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Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $47.16 $52.40
Colour: Lively, deep ruby-red; nature's gift. Perfume: Complex scent of ripe red fruit (mainly black cherry), spices,...
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White
750ml
Bottle: $17.64 $19.60
12 bottles: $15.83
A clean, simple Gavi with sliced apples and hints of stones and white almonds. Crisp, dry and light on the palate...
WE
88
JS
88
Red
750ml
Bottle: $29.94
12 bottles: $29.34
• 100% Carignan. • Practicing Organic. • Poor Ranch Vyd (mult-generational family owned on benchland outside...
White
750ml
Bottle: $62.85
12 bottles: $61.59
Toasted sesame, date, walnut bread and cocoa notes mingle here, giving this a solid bass line, while a racy ginger...
12 FREE
WS
92
WA
91
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $39.94 $43.09
Pretty and racy, offering streaks of singed almond, dried orange peel, tangerine and peach, with a tangy salted...
WS
91
WA
90
White
750ml
Bottle: $40.91
6 bottles: $40.09
COLOR: Pale straw yellow with green reflections. NOSE: Rich and intense bouquet on the nose, with complex fragrances...
12 FREE
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $13.90 $15.08
12 bottles: $13.59
A complexity of honeydew melon, apple, pear and acacia with a salty mineral crunch, racy acidity and an almond...
DC
91
White
750ml
Bottle: $63.12
3 bottles: $62.40
12 FREE
Red
750ml
Bottle: $29.94
6 bottles: $29.34
Colour: Deep, almost solid ruby red. Nose: Intense fruity notes of blackberry, blueberry, vanilla, myrtle, leather...
12 FREE
Red
750ml
Bottle: $44.80
6 bottles: $44.00
12 FREE
Case only
White
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $18.80
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $18.93 $20.40
12 bottles: $18.55
100% Cortese from Ulivi's estate vines in and around Gavi. As always, the fruit was destemmed and spontaneously...
White
750ml
Bottle: $12.41
12 bottles: $12.16
COLOR: Pale yellow with green reflections. NOSE: Fresh nose with grapefruit notes and underlying minerality. FLAVOR:...
White
750ml
Bottle: $15.65
12 bottles: $15.34
Light and clear with a heavenly bouquet reminiscent of almond trees in blossom. Dry and harmonious with a final...
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $16.94 $18.40
The Cortese grape always makes for etched and sharp white wines with a strong salty mineral component. That's exactly...
WA
88
WS
88
Red
750ml
Bottle: $21.94
12 bottles: $21.50
Eye: Limpid and garnet-coloured, darkened by purple tints. The coloured legs run slowly and cling to the glass. Nose:...
12 FREE
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $18.13
Big raspberry and plum aromas on the nose as well as a hint of eucalyptus and liquorice. The wine is rich and mouth...
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $16.85
Roasted coffee and liquorice on the nose with some blackberry notes and a light smokiness showing the age of the...
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $13.93
12 bottles: $13.65
All old vine Carignan, the 2019 Côtes Catalanes Tessellae from Jean-Marc Lafage offers a beautifully pure nose of...
JD
92
White
750ml
Bottle: $18.79
12 bottles: $17.10
Colour: Straw-yellow with typical greenish hues. Nose: Wide, delightful, wildflower, almonds scent, white and yellow...

Carignan Cortese Mavrodaphne Sercial

Carignan is an ancient blue-skinned grape varietal, thought to be indigenous to the Aragon region of Spain. However, today it is most commonly associated with the fine wines of southern France, and has been grown in many countries around the world which have the warm and dry conditions it requires to thrive. Carignan is recognized as being quite a sensitive vine, highly susceptible to all kinds of rot and mildew, although producing excellent results when given the right conditions and handled correctly. Its high tannin levels and acidity make the Carignan grapes very astringent, and as such, they are often used as a blending grape to give body to other, lesser bodied varietals. Despite this, with careful treatment, Carignan can produce superb single varietal wines packed full of character and unique attributes.

The Cortese white wine grape varietal has been grown in and around south Piedmont, Italy, for at least five hundred years. Its delicate nature and moderate acidity have made it a favorite with people around the world, and it is most commonly served alongside the excellent seafood and shellfish dishes of the part of Italy it is traditionally grown in. Cortese grapes are easily identifiable by their lime and greengage flavors, and their generally delicate and medium bodied character. Cortese wines are also notable for their freshness and crispness, again, making them an ideal match for seafood. Whilst colder years often produce harsher, more acidic Cortese wines, practices such as allowing malolactic fermentation can solve any such problems and still produce delicious white wines made from this varietal.

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?