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750ml
Bottle:
$18.08
12 bottles:
$17.72
Fresh and clean with green-apple and lemon character. Hints of dried apricots. Medium body. Some lime. Easy finish....
750ml
Bottle:
$20.14
$21.20
12 bottles:
$17.42
Dark cherry, plum and cassis flavors, with rich cinnamon, herb and coffee notes. Full flavored grilled or sauced...
750ml
Bottle:
$39.94
$43.09
Pretty date, caramel and hazelnut husk notes meld nicely, showing good cut through the ginger- and toasted...
750ml
Bottle:
$14.85
$15.94
The non-vintage Rainwater Medium Dry is aged for three years in oak casks and this was bottled in January 2011. It...
750ml
Bottle:
$15.17
12 bottles:
$14.87
A refreshing delight, Cantina Gabriele Malvasia carries a sweet and easy to drink composition. With sweet and spicy...
750ml
Bottle:
$18.66
12 bottles:
$18.29
COLOR
Pale straw yellow color
NOSE
The bouquet on the nose is delicately sweet, with floraland fruity notes of citrus...
750ml
Bottle:
$20.72
12 bottles:
$20.31
Bright straw yellow color. The bouquet is intense, aromatic, floral with hints of acacia, cypress and mint. On the...
375ml
Bottle:
$33.12
6 bottles:
$32.46
COLOR: Golden yellow with amber highlights.
NOSE: Nose of honey, apricot, citrus and dried figs.
FLAVOR: Balanced and...
750ml
Bottle:
$24.72
6 bottles:
$24.23
The 2020 Secca del Capo is sweetly scented with exotic florals, green melon and candied ginger. It’s soft and round...
700ml
Bottle:
$86.64
$91.20
12 bottles:
$80.94
Fukano Blonde—an all-new, limited expression from the famed distillery—is bottled to showcase the beauty of...
700ml
Bottle:
$93.48
$98.40
12 bottles:
$88.92
Texturally robust and aromatically refined, Fukano’s Sherry Cask whisky feels and tastes downright luxurious....
Japanese Whiskey Malvasia Mavrodaphne
Whisky might not be the first thing that springs to mind when we think of Japanese fine produce, but over the past one hundred years, this fascinating and multi-faceted country has diligently forged a unique whisky identity which is growing in popularity, and which is entirely its own.
The story of Japanese whisky begins in 1918, when Masataka Taketsuru was sent to Scotland to undertake a tour of single malt distilleries in the Highlands, and bring home a knowledge of whisky and distillation skills. He returned full of inspiration, helped no doubt by his new Scottish wife, and alongside his friend, Shinjiro Torii, set up what would become a successful whisky industry.
Today, the Japanese whisky industry is spread over a relatively small handful of distilleries, which continue to use Scottish techniques and recipes, but with a hefty dose of distinctly Japanese experimentalism. This is displayed most obviously in the barrelling techniques the Japanese use - to create a distinctly Oriental set of tasting notes, native Japanese oakwood casks are used for ageing, alongside casks taken from plum wine producers, which impart a beautiful set of floral flavors to the whisky.
While some distilleries produce some excellent single malts, the majority of Japanese whiskies are blended, which reveals a unique set of flavors and aromas ranging from honeysuckle and orange blossom, to toffee and acetone.
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?