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Red
750ml
Bottle: $90.00
Deep ruby. Dark fruit preserves, olive, woodsmoke and a hint of incense on the powerfully scented nose. Intense,...
12 FREE
VM
92
Red
750ml
Bottle: $588.00
6 bottles: $586.80
The 2011 Ermitage l’Ermite is a killer Hermitage that offers a huge bouquet of thick crème de cassis and black...
12 FREE
WA
98
JD
98
Red
750ml
Bottle: $343.95
6 bottles: $340.00
Similar to the '12 and showing the generosity and warmth of this site, the 2011 Ermitage le Meal is another sexy wine...
12 FREE
WA
98
WS
95
Red
750ml
Bottle: $669.00
6 bottles: $655.62
Even better and a prodigious effort that hits all my sweet spots, the 2011 Ermitage Le Pavillon comes from one of the...
12 FREE
WA
100
WS
96
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Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $51.57
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $188.27
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $65.76
The colour shows brilliant, deep red hues. The nose is powerful and complex, expressing blackberries, spices and...
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $174.95
Opaque ruby. Potent blackberry, cherry-cola, licorice and mineral scents pick up a peppery quality with aeration, as...
VM
92
W&S
90
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Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $125.80
#97 ENTHUSIAST 100 2017. The essence of the appellation smokes out from the glass, offering hints of cracked pepper,...
WE
94
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94
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $309.95
Rated 98-100 - As always, the 2019 Côte Rôtie La Landonne is all Syrah that was not destemmed and will spend four...
WA
99
WS
98
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $298.03
Rated 97-100 - The 2019 Côte Rôtie La Mouline is a bigger, richer Côte Rôtie. Co-fermented with a solid chuck of...
WA
98
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98
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $301.77
Rated 98-100 - I was blown away by the 2019 Côte Rôtie La Turque, which comes from a tiny parcel in the Côte Brune...
WA
97
WS
97
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Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $263.78
Rated 98-100 - I was blown away by the 2019 Côte Rôtie La Turque, which comes from a tiny parcel in the Côte Brune...
WA
97
WS
97
Case only
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $125.62
The wine is cherry red in the glass, with blueberry and blackcurrant on the nose, along with vanilla bean and char...
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $56.12
A racy, flamboyant wine, the 2011 Syrah Bramasole hits the palate with superb depth and intensity, while retaining...
VM
93
WA
90
Case only
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $258.62
The 2011 Ermitage l’Ermite is a killer Hermitage that offers a huge bouquet of thick crème de cassis and black...
WA
98
JD
98
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $196.95
Similar to the '12 and showing the generosity and warmth of this site, the 2011 Ermitage le Meal is another sexy wine...
WA
98
WS
95
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $288.65
Even better and a prodigious effort that hits all my sweet spots, the 2011 Ermitage Le Pavillon comes from one of the...
WA
100
WS
96
Case only
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $154.98
Offers a mouthfilling, brambly feel, with dark plum, steeped blackberry and mulled boysenberry fruit at the core,...
WS
95
WA
94
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $130.25

Grenache Mavrodaphne Syrah 2011

The Grenache grape holds the honor of being the most widely planted wine grape varietal on earth. It has a long and impressive history, and has been the backbone of the some of the planet’s most respected and famed wine regions, blended with Syrah in regions such as Chateauneuf du Pape, and in certain other Loire and Languedoc regions where it reigns supreme as a single varietal wine grape. In other key areas, such as Spain’s La Rioja (where it is known as Garnacha Tinta), it is blended with Tempranillo to make that country’s signature red wine, and is widely used as a blending grape in other old and new world countries, due to its unique character and jammy, fruit forward character.


For a long time, the Grenache grape was somewhat looked down upon as an ignoble varietal, incapable of producing wines of any particular interest. However, times are very much changing - in the right hands, Grenache grapes result in astonishingly intense and complex wines, full of fascinating features, and capable of achieving plenty of expression. For a while now, Grenache has been a major player in Australian wines. While not yet quite as extensively planted down under as Shiraz is, the Barossa Valley is bringing out some of the finest examples of this grape’s wines in recent years.

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?

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.