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750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$19.50
Deep violet colour, with the typical fruity note, almost “vinoso” that would get lost if aged in wooden barrels....
Pre-Arrival
Castello Dei Rampolla D'alceo IGT 2013
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$179.62
Readers should do whatever they can to get their hands on a few bottles of the 2013 d'Alceo. Seamless and voluptuous...
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Castello Dei Rampolla Toscana Sammarco IGT 2013
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$85.95
The 2013 Sammarco is a stunning wine. Super-expressive aromatics make a strong opening statement in a wine endowed...
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Fattoria Le Pupille Toscana Saffredi IGT 2013
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$83.95
This is another great Saffredi following the perfect 100-point 2012. I tasted it a year ago and thought it was...
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La Massa Toscana Carla 6 2013
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$89.95
A dense, concentrated style, with polished toast and vanilla-tinged oak enveloping black cherry and blackberry fruit....
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Marchesi Mazzei Toscana Siepi 2013
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$89.45
This is a wonderful follow-up to the superb 2012. Aromas are so intriguing with raspberry, blackberry and light...
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Morisfarms Avvoltore 2013
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$62.28
There are plenty of black cherry, plum, earth and spice flavors here, but also dense, assertive tannins. Not for...
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Orma Toscana IGT 2013
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$108.37
Aromas of blackberries, burnt oranges, licorice and spices follow through to a full body, super-integrated and fine...
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Ornellaia Bolgheri 2013
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$226.12
#84 Top 100, 2016. Amazing graphite and violet aromas with dark fruits. Medium to full body, ultra-velvety tannins...
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Querciabella Camartina 2013
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$92.95
The 2013 Camartina is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese, all from the Ruffoli sub-zone of Greve. It’s...
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Sassicaia (Tenuta San Guido) Bolgheri 2013
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$281.97
The Sassicaia 2013 is just beautiful, and it takes a leap forward in quality. There is even greater precision and...
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Sassicaia (Tenuta San Guido) Bolgheri 2013
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$301.75
The Sassicaia 2013 is just beautiful, and it takes a leap forward in quality. There is even greater precision and...
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$64.15
The Schola Sarmenti 2013 Primitivo Diciotto is the proverbial "big boy" wine from Puglia. If you don't get that from...
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Solaia Toscana 2013
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$359.21
Lots of blackberry and other dark-berry character in addition to stones and currants. Full, tight and focused with...
Pre-Arrival
Tenuta Di Biserno Toscana 2013
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$127.95
Biserno shows immediately its quality with taste of impeccable cherry, blackberry and dark prune flavors. It presents...
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$164.61
This is a very sleek and racy wine with lots of stone, white-pepper and fresh-rosemary character. Then it takes off...
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Tenuta Luce Toscana Della Vite 2013
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$179.37
#87 Top 100, 2016. The beauty and polish to this is very impressive on the nose and palate. Blackberry, blueberry,...
Italian Red Blends Sherry Primitivo 2013 750ml
Sherry is made in a unique way using the solera system, which blends fractional shares of young wine from oak barrels with older, more mature wines. Sherry has no vintage date because it is blended from a variety of years. Rare, old sherries can contain wine that dates back 25 to 50 years or more, the date the solera was begun. If a bottle has a date on it, it probably refers to the date the company was founded.
Most sherries begin with the Palomino grape, which enjoys a generally mild climate in and around the triad of towns known as the "Sherry Triangle" and grows in white, limestone and clay soils that look like beach sand. The Pedro Ximenez type of sweet sherry comes from the Pedro Ximenez grape.
Sherry is a "fortified" wine, which means that distilled, neutral spirits are used to fortify the sherry. The added liquor means that the final sherry will be 16 to 20 percent alcohol (higher than table wines) and that it will have a longer shelf life than table wines.
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.