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750ml
Bottle:
$46.99
6 bottles:
$46.06
The Monastrell 2019 Estrecho was produced with grapes from vines planted on sandy soils that matured in 2,000-liter...
750ml
Bottle:
$12.86
$14.29
12 bottles:
$12.76
A spicy nose with red plums, berries and white pepper. This is firm, juicy and also a little tart, with crunchy red...
750ml
Bottle:
$76.94
Undergoing a four-week maceration followed by approximately nine months in French oak (50% new), Es is intoxicating:...
750ml
Bottle:
$133.60
Gianfranco Fino has rightfully entered the range of those winegrowers tied to traditions wishing to save old...
750ml
Bottle:
$19.90
12 bottles:
$18.91
Medium red with a bright purple hue. Aromas of dark, brambly, blueberry aromas are matched with dried herbs, earth...
750ml
Bottle:
$25.95
12 bottles:
$25.43
Mourvèdre from two high-elevation vineyards in the Sierra Foothills - Cedarville and Sumu Kaw. Hank Beckmeyer knows...
750ml
Bottle:
$27.95
12 bottles:
$27.39
The Cedarville is always light in color It shows lots of citrus in the nose, along with plum and granite soil. An...
750ml
Bottle:
$18.32
$19.28
12 bottles:
$14.00
Big, inky-black fruit, spice and white pepper; layered and rich in the mouth with jammy black cherries, truffles,...
750ml
Bottle:
$16.24
12 bottles:
$15.92
Deep ruby red with violet reflections. Intense fruity bouquet with notes of plum and cherry, hints of Mediterranean...
750ml
Bottle:
$16.94
6 bottles:
$16.60
A balanced, medium-bodied red, with light tannins and a subtle underpinning of fresh, loamy earth layered with...
750ml
Bottle:
$14.34
$15.59
12 bottles:
$14.05
Dense ruby red with a purplish rim, it is immediately intense on the nose with marked aromas of ripe and fleshy red...
750ml
Bottle:
$14.73
12 bottles:
$13.99
Dark, brooding and spicy, the 2019 Primitivo di Manduria lifts up with notes of crushed rocks, cardamom and black...
750ml
Bottle:
$16.90
$18.00
Raspberry coulis and fresh soil with grass popping through on the nose turns to an almost cake-like raspberry and...
Grenache Mourvedre Primitivo
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.
Mourvèdre is a fascinating and ancient grape varietal, thought to have been introduced to Spain by the ancient Phoenicians over two thousand years ago. Since then, it has found a home in many regions of France, and has gone on to be a key grape varietal in the New World, where it is often blended with Grenache and Syrah varietals to make a beautifully rounded and balanced red wine. The Mourvèdre grape itself is renowned for holding a complex set of flavours, which are often described as meaty or gamey, with plenty of bramble fruit notes. As such, they are often served with dark meats, and are enjoyed in many countries across the globe. The grapes are not the easiest to cultivate, as they require plenty of sunshine alongside well irrigated soil. However, their quality and unique attributes mean that wineries all over the globe continue to persevere with this special varietal.
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.