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750ml
Bottle:
$17.59
12 bottles:
$17.24
750ml
Bottle:
$16.71
$17.59
12 bottles:
$12.35
This fun & light sparkling Unicorn Bubbles offers delicate flavors of fresh green apple and citrus with lively...
1.5Ltr
Bottle:
$15.99
Deep ruby-purple in color, this wine boasts exquisite aromas of blackberries, blueberries, plum and spice. It is well...
750ml
Bottle:
$8.99
Deep ruby-purple in color, this wine boasts exquisite aromas of blackberries, blueberries, plum and spice. It is well...
187ml
Bottle:
$9.99
Aromas of fresh peaches leap from the glass along with hints of ginger and lilac. Once sipped, a shower of foamy...
750ml
Bottle:
$9.53
$10.25
Aromas of fresh peaches leap from the glass along with hints of ginger and lilac. Once sipped, a shower of foamy...
187ml
Bottle:
$9.99
Vivacious and aromatic, this delicate Italian pale pink sparkler Is perfect for enjoying anytime. Notes of...
750ml
Bottle:
$9.99
Vivacious and aromatic, this delicate Italian pale pink sparkler Is perfect for enjoying anytime. Notes of...
750ml
Bottle:
$67.50
The 2019 Gracias Madre, 100% Grenache Noir, is fabulous. Rich, creamy and super-expressive, the 2019 offers notable...
750ml
Bottle:
$79.92
12 bottles:
$78.32
The NV Brut Le Caractère M is 95% Chardonnay and 5% Pinot Noir based on 2013, with a perpetual reserve dating back...
1.5Ltr
Bottle:
$135.94
3 bottles:
$133.22
The NV Brut Le Brut is another absolutely compelling wine in this range. Le Brut is 90% Chardonnay and 10% Pinot...
375ml
Bottle:
$26.84
12 bottles:
$26.30
The NV Brut Le Brut is another absolutely compelling wine in this range. Le Brut is 90% Chardonnay and 10% Pinot...
750ml
Bottle:
$42.90
$46.00
The NV Brut Le Brut is another absolutely compelling wine in this range. Le Brut is 90% Chardonnay and 10% Pinot...
375ml
Bottle:
$40.00
12 bottles:
$39.20
The NV Brut Rosé is positively stellar. The blend of 80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir (including 5% still Pinot)...
750ml
Bottle:
$49.93
$52.00
12 bottles:
$49.40
The NV Brut Rosé is positively stellar. The blend of 80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir (including 5% still Pinot)...
750ml
Bottle:
$49.93
$54.00
Light, green-tinged yellow. Lively aromas of mineral-accented citrus and orchard fruits are complicated by suave...
375ml
Bottle:
$27.95
12 bottles:
$27.39
The NV Cuvée Le Demi-Sec is a very pretty, attractive Champagne. Even with 32 grams of residual sugar, the Demi-Sec...
750ml
Bottle:
$43.93
12 bottles:
$41.80
The NV Cuvée Le Demi-Sec is a very pretty, attractive Champagne. Even with 32 grams of residual sugar, the Demi-Sec...
![A. Margaine Champagne W131 Les Grands Arbres Extra Brut [Sans Soufre] 2020 750ml](https://www.saratogawine.com/files/images/cached_thumbs/0a/0ad1ff4dc540cce781148fd5a95bd194.jpg)
750ml
Bottle:
$76.00
$80.00
Champagne Blend Malbec Mavrodaphne Rkatsiteli
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.
The purple Malbec variety grapes which now grow all over the Old and New Worlds had their origins in France, where they are one of the few grape varieties allowed to be used in the highly esteemed blended wines of Bordeaux. However, it is perhaps the New World Malbec wines which have attracted the most attention in recent years, as they thrive in hot southern climates in ways they cannot in their native country, where the damp conditions leave them highly vulnerable to rot. Malbec grapes are renowned for their high tannin content, resulting in full-bodied red wines packed with ripe, plummy flavors and held in their characteristically dark, garnet colored liquid. In many countries, Malbec is still used primarily as a varietal for blending, as it adds a great level of richness and density to other, lighter and thinner varietals. However, single variety Malbec wines have been greatly on the rise in recent years, with some fantastic results and big, juicy flavors marking them out as a great wine for matching with a wide range of foods.
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?