Do we ship to you?.
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:
$216.00
$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...
Grenache Red Bordeaux Savatiano Vilana 2006
The Grenache grape holds the honor of being the most widely planted wine grape varietal on earth. It has a long and impressive history, and has been the backbone of the some of the planet’s most respected and famed wine regions, blended with Syrah in regions such as Chateauneuf du Pape, and in certain other Loire and Languedoc regions where it reigns supreme as a single varietal wine grape. In other key areas, such as Spain’s La Rioja (where it is known as Garnacha Tinta), it is blended with Tempranillo to make that country’s signature red wine, and is widely used as a blending grape in other old and new world countries, due to its unique character and jammy, fruit forward character.
For a long time, the Grenache grape was somewhat looked down upon as an ignoble varietal, incapable of producing wines of any particular interest. However, times are very much changing - in the right hands, Grenache grapes result in astonishingly intense and complex wines, full of fascinating features, and capable of achieving plenty of expression. For a while now, Grenache has been a major player in Australian wines. While not yet quite as extensively planted down under as Shiraz is, the Barossa Valley is bringing out some of the finest examples of this grape’s wines in recent years.
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.
Savatiano is probably Greece's most well known and most widely grown grape varietal, as it is the primary grape used in the production of Retsina, where the fermenting juices of the Savatiano varietal are flavored with pine resin in order to make this distinctive and famous wine. One of the reasons for the wide cultivation of this grape is due to its hardiness, and resistance to drought conditions. In the sun-drenched and dry, rocky Greek landscapes, this makes it an ideal vine to grow for wine-makers who require a strong and bounteous yield each year.
However, there are plenty of examples of Greek white wines which use the Savatiano grape but withhold from the addition the pine resin flavoring, allowing the true characteristics of this varietal to shine through. The result is often very pleasing indeed, with Savatiano grapes generally producing extremely well balanced and rounded white wines, with a juicily fruity flavor. Their aromas can vary quite a lot, with many Savatiano wines bearing the fragrance of citrus fruits, and also occasionally having a strong floral aroma reminiscent of elder and rose. Due to the relatively low acidity of Savatiano grapes, the wines which use them (including Retsina) generally bolster themselves with the addition of smaller quantities of more acidic varieties, such as Assyrtiko or Rhoditis, in order to improve their sometimes weak structure.
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?