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Sale
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $34.20 $36.00
This unique sparkling wine is 100% Chardonnay made in Methode Tradicional from two separate vineyards high up in the...
Sale
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $297.90 $309.60
What a magnificent bouquet for this Dom Pérignon 2012! Pastry, a hint of smoke and autolytic notes provide a...
12 FREE
DC
98
VM
97
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $124.95
6 bottles: $122.45
A tightly meshed Champagne, slowly revealing layers of ripe black cherry, blood orange granita, blanched almond,...
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WS
93
Case only
Sparkling
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $108.19
Golden yellow in color with warm aromas of yellow pear and toasted brioche. Well structured and complex with racy...
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Sale
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $67.94 $74.48
6 bottles: $66.58
A very attractive Franciacorta that frames Thai desserts and Cornish pasties against a sea of lemons and limes....
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WS
92
JS
92
Case only
Sparkling
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $64.68
Intense straw yellow with shades of amber. Aromas of grass, meadow flowers and fresh berries. Lovely palate of figs...
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Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $109.94
A sleek, creamy Champagne, with aromatic notes of white blossoms, graphite and spices accenting flavors of baked...
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WS
92
Sale
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $97.27 $108.08
6 bottles: $95.21
A fragrant nose with aromas of apples, pears, brioche and candied citrus. Round, silky and balanced with fine bubbles...
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JS
94
WS
93
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $87.95
6 bottles: $86.40
A blend of 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir from Verzy and Verzenay.
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Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $96.00
12 bottles: $91.20
The 2012 Brut Nature Blanc de Blancs MSNL Chétillons et Mussettes Grand Cru was picked in the eponymous parcels in...
12 FREE
VM
95
Sale
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $339.94 $348.79
Offers a plush texture that carries gorgeous flavors of macerated cherry and strawberry preserves, blood orange...
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DC
96
WS
96
Sale
Rapid Ship
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $69.94 $74.40
A vintage that marks the producer's 200th anniversary, the Champagne is ripe with mature white fruits. It is an...
12 FREE
WE
95
WNR
94
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $96.95
12 bottles: $95.01
100% Grand Cru Chardonnay. The core of the cuvée is made up of three vineyards with very old vines in Cramant and...
12 FREE
Case only
Sparkling
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $224.85
Smells fresh with lemon and soft floral scents. Delicate and refined, this is crips, sharp and piercing yet also...
12 FREE
DC
96
VM
95
Sparkling
1.5Ltr
Bottle: $415.94
3 bottles: $407.62
The 2012 Brut Rive Gauche-Rive Droite Grand Cru brings together all the best elements of Marc Hebrart's style. Ample,...
VM
94
WA
93
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $149.94
• From the Clos del Serral, a coplantation of Xarel-lo and Bastard Negre dating to 1954. • Biodynamic viticulture...
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Sparkling
12 FREE
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $42.46
6 bottles: $41.61
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Sparkling
12 FREE
Sparkling
750ml
Bottle: $151.09
Produced from Geoffroy's oldest parcels and with tirage under cork rather than crown cap, the newly released 2012...
12 FREE
WA
94
VM
93

Champagne Blend Mavrodaphne Picpoul 2012 Wine

The sparkling wines of Champagne have been revered by wine drinkers for hundreds of years, and even today they maintain their reputation for excellence of flavor and character, and are consistently associated with quality, decadence, and a cause for celebration. Their unique characteristics are partly due to the careful blending of a small number of selected grape varietals, most commonly Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. These grapes, blended in fairly equal quantities, give the wines of Champagne their wonderful flavors and aromas, with the Pinot Noir offering length and backbone, and the Chardonnay varietal giving its acidity and dry, biscuity nature. It isn't unusual to sometimes see Champagne labeled as 'blanc de blanc', meaning it is made using only Chardonnay varietal grapes, or 'blanc de noir', which is made solely with Pinot Noir.

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?