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750ml
Bottle:
$186.94
The various shades of gold Quarts de Chaume displays throughout the course of its life are fascinating, telling, and...
750ml
Bottle:
$44.90
Alluring, with quince, creamed pear, verbena and green almond flavors allied to a creamy texture, all offset...
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...
750ml
Bottle:
$31.94
$33.60
12 bottles:
$31.92
Subdued and compact, with subtle lemon meringue and baked apple interwoven with smoke, hay and crushed stone. Silky...
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...
750ml
Bottle:
$66.94
12 bottles:
$65.60
100% Chenin Blanc. The Clos du Papillon is one of the three most celebrated coulées or small ravine-like valleys in...
750ml
Bottle:
$39.84
$40.80
12 bottles:
$39.04
A racy, linear style introduced by pureed apple and crunchy orchard fruit edged in honeycomb. Shows wet stone accents...
750ml
Bottle:
$17.90
12 bottles:
$17.54
100% Chenin Blanc. From a combination of certified-organic estate fruit and some sourced fruit. Whole-cluster press;...
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$24.94
Racy, focused and dry on the palate, medium bodied with lots of intense notes of tart green apple and saline...
500ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$58.70
Enticing aromas of dried fruit, honey and acacia flowers. Lush, fruity and complex on the palate with beautiful...
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$46.12
Classic aromas of yellow apple and white flowers on the nose. Structured on the palate with raicy acidity, stone...
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$32.24
Enticing aromas of white flowers and green apple. Fresh and crisp on the palate with a waxy honeyed texture and a...
750ml
Bottle:
$24.94
12 bottles:
$24.44
100% Chenin Blanc. Pinon selects 0.6 hectare's worth of its flatter, more clay-forward parcels for its sec bottling...
750ml
Bottle:
$25.84
$27.20
12 bottles:
$24.70
100% Chenin Blanc. Trois Argiles brings together 3 parcels totaling 3.75 hectares and having a higher proportion of...
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....
750ml
Bottle:
$117.94
12 bottles:
$115.58
Organic. Pruning method is Guyau Val de Loire. Grapes are harvested by hand and carefully sorted in the vineyard....
750ml
Bottle:
$88.94
$96.00
The 2020 Brézé is a blend of three plots within this esteemed vineyard. It spends two years in 50% new oak,...
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...
1.5Ltr
Bottle:
$116.85
$123.00
A very pure, white-stone character on the nose, framed beautifully by some fresh, matchsticky reduction. This is...
750ml
Bottle:
$58.94
$64.00
The 2021 Clos de Guichaux is sourced from vines planted in 2003 on shallow soil over limestone. It's an oaked, nutty,...
Chenin Blanc Ice Wine 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.
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?