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White
Rapid Ship
White
750ml
Bottle: $15.94
Certified HVE3*. Sourced from 40-year-old Muscadet vines planted in shallow soils of disintegrated mica/schist....
White
750ml
Bottle: $13.50
12 bottles: $13.23
Certified HVE3*. Extraordinary Muscadet from vines aged 45-60 years planted in decomposed mica/schist soils. The...
Sale
Rapid Ship
White
750ml
Bottle: $13.36 $15.90
Gold color, Very aromatic wine with a hint of dry apricot, fresh white flower, honey and bit of buttery on the mouth....
Sale
White
White
375ml
Bottle: $35.94
An exuberance of perfectly ripe yellow and white peaches, apricots, melon, pineapple and delicate white floral aromas...
WE
96
WS
93
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $62.40
12 FREE
Case only
White
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $14.25
Attractive pale-yellow hue with green tints, a sign of the wine’s youth. The seductively fresh and fruity nose...
Case only
White
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $14.80
Pale yellow in color with aromas of juicy pear and white blossoms. Fresh and smooth on the palate with a clean finish.
Red
750ml
Bottle: $16.94
6 bottles: $16.60
A balanced, medium-bodied red, with light tannins and a subtle underpinning of fresh, loamy earth layered with...
WS
88
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $16.90 $18.00
Raspberry coulis and fresh soil with grass popping through on the nose turns to an almost cake-like raspberry and...
WE
91
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $25.27 $28.08
6 bottles: $24.00
Well-balanced and appealing, this medium-bodied red features a core of ripe and baked black cherry fruit, with light...
WS
89
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $16.04 $17.49
12 bottles: $15.83
Lovely perfume and aromatics-tropical yet dry and fresh. Tense and refined lemon curd palate with a creamy feel....
DC
91
WS
91
Rapid Ship
White
750ml
Bottle: $49.15
Yalumba is the pioneer of viognier in Australia and they continue to do a good job. Fealty to type. Floral lift...
12 FREE
VM
93
JS
93
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
White
750ml - Case of 3
Bottle: $415.52
Noticeably more oak than their Condrieu (10% new oak here), but this should settle - the score assumes that it will....
DC
95
JS
94
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
White
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $352.28
Noticeably more oak than their Condrieu (10% new oak here), but this should settle - the score assumes that it will....
DC
95
JS
94
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
White
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $59.62
91-93 The 2020 Condrieu La Galopine can be thought of as the base Condrieu, and it's always a good buy. Light...
JD
93
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
White
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $85.26
I loved the 2020 Condrieu. It’s made in a more vibrant, reductive, racy style that carries classic white peach,...
JD
94
WA
93
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
White
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $103.96
Just about pure perfection and one of the finest Condrieu to pass my lips, the 2020 Condrieu La Doriane offers an...
JD
99
DC
95
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
White
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $89.95
Just about pure perfection and one of the finest Condrieu to pass my lips, the 2020 Condrieu La Doriane offers an...
JD
99
DC
95

Melon de Bourgogne Primitivo Viognier 2020

One of the more unusual French grape varietals, Melon de Bourgogne has been grown in and around the Loire Valley for several hundred years. In fact, this grape was first planted in the Loire region of Pays Nantais back in the mid 17th century, after a devastating frost decimated most of the red grapes which were typical in the area. The winemakers of Pays Nantais were keen to cultivate vines which were hardy, high yielding, and capable of surviving another such frost, and so turned their attention to Melon de Bourgogne for this very reason. The native home of the varietal is actually in Burgundy, where it is still grown to a lesser extent.


Because Melon de Bourgogne produces naturally heavy yields, the vintners of Pays Nantais go to great lengths to reduce the amount of fruit the vines bear. This allows the finest characteristics of the grape to come forward, and also opens up the opportunity for it to express the wonderful granite and schist soils in which the vines are grown. Melon de Bourgogne is a minerally white wine grape varietal, with a very subtle set of fruit flavors. It is prized for its freshness and brightness, and is seeing a revival in the twenty first century as an excellent wine for pairing with a wide range of foods.

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.

Although primarily associated with the Rhone region of France, the precise origins of the Viognier grape variety are unknown, and the subject of much debate. However, these fine and delicate green skinned grapes are an important varietal for many of France's most elegant white wines, and they are quickly beginning to spread around the New World, too, where wineries are discovering their unique qualities and unusual character. Viognier grapes are notoriously difficult to grow, due to the fact they are highly susceptible to mildew, but wineries persevere with them nonetheless, producing wines which are highly aromatic and have a great, fruit-forward character. Their delicate aroma suggests sweetness due to its flowery, sappy nature, but the wine itself generally very dry and crisp, and full of summery, light and refined qualities.