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Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $18.80
Color: Ruby red very intense with purple reflexes. Bouquet: Strong and distinctive with sensations of sour cherry...
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $34.90
Very intense and elegant ruby red colour; broad and complex fruity fragrance with hints of plum, cherry jam and...
12 FREE
Red
1.5Ltr
Bottle: $83.15
3 bottles: $81.49
Ripe crunchy red forest fruits with notes of candied dark cherries. Rich and bold, with juicy tannins. (Bronze) -...
DC
89
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $24.94
Ripe crunchy red forest fruits with notes of candied dark cherries. Rich and bold, with juicy tannins. (Bronze) -...
DC
89
Case only
White
12 FREE
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $32.44 $33.60
12 bottles: $31.92
Most of the grapes for this wine come from the 15 acres of Clos Saint Yves vineyard, between the Clos du Papillon and...
W&S
91
WS
90
White
750ml
Bottle: $60.84
12 bottles: $59.62
#56 TOP 100 CELLAR SELECTIONS 2022. Slowly developing, this wine from the butterfly (papillon) shaped vineyard is...
12 FREE
WE
95
VM
91
White
1.5Ltr
Bottle: $171.95
3 bottles: $168.51
Organic. Pruning method is Guyau Val de Loire. Grapes are harvested by hand and carefully sorted in the vineyard....
White
1.5Ltr
Bottle: $134.95
3 bottles: $132.25
The 2018 Saumur Bizay Clos de Guichaux is from another monopole the family holds in Saumur. Planted in 2003 on silt...
WA
93
Sale
White
1.5Ltr
Bottle: $312.93 $329.40
The 2018 Saumur Brézé Clos des Carmes derives from vines planted on a south-facing parcel. It offers up a delicate,...
WA
94
White
750ml
Bottle: $121.24
12 bottles: $118.82
The 2018 Saumur Brézé Clos des Carmes derives from vines planted on a south-facing parcel. It offers up a delicate,...
12 FREE
WA
94
Sale
White
12 FREE
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $18.79 $20.88
6 bottles: $17.63
White
750ml
Bottle: $31.60
6 bottles: $30.97
This white shows great freshness, with layers of persimmon and orange blossom mingling almost seamlessly with hints...
12 FREE
WS
90
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Long-term Pre-Arrival
White
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $185.93
The 2018 Huilkrans is 100% Chenin Blanc from the Citrusdal Mountains. Its bouquet is more waxy and resinous than...
VM
97
WA
94
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Long-term Pre-Arrival
White
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $51.95
From south-facing slopes on the schistous soils of the Loire tributary, the 2018 Coteaux du Layon Moelleux Layon...
WA
96
WS
93
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
White
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $83.95
Sourced from a tiny, south-east facing 0.35-hectare plot on a marriage of schists and pudding sandstones in the...
WA
94
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
White
375ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $277.62
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
White
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $105.85
Organic. Pruning method is Guyau Val de Loire. Grapes are harvested by hand and carefully sorted in the vineyard....
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
White
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $71.00
The 2018 Saumur Bizay Clos de Guichaux is from another monopole the family holds in Saumur. Planted in 2003 on silt...
WA
93

Chenin Blanc Primitivo 1992 2018

Originating in France yet now grown in many parts of the New World, Chenin Blanc is one of the most versatile and highly regarded white wine grape varietals on earth. These green skinned grapes hold a relatively high acid content, and as such can be used for making still white wines of exceptional quality, as well as superb sparkling wines (such as the Crémant wines of the Loire Valley) and extremely aromatic dessert wines. Their natural transparency means that they are a fine grape for expressing their terroir in the bottle, and winemakers often experiment with this varietal to coax unusual and intense flavors from the grapes, such as allowing the development of noble rot on the fruit in order to make sweet and viscous wines of a unique character.

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.