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Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $449.94
A good vintage - the problem was the yields,' says Jean-Louis. A tasting of principal component lieux-dits Péléat,...
12 FREE
DC
100
JS
98
Red
750ml
Bottle: $64.80
Not yet bottled, the 2017 Cornas has a rich, powerful, chewy style as well as notes of blackberries, blueberries,...
12 FREE
JD
93
WA
92
Red
Red
750ml
Bottle: $90.00
Deep ruby. Dark fruit preserves, olive, woodsmoke and a hint of incense on the powerfully scented nose. Intense,...
12 FREE
VM
92
Red
12 FREE
Red
750ml
Bottle: $33.60
100% Syrah sourced from Achaia, with 13-19 year old vines in sandy clay loam soil at 2,132 ft (650 m) altitude. It...
12 FREE
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $17.94 $18.80
12 bottles: $17.42
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $51.94
The 2020 Syrah Estate was made with a touch of whole cluster and matured in neutral oak. Medium ruby-purple in color,...
12 FREE
WA
95
WE
93
Red
750ml
Bottle: $148.95
3 bottles: $145.97
Ripe black cherries, wild blackberries, blackcurrants, nutmeg, licorice, mahogany, musk and some dried thyme on the...
12 FREE
JS
98
WA
96
Red
750ml
Bottle: $179.94
3 bottles: $176.34
Very deep and dark fruit in the nose, with violets, ink, blackberries, roasted meat, asphalt and spices. Wet earth,...
12 FREE
JS
99
WA
96
Red
750ml
Bottle: $145.20
3 bottles: $144.00
Very attractive aromas of meat, spice and blue fruits with cloves and black pepper. Medium-bodied with very fine...
12 FREE
JS
96
VM
95
Red
750ml
Bottle: $63.60
12 bottles: $59.28
12 FREE
Red
750ml
Bottle: $48.95
12 bottles: $47.97
91-93 Young and unevolved, the 2021 Cornas Patou is nevertheless promising and has the vintage's fresh, lively style...
12 FREE
JD
93
WS
92
Red
750ml
Bottle: $45.60
12 bottles: $42.18
93-95 I continue to love the wines from this terrific family estate. The 2022 Cornas Patou is ripe and concentrated,...
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JD
95
VM
94
Red
750ml
Bottle: $39.94
12 bottles: $39.14
Sandstone and shale soils. Vines planted in 2000 at 1200 feet. 100% whole cluster and aged in neutral oak. Received...
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $31.19
6 bottles: $30.57
Purple is our favorite color. You know you’re drinking the good stuff when your teeth develop that unmistaken hue....
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Red
375ml
Bottle: $48.94
12 bottles: $47.96
Inky ruby. Vibrant, spice-accented cherry and boysenberry scents are complicated by hints of black pepper, candied...
12 FREE
VM
95
DC
92
Red
750ml
Bottle: $83.94
In spite of the dark forest berry fruit this has so much floral and mineral freshness, it is uplifting! Concentrated...
12 FREE
JS
95
W&S
94
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $107.90
97-99 I was blown away by the 2018 Côte Rôtie Château D'Ampuis, which is certainly in the same league as the famed...
12 FREE
JD
99
JS
96
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $124.20 $138.00
95-97 Scheduled to be botted at the end of this October, the 2019 Côte Rôtie Chateau D'Ampuis is another beautiful,...
12 FREE
JD
97
WA
96

Ice Wine Mavrodaphne Syrah Tocai Friulano

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?

Known as Syrah in most countries around the world, and Shiraz in Australia and certain other regions of the New World, this grape varietal has proven over the centuries to be one of the most powerful and flavorful red wine grapes there is. It is now one of the planet's most widely grown grapes, and is a favorite with wineries as a result of its robustness and versatility. It isn't easy to identify many characteristics of this particular varietal, due to the fact that it is highly versatile and shows significant differences in flavor and character depending on the terroir it is grown in, and the climatic conditions of the region. However, Syrah is most widely associated with full bodied, strong and loud red wines, packed full of fruity and spicy flavors, held in a beautifully deep red liquid.

The Tocai Fruiliano grape varietal has been grown in and around the northern regions of Italy for centuries, and is still widely praised for its distinctive character and beautiful set of flavors and aromas. Despite the name, the Tocai Fruiliano varietal is not actually related to the famous Tokaji grapes of Hungary, or the Tokay d'Alsace grapes, but is actually the same species as Sauvignon Vert. Wines made from the Tocai Fruiliano grape are generally a pale straw yellow in color, and are recognizable by their aroma of wild flowers and orchard fruits such as pears. The flavor of the wines varies from vineyard to vineyard, and the Tocai Fruiliano grape is renowned for having a broad set of flavors, although citrus notes are usually detectable in most bottles.