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Red
750ml
Bottle: $18.08
12 bottles: $17.72
COLOR: Wine of very elegant red color. BOUQUET: Intense aroma, with fruity hints of ripe plums, cherry jam and notes...
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Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $10.99
A newcomer to the marketplace, this velvety, blended Irish whiskey offers sweet, malty flavors that incorporate baked...
WE
94
White
750ml
Bottle: $30.00
6 bottles: $28.80
9diDANTE’s journey through Dante’s Divine Comedy reaches the celestial spheres of Heaven, with an original recipe...
12 FREE
White
750ml
Bottle: $30.00
6 bottles: $28.80
As the first ever vermouth to be blended exclusively from 100% Arneis DOC wine, PURGATORIO continues to pledge...
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White
750ml
Bottle: $29.20
6 bottles: $28.00
Blended from equal parts Dolcetto Red and Cortese White Piedmont wines, we have developed this orginial recipe to...
12 FREE
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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...
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White
750ml
Bottle: $12.76 $13.43
12 bottles: $10.45
This vermouth leads with notes of citrus zest, followed by flavors of bay leaf, lemon grass, cucumber, lanolin,...
White
750ml
Bottle: $13.43
12 bottles: $10.45
Caramel in color, this vermouth leads with woodsy notes of balsam and clove and follow with warm flavors of walnut...
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Rapid Ship
White
750ml
Bottle: $24.94 $26.80
Copper-orange color. Knockout, endlessly complex perfume of orange blossom, cinnamon Red Hots, clove, ginger and...
VM
94
Red
750ml
Bottle: $17.92
12 bottles: $17.56
Red
750ml
Bottle: $31.94
12 bottles: $31.30
• Varietal Mencía from a few parcels, some younger and some up to 100 years old. • Spontaneous fermentation in...
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $18.94
12 bottles: $18.56
There is a note of dry hay and esparto grass in the 2022 Fusco, which made me think of some wines from Douro in...
WA
90
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $28.12 $29.60
6 bottles: $24.00
Landing on the more bitter end of the vermouth spectrum, almost feeling like a cross between sweet vermouth and...
WE
91
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $34.20 $36.00
The Tement wines make up the base wine for the Vermouth and the brandies are made by Manfred Tement's friend, Alois...
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $59.94 $64.08
Native to the northwestern corner of the Iberian Peninsula, mencía is known for its thick skins and dark fruit and...
12 FREE
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $11.31 $12.57
Our wine stands out because of its marked fruity character which brings out all the qualities and characteristics of...
White
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White
750ml
Bottle: $26.22 $27.60
12 bottles: $23.94
Barolo Chinato is a venerated category of Piedmontese spirit that stylistically sits between a vermouth and an amaro....
Red
750ml
Bottle: $36.00
12 bottles: $34.20
A new paraje bottling from Antoine Graillot, the 2021 Encinas La Rata is from just below El Rapolao, on clay-rich...
WA
94
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $25.89 $26.40
12 bottles: $25.37
The 2021 Encinas feels cleaner and less reductive than previous years but still has the earthy rusticity that seems...
WA
93

Irish Whiskey Mencia Primitivo Vermouth 750ml

The Irish are hailed as being the original producers of whiskey in the British Isles, and their innovations and techniques were so successful, that neighbouring Scotland were quickly influenced by them in the 15th century. Centuries later, it was the Irish who brought whiskey to America, and their style of whiskey has since become popular all over the world.

However, it wasn’t always plain sailing for the Irish whiskey industry - from being a dominant force in the 19th century, whose produce was considered far superior to that of Scotland, political upheaval and war saw the Irish whiskey almost disappear forever in the early 20th century. Today, the Irish whiskey manufacturers are back on their feet, and they are once again proving that the original is often the best. With new distilleries opening every year, it is safe to say that Irish whiskey is very much back.

Irish whiskey differs from Scotch whisky in a number of ways, and not least the spelling - the extra ‘e’ was said to be added in the 19th century as a way of distancing the Irish drink from what they saw as an inferior Scottish product. Irish whiskey was traditionally made in enormous stills, as a way of ensuring consistency from bottle to bottle, and maintaining the quality and complexity their reputation was founded on. The typical tasting notes of fine Irish whiskey include apple and vanilla, alongside spicy and sweet touches of nutmeg and fresh hay, making this a highly pleasant and smooth drink, made for relaxation and stimulating conversation about times past.

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.