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750ml
Bottle:
$45.25
12 bottles:
$44.35
Always one of the more garrigue-scented Châteauneufs, the Brunels' 2018 Chateauneuf du Pape includes hints of...
750ml
Bottle:
$29.93
12 bottles:
$29.33
Lots of ripe black fruits (blackberries, black cherries) emerge from the 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape Les Hauts De...
750ml
Bottle:
$44.40
12 bottles:
$43.51
A warm, generous and exuberant red, loaded with juicy cherry and licorice notes that glide along a silky palate, with...
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$21.95
Juicy berry fruits with notes of savoury spices. Intense on the palate, very approachable. Long finish. (Bronze) -...
750ml
Bottle:
$26.93
12 bottles:
$26.39
This ruby red wine is very complex and elegant with aromas of red currant, red cherries, black berries with spicy...
750ml
Bottle:
$38.88
12 bottles:
$38.10
750ml
Bottle:
$82.81
$86.40
Piquant hits of shaved peppercorn and clove lend warmth to rich, glossy black plum and mulberry in this penetrating...
750ml
Bottle:
$103.14
The 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape Grand Vin showed consistently (this is the third time I’ve tasted this from barrel),...
750ml
Bottle:
$39.89
$40.79
Rich and warm in style, with a velvety flow to the mix of violet, plum paste, black currant compote and licorice root...
750ml
Bottle:
$68.95
6 bottles:
$67.57
Moving to the single vineyard releases, the 2020 Vinsobres Guerin comes from lower down on the hillside and more...
750ml
Bottle:
$39.90
$40.79
Winey and muscular, with cassis and bitter plum reduction notes leading the way, while baker's chocolate, tobacco and...
750ml
Bottle:
$63.85
6 bottles:
$62.57
Lastly, the 2020 Vinsobres Les Côtes has an almost Côte Rôtie-like vibe in its black raspberry, spring flower,...
750ml
Bottle:
$35.89
$36.79
Rich and well-built, this offers up a serious dark core of black currant and plum reduction flavors supported by...
750ml
Bottle:
$63.85
6 bottles:
$62.57
My favorite in the lineup (although these are all brilliant) is the 2020 Vinsobres Rouanne Et Les Crottes, which...
750ml
Bottle:
$48.93
$52.79
Delivering a generous cascade of attractive ripe fig and cherry pie flavors, this red is grounded by serious cast...
750ml
Bottle:
$59.65
12 bottles:
$58.46
Châteauneuf-du-Pape is famously the strongest, most powerful, and longest-lived wine of the southern Rhône. Louis...
Mavrodaphne Melon de Bourgogne Red Rhone Blend Welschriesling 12 Ship Free Items
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?
One of the more unusual French grape varietals, Melon de Bourgogne has been grown in and around the Loire Valley for several hundred years. In fact, this grape was first planted in the Loire region of Pays Nantais back in the mid 17th century, after a devastating frost decimated most of the red grapes which were typical in the area. The winemakers of Pays Nantais were keen to cultivate vines which were hardy, high yielding, and capable of surviving another such frost, and so turned their attention to Melon de Bourgogne for this very reason. The native home of the varietal is actually in Burgundy, where it is still grown to a lesser extent.
Because Melon de Bourgogne produces naturally heavy yields, the vintners of Pays Nantais go to great lengths to reduce the amount of fruit the vines bear. This allows the finest characteristics of the grape to come forward, and also opens up the opportunity for it to express the wonderful granite and schist soils in which the vines are grown. Melon de Bourgogne is a minerally white wine grape varietal, with a very subtle set of fruit flavors. It is prized for its freshness and brightness, and is seeing a revival in the twenty first century as an excellent wine for pairing with a wide range of foods.