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750ml
Bottle:
$14.34
$15.10
12 bottles:
$12.37
The Beringer Founders’ Estate Merlot is immediately approachable with lush flavors of blueberry, blackberry and...
750ml
Bottle:
$12.43
$13.08
The Basics Ripe plum and currant flavors are immediately evident in its aromas and flavors. The Taste A sweet,...
750ml
Bottle:
$15.94
12 bottles:
$15.62
The Block & Row Merlot leads with impressions of ripe cherries and fresh raspberries accented by seductive aromas of...
750ml
Bottle:
$9.94
This full-bodied, hardy red maintains an element of freshness throughout. An underlying herbaceous and earthy tone...
750ml
Bottle:
$13.58
$14.30
12 bottles:
$11.40
Deep ruby red color. Vibrant, complex aromas with typical fragrant hints of hay. On the palate, stylish spice...
750ml
Bottle:
$16.24
$17.09
12 bottles:
$13.18
Bollini Merlot comes from Trentino, where the clay soils in the cool, dry highland vineyards are ideally suited to...
750ml
Bottle:
$12.99
A brilliant crimson hue in the glass hints at this Merlot’s generous palate of rich, ripe red fruit. Notes of...
750ml
Bottle:
$16.15
12 bottles:
$15.83
Appearance: Luminous, deep ruby red, with purplish rim.
Bouquet: Fruity aromas of dark cherry, wild cherry, red...
750ml
Bottle:
$15.38
$17.09
12 bottles:
$15.05
Vivid ruby. Cherry, cassis and succulent herbs on the fragrant nose, joined by a slowly building tobacco nuance....
750ml
Bottle:
$19.38
$20.40
12 bottles:
$16.63
Plummy, generous but with backbone, featuring rich flavors of fruit and herbs. From the famous North Fork of Long...
750ml
Bottle:
$23.60
12 bottles:
$23.13
Deep, violet-ruby red in color, New York ICON Merlot is a fruity wine with notes of plums and blackberries. Intense,...
750ml
Bottle:
$28.57
12 bottles:
$28.00
Planting a forest one bottle at a time.
Browne Family Vineyards is honored to partner with One Tree Planted....
750ml
Bottle:
$23.94
$25.20
12 bottles:
$22.80
A wine that is full expression of the potential of Apulian nature, the Rosso dei Vespa combines the traditional...
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$8.55
The color is deep ruby red, almost garnet. Berry-like aroma, intense, with typical Merlot character. Dry, soft,...
750ml
Bottle:
$11.87
$12.50
12 bottles:
$7.60
Our Merlot displays rich notes of smoky oak and mesquite, which are perfectly balanced with soft, ripe tannins and...
750ml
Bottle:
$11.99
Wonderfully aromatic and fruity, blending silky flavors of blackberry, cherry, and blackcurrant.
750ml
Bottle:
$14.94
$16.25
This is a balanced, drink-me-now Merlot ideal for casual consumption. Find notes of fresh cedar, black cherry, plum...
750ml
Bottle:
$17.86
$18.80
12 bottles:
$15.05
Intense aromatics of fresh, ripe raspberry and blueberry. On the palate, crushed ripe berries, vanilla and leather...
Mavrodaphne Merlot Moonshine Primitivo 750ml
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?
With its dark blue colored fruits and high juice content, Merlot varietal grapes have long been a favorite of wine producers around the globe, with it being found in vineyards across Europe, the Americas and elsewhere in the New World. One of the distinguishing features of Merlot grapes is the fact that they have a relatively low tannin content and an exceptionally soft and fleshy character, meaning they are capable of producing incredibly rounded and mellow wines. This mellowness is balanced with plenty of flavor, however, and has made Merlot grapes the varietal of choice for softening other, more astringent and tannin-heavy wines, often resulting in truly exceptional produce. Merlot is regarded as one of the key 'Bordeaux' varietals for precisely this reason; when combined with the drier Cabernet Sauvignon, it is capable of blending beautifully to produce some of the finest wines available in the world.
As with many European grape varietals, there is some debate regarding the precise origins of the Primitivo grape. Most people now agree that it probably came from Croatia, where it is still used widely in the production of red wine, and it known as Tribidrag. However, today it is a grape most commonly associated with the powerful red wines of Puglia, the heel of Italy’s boot, where the intense sunshine and brisk Mediterranean breezes produce grapes of remarkable character and balance. Primitivo is a dark grape, known for producing intense, inky, highly tannic wines, most notably the naturally sweet Dolce Naturale and the heavy and complex Primitivo di Manduria wines. Primitivo tends to be naturally very high in both tannin and alcohol, making it ideal for both barrel and cellar ageing, which brings out its more rounded and interesting features.
Primitivo is not the easiest grape to grow or manage, and it has had something of a difficult century. Indeed, by the 1990s, there was little interest in Puglian wines in general, and winemakers were neglecting their Primitivo vineyards and looking to other, more commercially viable varietals. However, the last decade has seen this grape come well and truly back into fashion, with new techniques and a heightened interest in native Italian grape varietals bringing Primitivo back into the spotlight. It is now widely loved for its intensity and ability to be paired with strongly flavored foods.