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Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $1836.18 $2040.20
The 2005 Ausone is magnificent. A wine of soaring intensity and class, the 2005 dazzles from the very first taste....
12 FREE
WA
100
VM
100
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $59.94
The 2005 Château Barde-Haut showed beautifully and was one of the gems in the lineup. Offers loads of ripe dark...
12 FREE
JD
95
WA
92
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $206.28 $229.20
The Grand Vin, the 2005 Beychevelle is a gorgeous wine, with plenty of crème de cassis, floral notes, underbrush and...
12 FREE
WA
93
WE
93
Sale
Red
3.0Ltr
Bottle: $618.30 $687.00
The nose is just utterly delicious, smoky and seductive. This is why you don't drink St-Julien in a great vintage too...
DC
95
WE
95
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $129.78 $144.20
The nose is just utterly delicious, smoky and seductive. This is why you don't drink St-Julien in a great vintage too...
12 FREE
DC
95
WE
95
Red
375ml
Bottle: $91.50
The 2005 Brane-Cantenac is fabulous. Effusive and explosive to the core, the 2005 possesses tons of energy and...
12 FREE
VM
94
WE
94
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $149.58 $166.20
The 2005 Brane-Cantenac is fabulous. Effusive and explosive to the core, the 2005 possesses tons of energy and...
12 FREE
VM
94
WE
94
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $152.55 $169.50
The 2005 Brane-Cantenac is fabulous. Effusive and explosive to the core, the 2005 possesses tons of energy and...
12 FREE
VM
94
WE
94
Red
1.5Ltr
Bottle: $440.20
6 bottles: $436.00
Tight and dense still but so integrated and seamless in texture. Aromas of chocolate, hazelnuts, dried spices and...
WA
94
JS
94
Red
3.0Ltr
Bottle: $1139.95
Tight and dense still but so integrated and seamless in texture. Aromas of chocolate, hazelnuts, dried spices and...
WA
94
JS
94
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $207.18 $230.20
Tight and dense still but so integrated and seamless in texture. Aromas of chocolate, hazelnuts, dried spices and...
12 FREE
WA
94
JS
94
Red
750ml
Bottle: $212.20
12 bottles: $207.96
This fragrant, lush, seductive wine offers up plum, Christmas spices and crème de cassis. This dense garnet/purple...
12 FREE
WA
94
WE
94
Red
1.5Ltr
Bottle: $134.94
Wow. This really shows wonderful depth and complexity on the nose with blueberries, fresh flowers and hints of...
JS
93
WS
90
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $157.95 $175.50
The 2005 Château Clerc Milon is flat out awesome, it would certainly be one of those giant killers in a blind...
12 FREE
JD
96
WS
95
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $303.75 $337.50
A lesson in genuinely great wine, the 2005 Cos d’Estournel is a monster of a wine that delivers an incredible level...
12 FREE
JS
99
JD
99
Red
1.5Ltr
Bottle: $284.95
6 bottles: $279.25
This is almost the perfect time to drink this wine, although it still needs decanting to bring out the plush strokes...
DC
92
VM
91
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 3
Bottle: $127.35
This is almost the perfect time to drink this wine, although it still needs decanting to bring out the plush strokes...
12 FREE
DC
92
VM
91
Red
750ml
Bottle: $96.60
12 bottles: $94.67
Wonderful balance of fruit with currant and chocolate character. Full body with integrated tannins and a clean...
12 FREE
JS
92
WA
90
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $346.23 $384.70
A gorgeously silky, juicy and balanced glass of wine, this combines elegant richness of sweet cocoa and blackberry,...
12 FREE
DC
98
WA
97
Red
750ml
Bottle: $178.20
12 bottles: $168.15
This property, which has benefitted enormously from tremendous investments from the Rothschild family that owns...
12 FREE
WA
93
WS
93

Merlot Primitivo Red Bordeaux 2005 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.