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Red
375ml
Bottle: $22.29
Love the fruit on the center palate here with its brightness and vivid acidity. Citrus undertones and a fresh finish....
JS
93
DC
91
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $36.90 $39.20
12 bottles: $36.16
Love the fruit on the center palate here with its brightness and vivid acidity. Citrus undertones and a fresh finish....
JS
93
DC
91
Red
750ml
Bottle: $14.94
12 bottles: $14.64
Red
750ml
Bottle: $39.93
12 bottles: $39.13
Very pretty and finely formed with currant, cherry and raspberry character. Medium to full body, firm and silky...
12 FREE
JS
93
DC
91
Red
750ml
Bottle: $39.93
12 bottles: $39.13
Very pretty and finely formed with currant, cherry and raspberry character. Medium to full body, firm and silky...
12 FREE
JS
93
DC
91
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $28.40
Color: Dark ruby red with violet highlights that, after ageing, turn on garnet red. Bouquet: Intense, resolute but...
12 FREE
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $498.95 $516.00
While few people get excited about second wines, the reality today is that the top estates are making such a strict...
12 FREE
JD
94
WS
93
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $17.83 $19.80
An attractive nose with red fruit and an array of red flowers that lead to a palate that has red fruit at its core...
JS
91
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $422.28 $469.20
#37 Top 100 Cellar Selection 2019. This is a rich, perfumed wine, with dense tannins and intense layers of black plum...
12 FREE
WE
100
WA
98
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $1011.15 $1123.50
The incredible succulent power in Ausone puts a different perspective on other wines, as it so often does. The...
12 FREE
DC
99
WA
99
Sale
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $39.94 $41.88
12 bottles: $37.98
Readers will find a rich, flamboyant wine in the 2016 Barde-Haut. There is not a ton of subtlety here, but I am not...
VM
96
JD
95
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $22.80
12 bottles: $21.66
Superb intensity and clarity of fruit, ranging from blueberries to blackcurrants to oyster shells and lightly tarry...
JS
94
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $84.90 $93.20
Showing spectacularly well on the two occasions I was able to taste it, the 2016 Château Beau-Séjour Bécot is a...
12 FREE
WA
95
VM
95
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $19.90 $22.20
A juicy and pretty wine with berry and chocolate character, a medium body and a clean finish. Clearly better than the...
WE
92
JS
92
Red
750ml
Bottle: $89.95
Beautiful aromas of plums, flowers, truffles, earth, and hot stones. Full-bodied, yet the very fine and polished...
12 FREE
JS
96
DC
95
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $159.93 $169.50
Cassis, crushed rocks, graphite, and liquid violet notes all emerge from the 2016 Château Beauséjour, one of the...
12 FREE
JD
100
JS
98
Sale
Red
12 FREE
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $222.17 $231.20
Incredibly perfumed aromas of roses and violets, as well as blue fruit and lavender. Full-bodied and powerful, yet so...
12 FREE
JS
99
WA
97
Red
750ml
Bottle: $54.00
Very fresh with fine dry tannins that carry the concentrated and ripe palate very nicely. I love the floral and...
12 FREE
JS
95
WA
93
Red
750ml
Bottle: $67.20
12 bottles: $62.70
A dense and layered red with ripe plums and blueberries, as well as hints of wet earth and moss. Full-bodied, velvety...
12 FREE
JS
97
WA
94

Primitivo Red Bordeaux Other Italian Reds

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.

There are few regions in the world with stricter regulations in regards to wine production and grape varietals than those found in Bordeaux, France. Here, in the home of the world's finest wines, the type and quality of grapes used is of utmost importance, and the legendary wineries which work on the banks of the Gironde river have mastered the careful art of juice blending to find the perfect balance for their produce. Whilst there are six 'official' Bordeaux grapes, the two key varietals for almost every fine Bordeaux wine are Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and with good reason. Whilst Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are renowned for their acidity and astringency, strong fruit and spice flavors and full body, Merlot grapes are notably rounded, soft, fleshy and lighter on tannin. The combination of these two varietals, along with a small percentage of (commonly) Petit Verdot or Cabernet Franc, is the perfect balancing act – the two grape varietals cancel out each others weaker points, and accentuate all that is good about the other.