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1.5Ltr - Case of 3
Bottle: $93.00
Very well structured, yet restrained and elegant with a cool and delicate personality for the warm vintage, this is a...
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94
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93
Red
1.5Ltr
Bottle: $89.11
6 bottles: $87.33
Bright and vivid with a linear palate of black cherries, plums and orange peel. It’s tight and focused with a...
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94
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93
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Red
1.5Ltr
Bottle: $35.52 $37.39
6 bottles: $33.60
If it wasn’t for the lively acidity and the violet note, you might mistake this for a sophisticated Volnay!...
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1.5Ltr - Case of 3
Bottle: $62.90
A very fresh attack with crunchy, energetic blueberries and redcurrants, delivering a plush, supple pastry-like...
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93
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93
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Red
1.5Ltr - Case of 3
Bottle: $65.78
Deep vivid ruby. Vibrant aromas of black raspberry, cherry cola and violet pick up allspice and licorice nuances with...
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93
WE
92
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Red
1.5Ltr - Case of 3
Bottle: $99.28
The 2018 Moulin-à-Vent Le Moulin reveals brooding aromas of dark cherries, raspberries and plums, followed by a...
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92
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1.5Ltr - Case of 3
Bottle: $113.28
Another highpoint in this year's range is the 2020 Moulin-à-Vent Le Moulin, a deep, concentrated wine evocative of...
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Red
1.5Ltr - Case of 6
Bottle: $63.47
The 2020 Côte de Brouilly Les Sept Vignes is aged in used barrels plus one or two foudres, fairly new, which gives a...
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1.5Ltr - Case of 6
Bottle: $80.87
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1.5Ltr - Case of 6
Bottle: $62.95
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1.5Ltr - Case of 6
Bottle: $141.56
This wine was produced from a single vineyard that's a monopole, guided since 2008 by Édouard Labruyère. Blackberry...
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Red
1.5Ltr - Case of 6
Bottle: $82.95
Foillard's 2020 Morgon Côte du Py bursts with aromas of peonies, orange rind, exotic spices and dark berries. Medium...
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1.5Ltr - Case of 6
Bottle: $80.17
The 2021 Morgon Côte du Py, matured in used barrels, has a more complex bouquet than the Corcelette: a melange of...
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1.5Ltr - Case of 6
Bottle: $586.32
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1.5Ltr - Case of 6
Bottle: $60.95
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Indigenous yeast fermentations in concrete vats at low temperatures, to preserve fresh fruit flavors and a delicate...
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Red
1.5Ltr - Case of 6
Bottle: $62.95
#18 in Top 100 Value Wines, 2021. What a deep, complex nose this has! It’s like looking into the abyss, yet it’s...
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1.5Ltr - Case of 6
Bottle: $68.90
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Bottle: $64.77
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Bottle: $98.95

Chasselas Gamay Mavrodaphne Mencia 1.5Ltr

The French wines of Beaujolais are widely regarded as some of the finest table wines in the world. This is due in part to the qualities of the Gamay grape, from which they are made. Gamay produces beautifully, juicy, rounded and gulpable red wines, usually drank young and full of their natural fruit character. However, it would be a mistake to say that Gamay is limited to easy-drinking, soft wines - it’s a highly flexible and versatile grape, capable of producing aged wines of serious complexity and structure, full of expression and fascinating characteristics.


The majority of Gamay wines from France are labeled under Beaujolais Villages or Beaujolais, and these are the standard table wines we’re used to seeing in French restaurants, at bistros, and at our local wine store. Usually great value for money, these are the light, slightly acidic examples of what the grape can do. Far more interesting are those Gamay wines from the 10 cru villages, just north of Beaujolais, where generations of expertise and a unique soil type made up of granitic schist result in far more unique, complicated wines. The best examples of Gamay feature intense aromatics, all black fruit and forest fare, and are worth cellaring for a few years.

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?