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Red
750ml
Bottle: $18.08
12 bottles: $17.72
COLOR: Wine of very elegant red color. BOUQUET: Intense aroma, with fruity hints of ripe plums, cherry jam and notes...
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $19.17 $21.30
12 bottles: $17.52
A very ripe, jammy cabernet franc with sweet cherries, baked strawberries and licorice spices. Very rich and fruity...
JS
90
White
750ml
Bottle: $12.05
12 bottles: $11.81
COLOR: Clear pale yellow in colour, with greenish reflections. NOSE: Fresh and slightly fruity bouquet with delicate...
Red
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,...
White
750ml
Bottle: $12.94
12 bottles: $12.68
Made from 100% Garganega, the main grape variety in the Soave DOC. A bright, fresh wine with delicate almond blossom...
Red
750ml
Bottle: $109.93
6 bottles: $107.73
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $27.20
12 bottles: $24.70
A supple red marked by black currant, blackberry and fruitcake flavors. Spicy, with powdery tannins lining the...
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Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $30.24 $33.60
100% Cabernet Franc from the Ampeleia di Sopra parcels at 450-600 meters above sea level. Vines were planted between...
12 FREE
Red
750ml
Bottle: $22.00
12 bottles: $21.56
Made from 100% Lledoner Negre, the local name for Garnacha in this part of Catalunya, Pla de Gates showcases the...
Red
750ml
Bottle: $27.94
12 bottles: $27.38
Named after the Sky God ‘for its light, ethereal qualities,’ unfiltered, Ouranus has a hazy plum hue, but lovely...
DC
93
Sale
Red
Red
750ml
Bottle: $65.82
12 bottles: $64.50
Once at the winery, the grapes undergo native fermentation with no added sulfites, resulting in a living wine that is...
12 FREE
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $44.46 $46.80
The 2020 Atalier Caíño was produced with ancient vines in the same place as Perez gets the Albariño. It has...
12 FREE
WA
91
Red
750ml
Bottle: $15.00
12 bottles: $14.70
Colour: Deep ruby red with garnet hues, clear. Bouquet: Intense and persistent with aromas of red fruits. Flavour:...
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $22.94
This Cagnulari Isola dei Nuraghi IGT is a tribute to the founder of the winery, Billia Cherchi, who rediscovered this...
12 FREE
Red
750ml
Bottle: $27.94
The Cagnulari – Isola dei Nuraghi IGT – is an ancient grape variety of Usini rediscovered and appreciated by...
12 FREE
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Red
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $16.24 $17.09
12 bottles: $13.18
Salmon-pink. Fine and elegant nose with ripe red berries aromas and hints of black pepper. Enjoyable wine, fruit...
Red
750ml
Bottle: $33.93
12 bottles: $33.25
100% Cabernet Franc. Close to the town of Chinon, Clos Guillot is a hillside vineyard with S-SW exposure, near the...
12 FREE
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $24.94 $27.60
100% Cabernet Franc. The Grézeaux vines are the Baudry’s oldest at around 50 years and were the very first part of...

Cabernet Franc Garganega Mencia Nero D'avola Primitivo

Cabernet Franc is not simply an important grape varietal for the fact that it is one of the most widely grown strains of vine in the world, but also because it is a vital grape in the production of many of the finest wines the world has ever seen. For centuries in its native France, it has been a varietal synonymous with elegance and high quality, and has become a key fruit in the production of the Bordeaux and Bordeaux-style blended wines which have gone down in history thanks to their magnificent flavors, aromas and levels of aged complexity. However, Cabernet Franc is also a wine grape varietal for use in single variety, unblended wines, and has plenty to offer on its own. Most commonly, it is renowned for its wide bouquet, which often includes fascinating notes of tobacco, violets or bell pepper over a beautifully pale and decadent liquid.

Italy is a fine country for white grape varietals, and white wines have been produced in this ancient country for thousands of years. One of the more popular varietals in the modern age is Garganega, which is currently the 5th most planted white grape across Italy. This grape is most closely associated with the Veneto region of Italy, although it is also grown in Sicily, where it is known as Grecanico Dorato. Garganega is a rigorous, hardy grape, which can grow in huge yields - explaining its popularity in the past. Today, winemakers must be careful to keep yields as low as possible, as this a varietal which can easily lose its distinctive characteristics and fine qualities when grown in bulk.


We know Garganega most commonly from the Soave wines which have been consistently popular over the past few decades. Indeed, the Soave Classico wines which still sell in large quantities across the globe are made from 70%-100% Garganega varietal grapes, and these wines showcase the varietal’s fresh and delicate qualities. The most common flavors present in Garganega wines are delicate, citrus notes, balanced by a hint of almond, and the best examples have remarkable balance and length, with wonderful aromatic notes.

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.

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.