy wines, often resulting in truly exceptional produce. Merlot is regarded as one of the key 'Bordeaux' varietals for precisely this reason; when combined with the drier Cabernet Sauvignon, it is capable of blending beautifully to produce some of the finest wines available in the world.

As with many European grape varietals, there is some debate regarding the precise origins of the Primitivo grape. Most people now agree that it probably came from Croatia, where it is still used widely in the production of red wine, and it known as Tribidrag. However, today it is a grape most commonly associated with the powerful red wines of Puglia, the heel of Italy’s boot, where the intense sunshine and brisk Mediterranean breezes produce grapes of remarkable character and balance. Primitivo is a dark grape, known for producing intense, inky, highly tannic wines, most notably the naturally sweet Dolce Naturale and the heavy and complex Primitivo di Manduria wines. Primitivo tends to be naturally very high in both tannin and alcohol, making it ideal for both barrel and cellar ageing, which brings out its more rounded and interesting features.


Primitivo is not the easiest grape to grow or manage, and it has had something of a difficult century. Indeed, by the 1990s, there was little interest in Puglian wines in general, and winemakers were neglecting their Primitivo vineyards and looking to other, more commercially viable varietals. However, the last decade has seen this grape come well and truly back into fashion, with new techniques and a heightened interest in native Italian grape varietals bringing Primitivo back into the spotlight. It is now widely loved for its intensity and ability to be paired with strongly flavored foods.