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750ml
Bottle:
$59.95
6 bottles:
$58.75
The 2018 Sk’windjiesvlei is simply pure Tinta Barocca aged in two 500-liter barrels. Deep purple in color, it has a...
750ml
Bottle:
$12.57
12 bottles:
$12.32
Colour: Intense bright red colour with violet reflections.
Nose: Flavours of prune, tobacco and vanilla.
Taste: Dry,...
750ml
Bottle:
$28.00
6 bottles:
$27.44
This is a highly versatile wine both in terms of its approachable drinking style and its affordable price tag. The...
750ml
Bottle:
$15.37
$17.08
The wines from Alois Lageder’s Terra Alpina project are part of the winery’s collaboration with growers in...
750ml
Bottle:
$15.17
12 bottles:
$14.87
A pale yellow with a fresh and floral nose reminiscent of elderflower; notes of gooseberries. The attack is supple....
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$25.28
A pure and delicate full fruited Pinot, with a lot of flexibility, balanced out with a dry touch. Pinot Blanc is a...
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$25.28
A pure and delicate full fruited Pinot, with a lot of flexibility, balanced out with a dry touch. Pinot Blanc is a...
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$23.47
A pure and delicate full fruited Pinot, with a lot of flexibility, balanced out with a dry touch. Pinot Blanc is a...
750ml
Bottle:
$22.95
12 bottles:
$22.49
The 2022 Nero d'Avola is dark and woodsy in the glass, with dried blueberries and exotic spices lifted by sage hints....
750ml
Bottle:
$15.41
12 bottles:
$13.99
Classic Weissburgunder in a bright, firm style, no oak, terrific acidity and fresh apples all over. A splendid...
750ml
Bottle:
$11.94
$13.01
An excellent deep, spicy, intriguing red wine from Sicily, the 2023 Nero d’Avolo is a tank-fermented and aged, dark...
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$15.61
Crushed stone and exotic spices lift up from the 2020 Nero d'Avola Naturalmente. It takes its time opening up in the...
750ml
Bottle:
$15.00
12 bottles:
$14.70
Green-yellow color with floral aromas (white flowers, citrus blossom), nice acidity but not too much tension.
750ml
Bottle:
$13.62
$15.13
The 2022 Nero d'Avola mixes sweet herbal tones with crushed black cherries and wet stone to form an inviting bouquet....
750ml
Bottle:
$18.00
12 bottles:
$17.64
Nero d’Avola, guyot, planted in 2011, harvested in late September at 42 hl/ha. Destemmed and crushed, with...
750ml
Bottle:
$16.63
$18.48
12 bottles:
$13.59
Umami notes of soy sauce and black olives, a bit of mossy underbrush and berries swirl together on the nose of the...
Mavrodaphne Nero D'avola Pinot Blanc Tinta Barocca Wine
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?
Italy’s largest island, Sicily, has a wine producing history that can put most other European regions to shame. It was producing quality wines before the days of the Roman empire, and even the Ancient Greeks were not the first to cultivate vines on the island. For as long as anyone knows, the key grape varietal of Sicily has been Nero d’Avola, the beautiful, deep blue skinned grape which produces the region’s characterful, powerful red wines. While in the past, Nero d’Avola was mainly used as a blending grape, due to its deep color and intensely full body, it is today being increasingly celebrated as a single varietal wine grape, and is perfect for those who like their wines boisterous, loud and strong.
Nero d’Avola is grown pretty much everywhere on Sicily, as demand for wines made from this grape have never been higher. Despite its power and body, it is quite a versatile grape - it can be aged in oak barrels, which produces a dense and dark wine which puts its intense characteristics to good use, but it is also often drunk quite young, which allows its jammy, plummy character to come forward. It is also used to make rose wines in some appellations of Sicily, demonstrating a softer side to this otherwise heavy, deeply flavorful grape.
Pinot Blanc is a popular white grape varietal most commonly associated with the beautiful French region of Alsace, but which is also grown across Central Europe and Italy. In Germany and Austria it is known as Weisseburgunder, in Italy it is called Pinot Bianco, and is one of the key varietals in the alpine regions of Alto Adige. Pinot Blanc is the main white grape varietal in Alsace, where it is prized for its ability to beautifully express the fine terroir on which it is grown, and it is used to produce exceptional single varietal wines, as well as blended wine such as Edelzwicker. Pinot Blanc is also a key component in this part of France’s signature sparkling wine, Cremant d’Alsace.
The wines made from Pinot Blanc are typically medium to light bodied, but they possess a remarkable freshness and clean character, which reminds us of the cool, green hillsides of their homeland. Apple, honey and biscuity, yeasty flavors are typical in fine Pinot Blanc wines, as well as a good level of minerality, making it a popular choice for those looking to pair a fine white wine with a wide range of foods. Although it is almost never oaked in Alsace, Italian vintners have a tendency to age Pinot Bianco in oak barrels, adding an extra dimension to this wonderful varietal.