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Red
750ml
Bottle: $31.94 $33.60
12 bottles: $31.92
The 2020 Syrah Purisima Mountain Vineyard is a powerful, dense wine. Blueberry, blackberry, lavender, melted road tar...
VM
92
JD
92
Red
750ml
Bottle: $23.94
12 bottles: $23.46
This red has terrific purity to the green tea, raspberry puree, blueberry and blood orange flavors, while polished...
WS
92
Red
750ml
Bottle: $51.94
12 bottles: $50.90
Nostalgic aromas of the Aussie bush, with a core of sweet cherries doused with cloves and cardamon. Smoked...
12 FREE
JS
93
Red
750ml
Bottle: $57.40
12 bottles: $56.25
Quite light in the glass, this is a lovely style of lighter Pinot Noir, starting with aromas of light red fruit,...
12 FREE
WE
96
VM
94
Red
750ml
Bottle: $54.00
12 bottles: $52.92
The 2019 Syrah Rattlesnake Rock shows the more elegant side of Syrah in its restrained aromatics and finessed,...
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VM
94
JD
92
Red
750ml
Bottle: $31.94
12 bottles: $31.30
This Shiraz is deep red in colour, underpinned by bright purple hues. Lifted and complex on the nose, the Shiraz...
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Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $12.76 $13.43
12 bottles: $10.45
Intense color, flavor and soft tannins from grape skins. Ripe berry fruits along with fig and raisin add to the...
Red
750ml
Bottle: $54.72
12 bottles: $53.63
Occidental Hills Syrah is a single-vineyard bottling from our 0.21 acre Syrah planting at English Hill Vineyard....
12 FREE
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $79.88 $88.08
The 100% Syrah 2019 Fracture comes all from the Booker Estate Vineyard and is another pure, balanced, incredibly...
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VM
97
JD
97
Red
750ml
Bottle: $19.73
12 bottles: $19.34
A rich, medium- to full-bodied red, with an underpinning of mesquite smoke and loamy earth and flavors of fig cake,...
WS
91
Red
750ml
Bottle: $16.15
12 bottles: $15.83
Appearance: Luminous, deep ruby red, with purplish rim. Bouquet: Fruity aromas of dark cherry, wild cherry, red...
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Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $51.38 $54.08
6 bottles: $42.00
An impressive mix of savory and aromatic aromas is abundant on the nose. Baked white cherries, golden peach, raisins,...
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UBC
94
BTI
91
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $108.08
3 bottles: $90.00
Big flavors of apple and pear cider, clearly holding their character through the influence of the cask, here bringing...
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UBC
95
WE
93
Red
750ml
Bottle: $12.94
12 bottles: $12.35
Red
750ml
Bottle: $50.20
12 bottles: $46.55
Les Murets reveals a very dark purple robe with purple reflections. The nose offers a very rich and racy aromatic...
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $22.94
12 bottles: $22.48
Varnishy oak on the nose and palate at this stage, it does, however, have good concentration and intense acidity that...
12 FREE
DC
90
Red
750ml
Bottle: $25.94
12 bottles: $25.42
Color: Mauve with a raspberry rim. Nose: Intense aromas of black fruits and pepper with toasty undertones. Palate:...
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $21.94
12 bottles: $21.50
Color: Bright ruby with purple notes. Nose: Intense aromas of red fruits - especially red currant, raspberry. Palate:...
12 FREE
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $23.94 $25.20
12 bottles: $22.80
A wine that is full expression of the potential of Apulian nature, the Rosso dei Vespa combines the traditional...
Sale
Spirits
750ml
Bottle: $31.23 $32.87
12 bottles: $27.35

Calvados Mavrodaphne Primitivo Syrah

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?

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.

Known as Syrah in most countries around the world, and Shiraz in Australia and certain other regions of the New World, this grape varietal has proven over the centuries to be one of the most powerful and flavorful red wine grapes there is. It is now one of the planet's most widely grown grapes, and is a favorite with wineries as a result of its robustness and versatility. It isn't easy to identify many characteristics of this particular varietal, due to the fact that it is highly versatile and shows significant differences in flavor and character depending on the terroir it is grown in, and the climatic conditions of the region. However, Syrah is most widely associated with full bodied, strong and loud red wines, packed full of fruity and spicy flavors, held in a beautifully deep red liquid.