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Dessert/Fortified Wine
375ml
Bottle: $49.01
12 bottles: $48.02
Tasted single blind against its peers. Whereas last year the de Fargues 2008 was immediately forthcoming, a few...
12 FREE
WA
95
WS
93
Dessert/Fortified Wine
375ml
Bottle: $31.20
12 bottles: $30.58
Bright yellow-gold. Spicy, ripe, complex aromas of peach, apricot, orange and nutmeg. Juicy, shapely and sweet, with...
12 FREE
VM
92
Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml
Bottle: $64.94
12 bottles: $63.64
Very textured, this is a complex wine. There is a strong sense of minerality here, along with flavors of ripe...
12 FREE
WE
94
WS
93
Sale
Dessert/Fortified Wine
375ml
Bottle: $27.63 $30.70
93–95. Barrel Sample. This wine is rich and full while still having a tight structure. It shows a fine streak of...
WE
95
WS
94
Dessert/Fortified Wine
375ml
Bottle: $29.94
93–95. Barrel Sample. This almost dry wine is full of botrytized fruit tones. Well balanced, it is likely to turn...
WE
95
DC
93
Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml
Bottle: $59.94
12 bottles: $58.74
93–95. Barrel Sample. This almost dry wine is full of botrytized fruit tones. Well balanced, it is likely to turn...
12 FREE
WE
95
DC
93
Dessert/Fortified Wine
375ml
Bottle: $29.94
Vivid, quite intense nose with a spicy savoury twist to the sweet expressive fruit. The sweet palate has a nice...
Dessert/Fortified Wine
375ml
Bottle: $29.63
Pale lemon-gold colored, the 2020 Doisy-Vedrines is a little closed to begin, opening out to reveal fragrant notes of...
WA
93
VM
93
Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml
Bottle: $47.20
12 bottles: $46.26
Pale lemon-gold colored, the 2020 Doisy-Vedrines is a little closed to begin, opening out to reveal fragrant notes of...
12 FREE
WA
93
VM
93
Dessert/Fortified Wine
375ml
Bottle: $43.92
12 bottles: $43.04
12 FREE
Dessert/Fortified Wine
375ml
Bottle: $19.93
12 bottles: $19.53
Off dry, light body, medium acid. Palate is stewed pear, followed by honey, ginger and lemon zest.
12 FREE
Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml
Bottle: $30.00
12 bottles: $27.36
Off dry, light body, medium acid. Palate is stewed pear, followed by honey, ginger and lemon zest.
Sale
Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml
Bottle: $58.95 $65.20
#4 Top100, 2008. Delivers lots of botrytis spice, with lemon tart and cooked apple. Full-bodied, with loads of cream...
12 FREE
WS
97
Dessert/Fortified Wine
375ml
Bottle: $34.95
12 bottles: $32.30
Sweet, rich orange marmalade flavors, maybe not as imposingly powerful as Guiraud can be, but still with a great...
WE
95
WS
93
Dessert/Fortified Wine
375ml
Bottle: $35.20
12 bottles: $34.50
Tasted as part of a vertical held at the chateau. It is clear that the aromatics on the 2008 are a little simpler and...
12 FREE
WA
93
WS
92
Case only
Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $74.85
The 2009 Guiraud is one of the gems of Sauternes this vintage, one of the finest offerings in recent years. It has a...
12 FREE
VM
97
WS
96
Sale
Dessert/Fortified Wine
375ml
Bottle: $29.94 $33.20
Barrel Sample. This wine is packed with dry botrytis flavor, but also a bright freshness. Together they give an...
WE
96
WS
95
Dessert/Fortified Wine
375ml
Bottle: $35.90
12 bottles: $35.18
One of the top Sauternes in this report is the 2016 Château Guiraud, a brilliant wine from a more challenging...
12 FREE
WE
96
JD
96
Dessert/Fortified Wine
375ml
Bottle: $37.45
12 bottles: $36.70
Barrel Sample. Ripe, botrytized fruit currently dominates this wine with its rich concentration. It is a full and...
12 FREE
WE
96
VM
95
Sale
Dessert/Fortified Wine
750ml
Bottle: $54.94 $59.20
Barrel Sample. Ripe, botrytized fruit currently dominates this wine with its rich concentration. It is a full and...
12 FREE
WE
96
VM
95

Mencia Primitivo Semillon/sauvignon Blanc Viura

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.