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375ml
Bottle:
$42.04
12 bottles:
$41.20
750ml
Bottle:
$9.94
12 bottles:
$8.94
Notes of ripe plums, cherry jam and tobacco characterize the bouquet of this pure varietal Primitivo from the Apulia...
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...
375ml
Bottle:
$33.60
Among the greatest sweet wines in the world. Let's get that straight. Only equalled by Germany. There is density and...
375ml
Bottle:
$11.64
$13.00
The custodian of the oldest vines in Soave, a great many pre-phylloxera centurions, while the majority are circa...
750ml
Bottle:
$16.89
$18.00
The custodian of the oldest vines in Soave, a great many pre-phylloxera centurions, while the majority are circa...
750ml
Bottle:
$34.99
12 bottles:
$34.30
Exceptional Soave from a producer firmly entrenched in the regional firmament. Perhaps this doesn’t quite equal the...
750ml
Bottle:
$35.90
12 bottles:
$35.18
The oldest vines in all of Soave: pre-phylloxera centurions, many nearly 140-years-old. The vinosity, sap, mineral...
750ml
Bottle:
$36.00
12 bottles:
$35.28
The 2020 may have been considerably more concentrated than this vintage, and yet there is something more mellifluous,...
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$23.42
A full bodied, round wine that leads with aromas of ripe yellow fruits and lemon curd with notes of pleasantly bitter...
750ml
Bottle:
$24.90
All tank fermented. A straight-shooting, mid-weighted force of mineral, quince paste, almond husk and Meyer lemon....
750ml
Bottle:
$21.89
Stony, flinty, smoky aromas, with sparks of gunflint and green apple. There are some stone fruit characters too,...
375ml
Bottle:
$87.94
$97.79
Amazing depth of colour and outstanding red berry flavours, particularly strawberry, lend this red Icewine to pair...
Garganega Ice Wine Muller Thurgau Primitivo
Italy is a fine country for white grape varietals, and white wines have been produced in this ancient country for thousands of years. One of the more popular varietals in the modern age is Garganega, which is currently the 5th most planted white grape across Italy. This grape is most closely associated with the Veneto region of Italy, although it is also grown in Sicily, where it is known as Grecanico Dorato. Garganega is a rigorous, hardy grape, which can grow in huge yields - explaining its popularity in the past. Today, winemakers must be careful to keep yields as low as possible, as this a varietal which can easily lose its distinctive characteristics and fine qualities when grown in bulk.
We know Garganega most commonly from the Soave wines which have been consistently popular over the past few decades. Indeed, the Soave Classico wines which still sell in large quantities across the globe are made from 70%-100% Garganega varietal grapes, and these wines showcase the varietal’s fresh and delicate qualities. The most common flavors present in Garganega wines are delicate, citrus notes, balanced by a hint of almond, and the best examples have remarkable balance and length, with wonderful aromatic notes.
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.