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750ml
Bottle:
$13.94
$15.00
An inviting nose of peaches, sliced pears and dried orange peel. Medium-bodied with delightful texture. Bright and...
750ml
Bottle:
$59.90
$63.19
The 2021 Fire By Night, formerly known as Broom Ridge, has a lovely, seductive bouquet with mirabelle, jasmine and...
750ml
Bottle:
$16.20
$18.00
12 bottles:
$14.25
Crisp passion fruit and lemon leaf with a whiff of white pepper on the nose. The same flavours make an immediate...
750ml
Bottle:
$13.58
$14.30
12 bottles:
$11.40
Dry, easy drinking wine with notes of quince, pear and granny smith apples.
750ml
Bottle:
$17.10
$18.00
12 bottles:
$14.25
Brilliant clear yellow. Seductive nose with lovely fruit aromas (pear, pineapple) and delicate floral notes. Smooth...
750ml
Bottle:
$17.44
$18.79
A fresh and pure unwooded Chenin Blanc, made to express the delicious purity of the grape. A lovely wine to enjoy on...
750ml
Bottle:
$34.84
Rated 95 -Year in, year out, this exceptional Chenin Blanc vineyard delivers the goods.... it produces a wine with...
750ml
Bottle:
$27.00
The nose develops an intensity of violet and wild berries aromas. The mousse is fair and creamy, with a dry yet full...
1.5Ltr
Bottle:
$25.81
$27.17
6 bottles:
$16.68
The Basics This wine is meant to be enjoyed with a variety of foods, ranging from Asian to Mexican dishes. The Taste...
750ml
Bottle:
$12.43
$13.08
The Basics This wine is meant to be enjoyed with a variety of foods, ranging from Asian to Mexican dishes. The Taste...
750ml
Bottle:
$25.84
$28.80
100% Chenin Blanc. From 10-15-year-old, certified-organic vines on clay-limestone soils. Fermented to dryness (2...
750ml
Bottle:
$32.94
12 bottles:
$32.28
Rated 96 - Intense, stony and layered, it's a wine that builds on the palate, with effortless concentration, Loire...
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$24.33
Testacalda is a pure Lambrusco di Sorbara Spumante Metodo Classico made with the ancient and traditional method of...
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$13.00
Slightly sparkling ruby red wine, semi dry, vinous and intense bouquet, with a characteristically fruity scent,...
750ml
Bottle:
$12.65
12 bottles:
$12.40
Color: Garnet red with a frothy fragrance, brilliant. Nose: Clean, distinctive with hints of violet and raspberry....
750ml
Bottle:
$16.66
12 bottles:
$16.33
This wine displays classical chenin blanc aromatics of straw, lanolin and bruised peach, accompanied by a beautifully...
Chenin Blanc Lambrusco Mavrodaphne
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.
Some grape species are distinct and unique varietals, clearly separate from each of their cousins. Others, like Lambrusco and Muscat, are more like umbrella terms, featuring several subspecies which show slight differences from each other from region to region. Indeed, there are astonishingly more than 60 identified varieties of Lambrusco vines, and they are almost all used in the production of characterful Italian sparkling wines. They are distinguishable by their deep ruby blush, caused by strong pigments present in their skins, and their intensely perfumed character.
Lambrusco vines are grown in several Italian regions, although we most closely associate this varietal with Piedmont and Basilicata. It has also been grown successfully in Argentina and Australia. The varietal suffered from a fairly lowly reputation in the late 20th century, due to bulk, low cost production of Lambrusco sparkling wines, aimed at markets across northern Europe and America. However, things are rapidly changing, and the older, more traditional methods of bottle fermentation are returning, along with a higher level of quality and expression, as consumers become more discerning and demanding. Many of the Lambrusco sub-varieties have their own established DOC, such as Lambrusco Salamino di Santa Croce, Lambrusco di Sorbara and Modena, where new regulations are keeping standards high and methods traditional.
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?