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750ml
Bottle:
$34.87
12 bottles:
$34.17
Blackberry and blueberry aromas with black licorice and dark violets that follow to a medium to full body with ultra...
750ml
Bottle:
$104.58
$116.20
Sweet berries and cherries on the nose with sweet tobacco, lead pencil and blackcurrants. It’s full-bodied and very...
750ml
Bottle:
$44.78
An extremely polished Bordeaux with silky tannins that are integrated and creamy-textured. Lots of blueberry and...
750ml
Bottle:
$25.60
12 bottles:
$23.18
Dried blackcurrants, cloves, charred wood, dried leaves and tobacco on the nose. Hot stones, too. It’s medium-to...
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$70.35
Aromas of blackberries and black olives with grapey undertones. Graphite as well. It’s tight and full-bodied, yet...
750ml
Bottle:
$79.90
Rich and layered red with black olive and walnut on the nose, as well as blackberry. Full-bodied and powerful with...
750ml
Bottle:
$270.99
$301.10
This still exudes the freshness and exuberance that the wine had during the primeur stage with its scents of...
750ml
Bottle:
$54.00
12 bottles:
$51.30
The Grand Vin 2018 Château Fleur Cardinale checks in as a mix of 74% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc, and the rest...
1.5Ltr
Bottle:
$89.95
6 bottles:
$88.15
A gorgeous wine that shines on all account, the 2018 Château Fombrauge sports a dense purple hue to go with loads of...
750ml
Bottle:
$37.94
$41.10
12 bottles:
$37.91
A gorgeous wine that shines on all account, the 2018 Château Fombrauge sports a dense purple hue to go with loads of...
750ml
Bottle:
$31.88
The 2018 Fonbadet has a refined, detailed bouquet of cedar and mint-tinged black fruit that gains intensity in the...
750ml
Bottle:
$23.93
12 bottles:
$23.45
The home vineyard for the Chanfreau family has produced this dense wine that shows some of the firm tannins of a...
750ml
Bottle:
$32.40
$36.00
12 bottles:
$27.99
The 2018 Château Fontenil is a beautiful wine that readers will be happy to have in their cellar. Coming from the...
750ml
Bottle:
$35.83
$38.70
12 bottles:
$35.63
750ml
Bottle:
$38.88
12 bottles:
$38.10
A linear yet juicy red with compressed, ripe tannins with lots of spices and ripe berries, as well as hazelnuts....
750ml
Bottle:
$94.80
$104.00
A rock star in the making, the 2018 Château Gazin is made from 93 %Merlot and 7% Cabernet Franc. Rich, powerful, and...
750ml
Bottle:
$67.95
$73.50
Black currant, dried-blueberry, oyster-shell, black-olive, black truffle, and bitter-chocolate aromas. It’s...
1.5Ltr
Bottle:
$109.85
$111.20
6 bottles:
$107.00
A youthful, unevolved 2018 with lots of up-front blue and black fruits as well as cedary herbs, violets, and scorched...
Barbera Mavrodaphne Red Bordeaux 2018
For centuries now, the beautiful red grapes of the Barbera varietal have been grown in Italy, where they are prized for their unusual high acid content and low tannins, brought about by their thin skins. The Barbera grape varietal thrives in warmer climates, and has had some success overseas in the new world, where its strongly aromatic flavors of intense hedgerow fruits make it a favorite with wineries and wine drinkers looking for a grape which offers plenty of interesting characteristics. Interestingly, the differences between young and aged wines made from this varietal are quite significant, with younger bottles holding a plethora of berry flavors, including blueberry and raspberry notes, and oak aged wines made from the Barbera grape being much loved for their ability to become extremely complex and spicy, and picking up vanilla flavors from the wood they are barreled in.
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?
There are few regions in the world with stricter regulations in regards to wine production and grape varietals than those found in Bordeaux, France. Here, in the home of the world's finest wines, the type and quality of grapes used is of utmost importance, and the legendary wineries which work on the banks of the Gironde river have mastered the careful art of juice blending to find the perfect balance for their produce. Whilst there are six 'official' Bordeaux grapes, the two key varietals for almost every fine Bordeaux wine are Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and with good reason. Whilst Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are renowned for their acidity and astringency, strong fruit and spice flavors and full body, Merlot grapes are notably rounded, soft, fleshy and lighter on tannin. The combination of these two varietals, along with a small percentage of (commonly) Petit Verdot or Cabernet Franc, is the perfect balancing act – the two grape varietals cancel out each others weaker points, and accentuate all that is good about the other.