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750ml
Bottle:
$486.00
$540.00
Initially the wine is all firm tannins, but then there is a pure line of fresh black fruits that comes through, with...
750ml
Bottle:
$100.00
12 bottles:
$98.00
Taking advantage of the delicious fruit of 2006, this Branaire-Ducru shows a charming side. It brings out ripe, spicy...
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$219.78
Not a wine that will please everyone. This has the austerity and backward thinking of 2006 mixed with the sleek fruit...
750ml
Bottle:
$707.58
$786.20
Barrel Sample Dark chocolate and mocha flavors, very dark and intense, this is a big, concentrated wine, flavored...
750ml
Bottle:
$234.95
Cos d'Estournel has softened those austere Saint-Estèphe tannins and produced a wine that is all opulence and...
750ml
Bottle:
$227.34
$252.60
This is not quite as silky smooth and rich as the 2005 and yet it's full of promise. It feels young, with tannins...
750ml
Bottle:
$91.71
$101.90
After initial tastings suggested there was too much tannin, the wine has undergone a welcome transformation. It has...
750ml
Bottle:
$124.74
$138.60
Among the most seductive noses from Pauillac. Strong, cassis-stained palate with a lovely sense of upwards motion and...
750ml
Bottle:
$120.20
12 bottles:
$113.05
Deep, intense brambly fruit unfurls gently over the palate. Not yet reached its tertiary stage but this knows where...
750ml
Bottle:
$622.08
$691.20
Less obvious than La Mission, this is more about charcoal, grilled berries and crisp minerality, with a near-perfect...
750ml
Bottle:
$126.99
$141.10
The 2006 Haut Bailly is just now entering its prime drink window, and is certainly a gorgeous bottle of wine. Still...
750ml
Bottle:
$64.95
12 bottles:
$63.65
A strong sleeper of the vintage, this sexy, hedonistic, modern-styled St.-Emilion has the tell-tale toasty new oak...
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$463.50
Colour still tight and inky at 10 years old. Smooth, silky, very expressive; this is so powerful it almost lulls you...
750ml
Bottle:
$744.48
$827.20
As to the Grand Vin, the 2006 Latour showed beautifully. A blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon and the balance mostly...
750ml
Bottle:
$126.99
$141.10
Right at the top of its form, this 2006 is one of the finest wines to come out of the vintage. The wine is structured...
375ml
Bottle:
$108.27
$120.30
Slowly and confidently inching towards its drinking window, but needs another three to five years before it gets...
750ml
Bottle:
$216.95
$240.00
Slowly and confidently inching towards its drinking window, but needs another three to five years before it gets...
750ml
Bottle:
$643.50
$715.00
Plenty of tannins still in play, and it is dense, powerful and reserved even at 15 years old. The tertiary notes of...
750ml
Bottle:
$180.99
$201.10
Beautiful, rich and incredibly softly textured, this is still very young. Also supremely measured and stately, with...
Merlot Primitivo Red Bordeaux 2006 Wine
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.
There are few regions in the world with stricter regulations in regards to wine production and grape varietals than those found in Bordeaux, France. Here, in the home of the world's finest wines, the type and quality of grapes used is of utmost importance, and the legendary wineries which work on the banks of the Gironde river have mastered the careful art of juice blending to find the perfect balance for their produce. Whilst there are six 'official' Bordeaux grapes, the two key varietals for almost every fine Bordeaux wine are Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and with good reason. Whilst Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are renowned for their acidity and astringency, strong fruit and spice flavors and full body, Merlot grapes are notably rounded, soft, fleshy and lighter on tannin. The combination of these two varietals, along with a small percentage of (commonly) Petit Verdot or Cabernet Franc, is the perfect balancing act – the two grape varietals cancel out each others weaker points, and accentuate all that is good about the other.