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750ml
Bottle:
$20.52
$21.60
This bright, deep red has a varietal aroma of rose petal and ripe strawberries joined by flavors of Maraschino...
750ml
Bottle:
$17.64
$19.60
12 bottles:
$15.83
Ancient Vines Mourvèdre offers distinct chocolate characteristics, luscious deep plum, and concentrated cherry. This...
750ml
Bottle:
$11.34
$12.13
100% Negroamaro, one of the most representative red grapes of Salento, is known for producing wines that are rich,...
750ml
Bottle:
$20.80
12 bottles:
$20.38
750ml
Bottle:
$20.98
12 bottles:
$20.57
Marc-Antonin describes this wine as “linear with a straight structure.” Northwest-facing vines bring tension to...
750ml
Bottle:
$13.94
$14.73
Black raspberry and cherry scents are accented by cracked pepper and fennel. Juicy and focused on the palate,...
![Domaine De Fa [A. & M. Graillot] Beaujolais En Besset 2022 750ml](https://www.saratogawine.com/files/images/cached_thumbs/14/146e6ead3e2fbc11fb2de6c629985c51.jpg){kind=small}
750ml
Bottle:
$22.00
12 bottles:
$21.56
*Certified organic, in conversion to biodynamics
*One of the highest elevation vineyards of the Beaujolais...
![Domaine De Fa [A. & M. Graillot] Fleurie Roche Guillon 2022 750ml](https://www.saratogawine.com/files/images/cached_thumbs/b3/b3d0f71626e7f4fbd2a7cd351de1d024.jpg){kind=small}
750ml
Bottle:
$28.00
12 bottles:
$27.44
*Certified organic, in conversion to biodynamics
*45+ year old vines
*Crushed granite and clay
*300m altitude
*One of...
![Domaine De Fa [A. & M. Graillot] Saint Amour Cote De Besset 2022 750ml](https://www.saratogawine.com/files/images/cached_thumbs/42/42817c37cd3830167c2bb225127929ee.jpg){kind=small}
750ml
Bottle:
$29.60
12 bottles:
$28.12
• Certified organic, practicing biodynamic.
• 100% Gamay.
• From the single vineyard Côtes de Besset.
• One...
750ml
Bottle:
$13.99
Offering up aromas of sweet red berries, orange oil, spices and vine smoke, the 2021 Beaujolais-Villages Le Perréon...
750ml
Bottle:
$13.94
$15.00
An excellent Beaujolais-village with so much black cherry fruit, but also the brightness and liveliness we look for...
750ml
Bottle:
$28.00
12 bottles:
$27.44
• Certified organic.
• 100% Gamay.
• Grown on glacial debris 30 meters deep
• Ancient clos of large and small...
750ml
Bottle:
$17.94
12 bottles:
$17.58
Intense red berry, floral and peppery spice aromas, along with a hint of succulent herbs. Juicy and precise, offering...
750ml
Bottle:
$20.94
$22.20
12 bottles:
$20.52
Saint Amour is bounding with juicy raspberry fruit. It's full of energy with great minerality and silky tannins....
Gamay Mavrodaphne Mourvedre Negroamaro
The French wines of Beaujolais are widely regarded as some of the finest table wines in the world. This is due in part to the qualities of the Gamay grape, from which they are made. Gamay produces beautifully, juicy, rounded and gulpable red wines, usually drank young and full of their natural fruit character. However, it would be a mistake to say that Gamay is limited to easy-drinking, soft wines - it’s a highly flexible and versatile grape, capable of producing aged wines of serious complexity and structure, full of expression and fascinating characteristics.
The majority of Gamay wines from France are labeled under Beaujolais Villages or Beaujolais, and these are the standard table wines we’re used to seeing in French restaurants, at bistros, and at our local wine store. Usually great value for money, these are the light, slightly acidic examples of what the grape can do. Far more interesting are those Gamay wines from the 10 cru villages, just north of Beaujolais, where generations of expertise and a unique soil type made up of granitic schist result in far more unique, complicated wines. The best examples of Gamay feature intense aromatics, all black fruit and forest fare, and are worth cellaring for a few years.
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?
Mourvèdre is a fascinating and ancient grape varietal, thought to have been introduced to Spain by the ancient Phoenicians over two thousand years ago. Since then, it has found a home in many regions of France, and has gone on to be a key grape varietal in the New World, where it is often blended with Grenache and Syrah varietals to make a beautifully rounded and balanced red wine. The Mourvèdre grape itself is renowned for holding a complex set of flavours, which are often described as meaty or gamey, with plenty of bramble fruit notes. As such, they are often served with dark meats, and are enjoyed in many countries across the globe. The grapes are not the easiest to cultivate, as they require plenty of sunshine alongside well irrigated soil. However, their quality and unique attributes mean that wineries all over the globe continue to persevere with this special varietal.
One of the key grapes of the ever-growing Puglia wine industry is the Negroamaro, a native grape of this southern Italian region, famed for its deep, bloody red color and excellent set of flavors Indeed, many of the finest and most highly esteemed full bodied red wines of Puglia are made using the Negroamaro varietal grape, and it is grown most notably in the Salento area of the region, where it makes several types of red wine enjoyed locally and sold overseas. The name 'Negroamaro' means 'black-bitter', giving some clue as to one of the key features of the grape. Wines made with Negroamaro do indeed hold quite a lot of earthy bitterness, but generally are celebrated for their 'rustic' taste and extremely aromatic qualities.