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Red
750ml
Bottle: $144.95
6 bottles: $142.05
This is a pure merlot with violets, blueberries and hints of minerals and black truffles. Black olives, too....
12 FREE
JS
97
WA
92
Red
750ml
Bottle: $49.88
12 bottles: $48.88
The 2016 Taillefer is a straightforward, easygoing Pomerol endowed with quite a bit of near and medium-term appeal....
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VM
91
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $74.89
One of the best Merlots I've tasted from Australia, Hickinbotham's 2016 The Revivalist Merlot does hint at cherry...
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WA
93
WS
93
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Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $17.94
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $86.45
This is a pure merlot with violets, blueberries and hints of minerals and black truffles. Black olives, too....
JS
97
WA
92
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $221.95
The 2016 L'Apparita, 100% Merlot, is a breathtaking, riveting wine that captures all the potential of the vintage. In...
VM
100
WA
99
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Red
1.5Ltr - Case of 6
Bottle: $81.06
The 2016 Laroque is blended of 95% Merlot, 4.5% Cabernet Franc and 0.5% Cabernet Sauvignon from vines more than 50...
WA
94
VM
93
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $69.89
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $49.12
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Red
750ml - Case of 3
Bottle: $292.98
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Red
750ml - Case of 3
Bottle: $1188.88
Masseto has pulled off back-to-back home runs. This is the first time that an Italian wine has earned 100 points in...
WA
100
JS
100
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $101.61
The aromas of dried flowers, stones, dark tea leaves, hot tile, and dark berries. Full-bodied, yet tight and linear....
WA
98
JS
98
Sale
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Red
1.5Ltr - 1 Bottle
Bottle: $590.95 $607.37
2016 was an exceptional vintage in Tuscany and, according to Stefano, the best in 20 years. The cool night...
DC
100
JS
99
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Red
750ml - Case of 3
Bottle: $229.32
2016 was an exceptional vintage in Tuscany and, according to Stefano, the best in 20 years. The cool night...
DC
100
JS
99
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $215.67
2016 was an exceptional vintage in Tuscany and, according to Stefano, the best in 20 years. The cool night...
DC
100
JS
99

Ice Wine Mavrodaphne Merlot

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?

With its dark blue colored fruits and high juice content, Merlot varietal grapes have long been a favorite of wine producers around the globe, with it being found in vineyards across Europe, the Americas and elsewhere in the New World. One of the distinguishing features of Merlot grapes is the fact that they have a relatively low tannin content and an exceptionally soft and fleshy character, meaning they are capable of producing incredibly rounded and mellow wines. This mellowness is balanced with plenty of flavor, however, and has made Merlot grapes the varietal of choice for softening other, more astringent and tannin-heavy wines, often resulting in truly exceptional produce. Merlot is regarded as one of the key 'Bordeaux' varietals for precisely this reason; when combined with the drier Cabernet Sauvignon, it is capable of blending beautifully to produce some of the finest wines available in the world.