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750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$107.00
While this Champagne from Le Mesnil-sur-Oger is still young, showing a crisp, bone-dry character alongside tight...
750ml
Bottle:
$118.39
6 bottles:
$117.60
Aromatic pastry dough, creme de cassis, apple blossom and graphite notes are well-meshed in this elegant Champagne....
750ml
Bottle:
$112.08
6 bottles:
$108.00
From grand and premier cru vineyards, this Champagne comes from a good but not great vintage. That explains its...
750ml
Bottle:
$68.08
12 bottles:
$66.72
It was a must for Pommery not to miss out on one of the greatest vintages of champagne. One single term to...
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$169.95
An elegant rose Champagne that seamlessly knits juicy acidity and fine-grained texture with a subtle, smoke-laced...
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$169.95
A vivid Champagne, with a fine mouse acting as a creamy swath around well-honed acidity, which defines this wine and...
750ml - Case of 3
Bottle:
$1773.18
Pre-Arrival
Dom Perignon Champagne Brut 2009
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$238.66
TOP 100 FRENCH WINES OF 2017 #38. This is a DP that shows the ripeness of the 2009 vintage yet remains full of...
Pre-Arrival
Dom Perignon Champagne Brut Rose 2009
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$425.65
A lovely rose Champagne that waltzes gracefully across the palate, belying the concentrated range of macerated...
Pre-Arrival
Dom Perignon Champagne Brut Rose 2009
750ml - Case of 3
Bottle:
$370.82
A lovely rose Champagne that waltzes gracefully across the palate, belying the concentrated range of macerated...
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$697.50
This bottle of the 2009 Brut Grand Cru Millésime was disgorged in July 2018 after 96 months on the lees, and it's...
750ml - Case of 3
Bottle:
$382.22
The single grape variety of Empreinte de Terroir seeks only to emphasize the characteristics of the vineyard terroir,...
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$414.34
The 2009 Brut Blanc de Blancs d’Aÿ (magnum) is a deep, powerful Champagne. In magnum, the radiance of the year is...
Pre-Arrival
Jacques Selosse Champagne Millesime 2009
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$1951.02
Disgorged in January 2020, the 2009 Extra-Brut Premier Cru Millésime represents a new direction for Selosse's...
Pre-Arrival
Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut 2009
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$278.03
The 2009 Cristal is a wine of pure and total sensuality. There are no hard edges or angular contours. Instead, the...
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$182.13
Carignan Champagne Blend Primitivo 2009 750ml
Carignan is an ancient blue-skinned grape varietal, thought to be indigenous to the Aragon region of Spain. However, today it is most commonly associated with the fine wines of southern France, and has been grown in many countries around the world which have the warm and dry conditions it requires to thrive. Carignan is recognized as being quite a sensitive vine, highly susceptible to all kinds of rot and mildew, although producing excellent results when given the right conditions and handled correctly. Its high tannin levels and acidity make the Carignan grapes very astringent, and as such, they are often used as a blending grape to give body to other, lesser bodied varietals. Despite this, with careful treatment, Carignan can produce superb single varietal wines packed full of character and unique attributes.
The sparkling wines of Champagne have been revered by wine drinkers for hundreds of years, and even today they maintain their reputation for excellence of flavor and character, and are consistently associated with quality, decadence, and a cause for celebration. Their unique characteristics are partly due to the careful blending of a small number of selected grape varietals, most commonly Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. These grapes, blended in fairly equal quantities, give the wines of Champagne their wonderful flavors and aromas, with the Pinot Noir offering length and backbone, and the Chardonnay varietal giving its acidity and dry, biscuity nature. It isn't unusual to sometimes see Champagne labeled as 'blanc de blanc', meaning it is made using only Chardonnay varietal grapes, or 'blanc de noir', which is made solely with Pinot Noir.
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.