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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:
$47.16
$52.40
Colour: Lively, deep ruby-red; nature's gift.
Perfume: Complex scent of ripe red fruit (mainly black cherry), spices,...
750ml
Bottle:
$31.16
$32.80
The aromas of blue fruits, such as raspberries, with subtle cloves and bark follow through to a palate of...
750ml
Bottle:
$29.94
12 bottles:
$29.34
• 100% Carignan.
• Practicing Organic.
• Poor Ranch Vyd (mult-generational family owned on benchland outside...
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:
$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
Bottle:
$29.94
6 bottles:
$29.34
Colour: Deep, almost solid ruby red.
Nose: Intense fruity notes of blackberry, blueberry, vanilla, myrtle, leather...
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:
$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...
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$18.13
Big raspberry and plum aromas on the nose as well as a hint of eucalyptus and liquorice. The wine is rich and mouth...
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$16.85
Roasted coffee and liquorice on the nose with some blackberry notes and a light smokiness showing the age of the...
750ml
Bottle:
$13.93
12 bottles:
$13.65
All old vine Carignan, the 2019 Côtes Catalanes Tessellae from Jean-Marc Lafage offers a beautifully pure nose of...
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$14.73
A fine and persistent wine, with a strong scent of ripe red fruit.
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$19.20
COLOR: Intense red with violet reflections.
PERFUME: Red fruit, ripe blackberries and cocoa scent.
TASTE: Tannic...
750ml
Bottle:
$79.93
6 bottles:
$78.33
The 2019 Sicilia Mille e Una Notte is a blend of Nero d'Avola, Petit Verdot, Syrah and other complementary grapes....
Carignan Mavrodaphne Nero D'avola Tinta Barocca Wine
Carignan is an ancient blue-skinned grape varietal, thought to be indigenous to the Aragon region of Spain. However, today it is most commonly associated with the fine wines of southern France, and has been grown in many countries around the world which have the warm and dry conditions it requires to thrive. Carignan is recognized as being quite a sensitive vine, highly susceptible to all kinds of rot and mildew, although producing excellent results when given the right conditions and handled correctly. Its high tannin levels and acidity make the Carignan grapes very astringent, and as such, they are often used as a blending grape to give body to other, lesser bodied varietals. Despite this, with careful treatment, Carignan can produce superb single varietal wines packed full of character and unique attributes.
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.