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750ml
Bottle:
$45.82
12 bottles:
$44.90
The 2021 Grenache Bessan Vineyard is one of the more austere selections in this range. Fruit is very much pushed into...
750ml
Bottle:
$28.93
12 bottles:
$28.35
The Santa Barbara County Grenache was inspired by Fonsalette from Chateau Rayas. The wine represents two very...
750ml
Bottle:
$41.87
12 bottles:
$41.03
The 2021 Grenache Santa Barbara Highlands Vineyard is one of the more ethereal and aromatic wines in this range....
750ml
Bottle:
$44.93
12 bottles:
$44.03
Fermented with 38% whole clusters, the 2020 Grenache Thompson Vineyard is more meaty and almost nutty, with ripe,...
![Aeris [By Rhys] Bianco 'Centennial Mountain' 2018 750ml](https://www.saratogawine.com/files/images/cached_thumbs/4c/4c678277dba04f7e857955ace5d3e062.jpg){kind=small}
750ml
Bottle:
$36.48
$38.40
Beautiful lemon, tangerine, honey, green herbs, and white flower notes emerge from the 2018 Carricante Bianco...
![Aeris [By Rhys] Carricante 'Centennial Mountain' 2018 750ml](https://www.saratogawine.com/files/images/cached_thumbs/d4/d4180ece6a416f3caebb31584f0eeba0.jpg)
750ml
Bottle:
$48.94
$54.00
The 2018 Carricante Centennial Mountain Vineyard is exotic, translucent and full of character. Lemon confit, orchard...
750ml
Bottle:
$51.94
A sleek, harmonious red, with a rich undertow of sweet smoke, fig jam and mocha notes, plus generous flavors of...
750ml
Bottle:
$26.88
$29.59
An elegant red, with a dark fruit core of boysenberry coulis, black plum reduction and dried fig buoyed by fresh,...
750ml
Bottle:
$11.70
$13.00
12 bottles:
$11.12
100% Garnacha sourced from three villages within Sierra Santa Cruz, Aragon. Hand-harvested partially destemmed but...
750ml
Bottle:
$344.95
$347.20
The single-vineyard 2019 Quiñón de Valmira is made with Garnacha (and 10% other traditional varieties) grown at 616...
750ml
Bottle:
$22.40
12 bottles:
$21.95
Color: Yellow straw colored.
Nose: Floral with notes of grapefruit.
Taste: Excellent sapidity.
750ml
Bottle:
$76.08
6 bottles:
$74.56
This old-vine Grenache delivers aromas of strawberry and rose jam that is hard to resist. Red licorice, green herbs...
750ml
Bottle:
$26.93
$27.60
12 bottles:
$26.39
The 2019 Pasos de San Martín was produced with Garnacha from the cooler zone of San Martín de Unx in Navarra where...
750ml
Bottle:
$15.94
$16.66
12 bottles:
$15.83
The 2022 Camino de Navaherreros is pale, light and primary. It was produced with Garnacha and 10% Tempranillo that...
750ml
Bottle:
$46.84
12 bottles:
$45.90
There is more complete ripeness in the 2021 Arroyo del Tórtolas, which shows a darker hue than the 2020 I tasted...
750ml
Bottle:
$61.84
12 bottles:
$60.60
The 2021 Garnacha de Viña Bonita is pure Garnacha from a plot of very old vines planted in 1929 on very shallow and...
750ml
Bottle:
$24.94
12 bottles:
$24.44
The 2022 Camino de Navaherreros is pale, light and primary. It was produced with Garnacha and 10% Tempranillo that...
750ml
Bottle:
$26.84
$28.20
12 bottles:
$26.30
This young bottling will have a long cellar life, thanks perhaps to the old-vine attributes. Aromas of amaro-like...
750ml
Bottle:
$29.99
12 bottles:
$29.39
The top wine, made in tiny quantities, the 2015 Brega comes from the oldest vineyards of the estate (both planted...
Carricante Grenache Mavrodaphne
The purple skinned grapes of the Grenache varietal have quickly become one of the most widely planted red wine grapes in the world, flourishing in several countries which have the correct conditions in which they can grow to ripeness. They thrive anywhere with a dry, hot climate, such as that found in central Spain and other such arid areas, and produce delightfully light bodied wines full of spicy flavors and notes of dark berries. Their robustness and relative vigor has led them being a favorite grape varietal for wineries all over the world, and whilst it isn't uncommon to see bottles made from this varietal alone, they are also regularly used as a blending grape due to their high sugar content and ability to produce wines containing a relatively high level of alcohol.
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?