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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...
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $449.94
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
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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
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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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98
VM
94
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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...
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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
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Red
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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...
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95
JH
95
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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
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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...
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94
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $131.26
Dark and winey, with a large core of steeped plum and blackberry fruit, infused liberally with sage, sweet tapenade,...
WS
97
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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
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Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $125.90
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Red
1.5Ltr - 1 Bottle
Bottle: $417.95 $426.01
Bottled in January, the 2016 Coteaux du Languedoc looks even better than it did as a barrel sample. It's a huge,...
WA
98
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Red
1.5Ltr - 1 Bottle
Bottle: $442.95 $451.18
Bottled just a month before my visit, the 2016 La Clape la Porte du Ciel looks even more impressive than it did from...
WA
97
JS
91
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $202.09
Bottled just a month before my visit, the 2016 La Clape la Porte du Ciel looks even more impressive than it did from...
WA
97
JS
91
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $86.45

Mavrodaphne Syrah Verdejo

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.