×
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $17.86 $18.80
12 bottles: $17.42
A well-spiced red, fresh and medium-bodied, revealing a ripe core of boysenberry and black plum fruit, with crisp...
WS
88
Red
750ml
Bottle: $31.50
12 bottles: $30.87
Cherry red color with low layer. Complexity on the nose with floral notes and very elegant. Complex, elegant, fresh...
12 FREE
Red
750ml
Bottle: $25.20
12 bottles: $24.70
Complexity on the nose with balsamic notes, scrub, aromatic herbs from the area and with a mineral character....
Red
750ml
Bottle: $13.43
12 bottles: $13.16
Intense Purple in color with aroma that are reminiscent of redberry fruits such as cherries, strawberries and...
Sale
Red
Case only
White
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $46.75 $52.00
• Certified organic. • 90% Mourvèdre, 10% Grenache. • 250-300+ meters altitude. • The highest elevation in...
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $39.94 $42.00
12 bottles: $39.90
• Certified organic. • 70% Mourvèdre, 30% Grenache. • 250-300+ menters altitude. • The highest elevation in...
12 FREE
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...
Red
750ml
Bottle: $19.94
12 bottles: $19.54
12 FREE
Sale
White
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $62.40
12 FREE
Red
12 FREE
Red
750ml
Bottle: $25.95
12 bottles: $25.43
Mourvèdre from two high-elevation vineyards in the Sierra Foothills - Cedarville and Sumu Kaw. Hank Beckmeyer knows...
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...
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
Case only
Long-term Pre-Arrival
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $165.20
The 2020 Mourvedre is composed of 86% Mourvedre, 12% Syrah, and 2% Viognier, made using 75% whole clusters and aged...
WA
98
JD
98

Melon de Bourgogne Mourvedre Primitivo 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.

Mourvèdre is a fascinating and ancient grape varietal, thought to have been introduced to Spain by the ancient Phoenicians over two thousand years ago. Since then, it has found a home in many regions of France, and has gone on to be a key grape varietal in the New World, where it is often blended with Grenache and Syrah varietals to make a beautifully rounded and balanced red wine. The Mourvèdre grape itself is renowned for holding a complex set of flavours, which are often described as meaty or gamey, with plenty of bramble fruit notes. As such, they are often served with dark meats, and are enjoyed in many countries across the globe. The grapes are not the easiest to cultivate, as they require plenty of sunshine alongside well irrigated soil. However, their quality and unique attributes mean that wineries all over the globe continue to persevere with this special varietal.

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.