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750ml
Bottle:
$11.31
$12.57
• 100% Loureiro from choice, south-facing parcels on granite in the Lima Valley.
• Hand-harvested.
• Fermented...
750ml
Bottle:
$27.94
12 bottles:
$27.38
Melissae is named after the nymphs of honey. The wine shows intense flowery aromatics reminiscent of nectar, making...
750ml
Bottle:
$14.89
$16.25
Crystaline citrus color. Delicate tangerine and lime zest in a mineral, elegant, low alcohol profile where a touch of...
750ml
Bottle:
$17.94
12 bottles:
$17.58
Bright pale yellow citrus hue. A wine with the backbone of granite minerality, were the aromas dominated by fruits...
![Aphros Loureiro [Amphora] 'Phaunus' 2022 750ml](https://www.saratogawine.com/files/images/cached_thumbs/4f/4fb59c52c8a45085a3451527ec5303d8.jpg){kind=small}
750ml
Bottle:
$23.94
12 bottles:
$23.46
This delicious wine is bright, lively and balanced. With flavors of citrus fruits, and apple aromas, this wine pairs...
![Aphros Palhete [Amphora] 'Phaunus' 2020 750ml](https://www.saratogawine.com/files/images/cached_thumbs/fc/fc9129046d0ff5547826b6070cf04bd0.jpg){kind=small}
750ml
Bottle:
$22.94
12 bottles:
$22.48
Loureiro and Vinhão. Harvested and destemmed manually before spontaneous fermentation with the skins in...
750ml
Bottle:
$11.69
$12.99
12 bottles:
$11.40
Lemon, kiwi fruit and sea breeze on the nose. Fresh and lemony with light body and a crisp finish. Drink now.
750ml
Bottle:
$15.94
12 bottles:
$15.62
Beautiful aromatics of soft white flowers and exotic citrus with some medium concentration of mandarin and clementine...
750ml
Bottle:
$29.20
6 bottles:
$28.00
This wine is rich, packed with fruit and openly textured. It has depth and layers of ripeness. Hints of apricots come...
750ml
Bottle:
$11.70
$13.00
Produced at Quinta do Ameal in the Lima Valley, this wine is crisp, ripe and full of lemon and lime flavors. Lively...
Loureiro Mavrodaphne Syrah Portugal
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?
Known as Syrah in most countries around the world, and Shiraz in Australia and certain other regions of the New World, this grape varietal has proven over the centuries to be one of the most powerful and flavorful red wine grapes there is. It is now one of the planet's most widely grown grapes, and is a favorite with wineries as a result of its robustness and versatility. It isn't easy to identify many characteristics of this particular varietal, due to the fact that it is highly versatile and shows significant differences in flavor and character depending on the terroir it is grown in, and the climatic conditions of the region. However, Syrah is most widely associated with full bodied, strong and loud red wines, packed full of fruity and spicy flavors, held in a beautifully deep red liquid.
Benefiting from both the hot, dry Iberian climate as well as brisk Atlantic winds, Portugal is a perfectly situated country for vineyard cultivation and wine production. With a wine making history which stretches back thousands of years, it comes as little surprise that wine plays an important role in the cultural identity and practices of the country. The Phoenicians, the Carthaginians, the Greeks and the Romans all had a hand in forming Portugal as an important center for wine production, and over the millennia, this resulted in each region of this beautiful part of Europe producing its own distinctive wines easily identifiable and separate from neighboring Spain's. Today, the varied terroir and climate across Portugal allows a great range of wines to be made each year, from the fresh and dry Vinho Verde wines to the famous and widely drunk fortified Port wines, and many in between.