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750ml
Bottle:
$51.38
$54.08
6 bottles:
$42.00
An impressive mix of savory and aromatic aromas is abundant on the nose. Baked white cherries, golden peach, raisins,...
750ml
Bottle:
$108.08
3 bottles:
$90.00
Big flavors of apple and pear cider, clearly holding their character through the influence of the cask, here bringing...
750ml
Bottle:
$44.92
$47.28
12 bottles:
$38.76
Aromas of fresh pressed cider are supported with a core of earthiness. Medium rich in the mouth, it pleasantly coats...
750ml
Bottle:
$79.94
6 bottles:
$78.34
This eight-year-old Calvados « Finition en Fûts de Porto » (Porto cask finish) stayed several months in small...
750ml
Bottle:
$35.94
12 bottles:
$35.22
An average of seven years old, Manoir de Montreuil Réserve includes some brandies up to 20 years old in the blend....
750ml
Bottle:
$35.94
The apples are a mixture of the four categories: sweet, bittersweet, acidic and bitter composed of numerous include...
700ml
Bottle:
$62.12
$65.39
COQUEREL XO is one of the House's great blends. Powerful and complex, it offers a perfect balance between elegant...
750ml
Bottle:
$33.63
$35.40
6 bottles:
$27.60
A blend of young Calvados, distilled with extreme care in a copper column still. Aged more than 2 years in oak casks....
750ml
Bottle:
$44.95
$48.00
6 bottles:
$44.05
A blend of young Calvados, distilled with extreme care in a copper column still. Aged more than 3 years in oak casks....
750ml
Bottle:
$49.89
$52.80
12 bottles:
$48.89
Calvados made from a majority of pears can have a wild, volatile edge, that I find here in this six-year-old bottling...
750ml
Bottle:
$40.94
$43.20
12 bottles:
$40.12
This three-year-old bottling from AOC Domfrontais is made from 70% pears and hearkens back to old-school Calvados in...
750ml
Bottle:
$33.94
$34.80
12 bottles:
$33.26
It is distinguished by intense aromas of fresh apples. Its color is clear with pale yellow undertones. It is ideal to...
Calvados Mavrodaphne White Rhone Blend France Normandy
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?
The Rhone region of France has been producing superb quality white blended wines for centuries, and is a region highly respected and esteemed around the world, with plenty of New World countries keen to emulate the styles and techniques displayed by the historic wineries and skilled vintners of the area. The secret to the Rhone's success when it comes to blended white wines is the careful and expert selection of certain grape varietals, which each lend special features to the blended wine and bring balance and harmony to the bottle. Most commonly, blended white Rhone wines feature no more than two grapes of either the Viognier, Rousanne, Marsanne or Grenache Blanc varietals, and are renowned for their exceptional flavors and highly aromatic, floral character.
Year in, year out, France enjoys its prestigious reputation as the producer of the finest wines in the world. With a wine making history which spans several thousand years and owes its expertise to the Romans, it comes as little surprise that this most highly esteemed of the Old World wine countries continues to impress and enchant both novices and experts to this day. Despite the rise in quality of wines from neighboring European countries, not to mention the New World, the French wine industry continues to boom, with up to eight billion bottles being produced in recent years. However, France prides itself on always putting quality before quantity, and the wide range in fine produce is a testament to the dedication and knowledge of the wineries across the country. Indeed, from rich and complex reds to light and aromatic white wines, French wines are as varied and interesting as they are enjoyable to drink, making this country a firm favorite for wine lovers across the globe.