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Red
750ml
Bottle: $51.30 $54.00
Pouring a jeweled ruby hue, the 2019 Nerello Mascalese Centennial Mountain Vineyard brings forward sun-kissed aromas...
12 FREE
JD
93
VM
92
Red
750ml
Bottle: $32.80
12 bottles: $32.14
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $25.20
12 bottles: $24.70
From two old vineyards, located in the municipality of Randazzo and Castiglione di Sicilia, on the northern slope of...
White
750ml
Bottle: $17.94
12 bottles: $17.58
Lemons, beeswax, white grapefruits, green apples and some flint on the nose. Crisp and tangy with vibrant green and...
JS
90
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $14.64 $15.41
12 bottles: $11.52
With an abundance of fruit aromas, the wine is produced from 100% Petite Syrah grapes from the vineyards of the...
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White
750ml
Bottle: $24.90 $26.80
12 bottles: $24.40
Restrained fruit and blanched almond aromas are followed by subtle dried herbs, Bosc pears and toasted brioche...
WE
89
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Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $9.84 $10.58
Aromas of cocoa and mocha, with flavors of boysenberry, blackberry and blueberry.
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $13.93 $15.48
12 bottles: $11.58
This wine is rich, concentrated with aromas of blackberry, cumin, dried herbs and florals. The palate offers black...
WE
91
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $17.93 $19.90
12 bottles: $17.39
A textbook semillon from Hunter Valley as always, with sliced lemons, green apples and lemon curd character with...
JS
93
DC
92
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $47.99 $51.60
Only a 30-minute drive southeast of Napa, Suisun Valley (which became an AVA in 1982) is still largely undiscovered....
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White
500ml
Bottle: $40.95 $46.80
This has the botrytis spice I like with almond paste and clove undertones as well as dried peaches and apricots....
WE
92
JS
92
White
500ml
Bottle: $48.30
6 bottles: $47.33
Colour: Lively pale lemon yellow. Nose: Very young floral with hints of Seville orange. Palate: Silky and fluid,...
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White
750ml
Bottle: $150.00
A prestigious micro-cuvée entirely dedicated to the legendary Semillon grape variety and made from the estate’s...
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $17.64 $19.60
12 bottles: $15.83
Red
750ml
Bottle: $45.20
6 bottles: $44.30
Intense ruby red in color, with garnet hints. On the nose, the wine expresses floral notes with delicate and intense...
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $15.94 $16.66
12 bottles: $15.83
Juicy mulberry, blackberry, raspberry, orange and herb notes here, with a medium body and powdery tannins. Fruity and...
JS
90
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $12.36 $13.01
12 bottles: $8.08
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $18.34
COLOR: Soft red. PERFUME: Fine and persistent with a strong scent of berries and a few hints of violet. TASTE: Dry,...
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $34.67 $35.99
Our Petite Sirah hails from Stone Tree Vineyard in the heart of the Wahluke Slope AVA and exemplifies the luscious...
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White
750ml
Bottle: $27.59
12 bottles: $27.04
Creamy lemon, star fruit, green apple and some nougat. This is fresh and bright on the palate, showing a creamy and...
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VM
94
JS
94

Mavrodaphne Mencia Petite Sirah Semillon

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?

Petite Sirah was first brought from France to America in the 1880s. It later went on to become one of the only grapes to make it through the devastating Phylloxera virus in the 1890s, both World Wars, and the Great Depression. During Prohibition, it was a main ingredient used to make sacramental wines. In fact, through the 1960s it was a major blending grape in a number of the finest wines produced in California.

By itself, a bottle of Petite Sirah usually has no problem making a quick impression on consumers. With a large amount of natural color and tannins, wines made with the grape commonly feature intensive sweet fruit characteristics like fresh raspberry or blackberry jam, black pepper spice, and plenty of backbone or structure.

There are a number of different styles available. Some concentrate on highlighting fresh, fruity flavors; others are bigger, more voluptuous; and it keeps going up the ladder until you reach the powerful, more machismo-style category.

Semillon was, at one point not so long ago, widely believed to be one of the most grown grape varietals in the world. Whilst today the numbers of Semillon grapes has dropped considerably, it remains a widely planted grape with vineyards all over Europe and the New World dedicated to making the most of this special and flavorful varietal. The grapes are recognizable by their golden color, and the fact that they can take on a pinkish hue in particularly warm climates. The wines the Semillon grape produces are notably varied, and are often very crisp and dry, or sweet and soft, full of a wide range of flavors Commonly, dry Semillon wines are particularly citrus in flavor, with a delicate and summery bouquet. The vine is hardy and vigorous, and notable for being easy to grow and produce high yields from.