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375ml
Bottle:
$23.90
The pale lemon-gold colored 2019 Coutet is a thrill ride from the get-go, exploding from the glass with fantastically...
750ml
Bottle:
$434.94
Barrel Sample. Apricot tones with lively acidity give this rich wine a vein of freshness. Pear and white peach notes...
750ml
Bottle:
$99.94
$115.94
Lovely noble rot aromas but quite modern in profile with freshness and energy. On the palate there is expressive and...
375ml
Bottle:
$49.38
12 bottles:
$48.39
The 2017 Chateau Suduiraut is 94% Semillon and 6% Sauvignon Blanc, with 240 grams of residual sugar. It has rocking...
375ml
Bottle:
$70.99
$76.94
This is a glorious icewine where acidity and sugar are in perfect harmony. The candied orange peel, ginger, straw and...
375ml
Bottle:
$12.93
Aromas of dried figs, apricots, candied citrus, ginger and honeycomb. Sweet and luscious with spicy and toasty...
750ml
Bottle:
$13.01
Purato Nero d'Avola is packed with punchy fruit, with an excellent structure, yet is completely approachable.
Ice Wine Mavrodaphne Nero D'avola Semillon/sauvignon Blanc Rapid Ship
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?
Italy’s largest island, Sicily, has a wine producing history that can put most other European regions to shame. It was producing quality wines before the days of the Roman empire, and even the Ancient Greeks were not the first to cultivate vines on the island. For as long as anyone knows, the key grape varietal of Sicily has been Nero d’Avola, the beautiful, deep blue skinned grape which produces the region’s characterful, powerful red wines. While in the past, Nero d’Avola was mainly used as a blending grape, due to its deep color and intensely full body, it is today being increasingly celebrated as a single varietal wine grape, and is perfect for those who like their wines boisterous, loud and strong.
Nero d’Avola is grown pretty much everywhere on Sicily, as demand for wines made from this grape have never been higher. Despite its power and body, it is quite a versatile grape - it can be aged in oak barrels, which produces a dense and dark wine which puts its intense characteristics to good use, but it is also often drunk quite young, which allows its jammy, plummy character to come forward. It is also used to make rose wines in some appellations of Sicily, demonstrating a softer side to this otherwise heavy, deeply flavorful grape.