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Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $8.99
Deep ruby-purple in color, this wine boasts exquisite aromas of blackberries, blueberries, plum and spice. It is well...
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $9.99
Red plum, currants and cedar aromas with a touch of earthy goodness. This wine is medium to full-bodied and...
White
750ml
Bottle: $18.00
12 bottles: $17.10
White
750ml
Bottle: $13.49
12 bottles: $13.22
The Chardonnay was naturally fermented and took a long time to complete fermentation, resulting in great texture and...
White
750ml
Bottle: $35.25
6 bottles: $34.54
Consisting of over half Chenin Blanc with 14% Semillon, 13% Roussanne, 9% Viognier, 6% Grenache Blanc and 4%...
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WA
91
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $39.69
12 bottles: $38.90
Aromas of currants, cedar and violets follow through to a medium body and fine tannins with a lovely, light velvety...
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VM
92
JS
92
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $19.17 $21.30
12 bottles: $17.52
Plenty of fruit on the nose with a nice reductive and peppery edge. Dark cherries and strawberries with spiced plums...
JS
93
WA
91
Red
750ml
Bottle: $16.66
12 bottles: $15.83
The 2022 Adelante Malbec is bold. The blue (blueberry) fruit is accented with minerality, earth, & spice. The wine...
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $12.94 $14.30
12 bottles: $12.35
This classic Malbec has dense flavors of dark plum, black cherry and chocolate, layered with toasted oak and a...
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $11.15 $11.70
12 bottles: $11.12
Food-friendly and downright yummy this is a complex wine with lots of layers and notes of earth, leather, red fruit...
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Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $9.10 $13.01
This entry-level Malbec is an authentic mountain wine that offers excellent value for money. Just 30% was oak-aged,...
DC
92
JS
91
Red
750ml
Bottle: $14.30
12 bottles: $12.35
Color: Red of good intensity. Nose: Intense aromas resemble ripe cherries and raspberries that combined with the...
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $15.44 $16.25
12 bottles: $12.35
Alamos Malbec captures the spirit and terroir of Argentina’s signature variety. Grown at high-level altitudes, our...
Red
750ml
Bottle: $18.00
12 bottles: $14.25
Hand selected from vineyards in the cool climate district of La Consulta, Alamos Selección is the brand’s premier...
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $19.94 $22.40
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $19.44 $21.60
12 bottles: $17.10
Beautiful, broad and plush, this structured but charming wine overflows with red fruits and baking spices, with a...
WE
93
DC
90
White
750ml
Bottle: $52.99
6 bottles: $51.94
As always, the nose is intense and exotic, sporting salted lemon and quince, oatmeal and a hint of white flowers. The...
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White
750ml
Bottle: $15.17
12 bottles: $14.87
Subdued notes of ripe pear suggest mellowness. The palate adds fitting, bright freshness and provides a very...
Red
750ml
Bottle: $18.80
12 bottles: $18.42
The wine has ripe, red fruit aromas and spicy notes, with round, soft tannins and a lively mouthfeel.
Red
750ml
Bottle: $29.94
6 bottles: $29.34
The 2020 Terroir Selection Malbec blends grapes from their vineyards in different subzones of Mendoza. This time, 25%...
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WA
92
JS
92

Malbec Mavrodaphne Merlot White Blend 750ml

The purple Malbec variety grapes which now grow all over the Old and New Worlds had their origins in France, where they are one of the few grape varieties allowed to be used in the highly esteemed blended wines of Bordeaux. However, it is perhaps the New World Malbec wines which have attracted the most attention in recent years, as they thrive in hot southern climates in ways they cannot in their native country, where the damp conditions leave them highly vulnerable to rot. Malbec grapes are renowned for their high tannin content, resulting in full-bodied red wines packed with ripe, plummy flavors and held in their characteristically dark, garnet colored liquid. In many countries, Malbec is still used primarily as a varietal for blending, as it adds a great level of richness and density to other, lighter and thinner varietals. However, single variety Malbec wines have been greatly on the rise in recent years, with some fantastic results and big, juicy flavors marking them out as a great wine for matching with a wide range of foods.

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?

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.