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750ml
Bottle:
$144.94
$150.40
A riot of pepper lights up the nose, from cracked black to green peppercorn to hot chili. Flint and leather...
750ml
Bottle:
$319.20
A nose like a private library with old books on the shelves, dried lavender and violets on the desk, and sunbeams and...
750ml
Bottle:
$349.94
Here it is: A quintessential Sassicaia that represents the excellence of the vintage and also respects the unique...
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$27.64
The Toscana Rosso Due & Due is produced from the union of four grape varieties – 70% of the blend is red grapes and...
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$41.29
An opaque purple blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah, the 2022 Il Bruciato is luxurious with notes of...
750ml
Bottle:
$15.41
12 bottles:
$14.64
Fruit driven on the nose with aromas of cherries and plums which follow through on the palate. Lovely warmth and...
Pre-Arrival
Ornellaia Bolgheri 1997
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$493.73
Fruit and complexity as well as freshness and richness. Beautiful nose with extraordinary aromas of prunes, licorice,...
Pre-Arrival
Le Macchiole Toscana Messorio 2020
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$218.95
A nose like a private library with old books on the shelves, dried lavender and violets on the desk, and sunbeams and...
Pre-Arrival
Tua Rita Redigaffi 2020
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$212.22
This has aromas of cigar box, black plums, cherries, mocha and toasted walnuts. Full-bodied with firm, tight and...
750ml
Bottle:
$67.60
6 bottles:
$66.25
Notes of cassis, spice and chocolate. Elegant, complex and seamless palate with silky ripe tannins and a long fresh...
750ml
Bottle:
$194.94
6 bottles:
$191.04
Biserno shows immediately its quality with taste of impeccable cherry, blackberry and dark prune flavors. It presents...
750ml
Bottle:
$46.44
$51.60
Opens with heady aromas of rose petal, plum, blackberry jam, cooked strawberry, ripe black cherry and baking spice. A...
750ml
Bottle:
$41.93
$46.00
Pretty, fragrant, expressive. Floral, cherry, mint nose; palate adds raspberry, brown spices, rose petal and tobacco....
Italian Red Blends Merlot Primitivo
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.
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.