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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
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $79.80
A very balanced wine, with powerful aromas but also a lot of finesse, revealing floral notes, red fruits, scents of...
12 FREE
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Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $408.21 $438.94
A good vintage - the problem was the yields,' says Jean-Louis. A tasting of principal component lieux-dits Péléat,...
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DC
100
JS
98
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $38.40
While slender in profile, concentrated blackberry and cassis flavors reverberate through this piercing Syrah. It's...
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WE
95
WA
92
Red
750ml
Bottle: $133.60
Gianfranco Fino has rightfully entered the range of those winegrowers tied to traditions wishing to save old...
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Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $298.83
Stony-mineral and flinty complexity here. This delivers a very taut, very compact and composed palate with tightly...
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JS
98
VM
94
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $209.95 $215.00
Blackberries, crushed violets, ample minerality, and some scorched earth notes all emerge from the 2016 Côte Rôtie...
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WS
96
JS
96
Red
750ml
Bottle: $186.20
6 bottles: $185.00
Named after the lieu-dit, which is located next to Viallière, the 2016 Côte Rôtie Nève sports a deep...
12 FREE
JD
95
WA
93
Red
750ml
Bottle: $485.25
Readers wanting to understand pure granite soils need to taste the inky blue/black-colored 2016 Ermitage L’Ermite,...
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JD
100
DC
99
Red
750ml
Bottle: $199.94
A barrel selection chosen from a couple of vineyard blocks, the 250-case production 2016 Marsican Shiraz exudes...
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WA
97
WS
94
Case only
Red
12 FREE
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 3
Bottle: $98.04
A vibrant, mid-dense purple crimson with a deep, black cherry-skin core. This wine is generous and rounded at first...
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $109.94 $113.99
Still evolving but already supremely rewarding, with its elegant florals and spices married to seamlessly integrated...
12 FREE
DC
95
JH
95
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Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
1.5Ltr - Case of 6
Bottle: $75.95
A light coating of mocha allows dark cherry and plum compote flavors to glide through center stage while gentle black...
WS
92
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $63.80
A bright, piercing style, with a beam of violet and iron racing forth, backed by bitter cherry and red currant coulis...
WS
94
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $130.90
Dark and winey, with a large core of steeped plum and blackberry fruit, infused liberally with sage, sweet tapenade,...
WS
97
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $73.95
From lieux-dits Mazard and La Côte, 80% destemmed. Sun-warmed herbs accompany sand, lavender and raspberry on the...
DC
97
WE
96
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $52.69
Readers should think of it as a French Vacqueyras on steroids. From 60-year-old vines in the Ebenezer district of...
WA
93
WS
92
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Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $126.39
Sale
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
1.5Ltr - 1 Bottle
Bottle: $417.95 $427.59
Bottled in January, the 2016 Coteaux du Languedoc looks even better than it did as a barrel sample. It's a huge,...
WA
98

Primitivo Syrah 2005

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.

Known as Syrah in most countries around the world, and Shiraz in Australia and certain other regions of the New World, this grape varietal has proven over the centuries to be one of the most powerful and flavorful red wine grapes there is. It is now one of the planet's most widely grown grapes, and is a favorite with wineries as a result of its robustness and versatility. It isn't easy to identify many characteristics of this particular varietal, due to the fact that it is highly versatile and shows significant differences in flavor and character depending on the terroir it is grown in, and the climatic conditions of the region. However, Syrah is most widely associated with full bodied, strong and loud red wines, packed full of fruity and spicy flavors, held in a beautifully deep red liquid.