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750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$102.57
The 2009 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape had just been bottled at the time of the tasting but you...
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Chateau Des Tours Vacqueyras 2009
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$291.82
(80% grenache and 20% syrah): Deep ruby. Extremely primary, pungent aromas of dark berry skin, cherry, licorice and...
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Clos Des Papes Chateauneuf Du Pape Rouge 2009
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$107.82
Taking on some lovely forest floor scents, with polished wood and a touch of brown sugar to the strawberry fruit....
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$79.09
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$69.10
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$130.31
This bottle of the 2009 Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Vieilles Vignes came across as being a bit over the top for my...
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$676.96
A generous wine with a real potpourri of flavors - blackberry, raspberry, cherry, and strawberry swirl with cinnamon,...
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$113.14
This is crammed with fruit, spice and structure, as braised fig, plum skin, cassis and anise notes wrestle with...
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$106.58
This is crammed with fruit, spice and structure, as braised fig, plum skin, cassis and anise notes wrestle with...
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$81.27
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$119.98
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$154.95
Aged all in demi-muid, the tiny production 2009 Roger Sabon Châteauneuf-du-Pape Le Secret des Sabon is up there with...
1.5Ltr - Case of 6
Bottle:
$66.27
The least expensive offering, the dense ruby/plum/purple-colored 2009 Chateauneuf du Pape Les Olivets (80% Grenache,...
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M. Chapoutier Chateauneuf Du Pape Barbe Rac 2009
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$112.19
Even better is the 507-case cuvee of 2009 Chateauneuf du Pape Barbe Rac. One of the wines of the vintage, this dark...
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$68.52
Cortese Listan Negro Mavrodaphne Red Rhone Blend 2009
The Cortese white wine grape varietal has been grown in and around south Piedmont, Italy, for at least five hundred years. Its delicate nature and moderate acidity have made it a favorite with people around the world, and it is most commonly served alongside the excellent seafood and shellfish dishes of the part of Italy it is traditionally grown in. Cortese grapes are easily identifiable by their lime and greengage flavors, and their generally delicate and medium bodied character. Cortese wines are also notable for their freshness and crispness, again, making them an ideal match for seafood. Whilst colder years often produce harsher, more acidic Cortese wines, practices such as allowing malolactic fermentation can solve any such problems and still produce delicious white wines made from this varietal.
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?