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750ml
Bottle:
$12.57
12 bottles:
$12.32
Colour: Intense bright red colour with violet reflections.
Nose: Flavours of prune, tobacco and vanilla.
Taste: Dry,...
750ml
Bottle:
$56.94
6 bottles:
$55.80
This is a very successful aglianico from Basilicata replete with dark but fresh berries; the aromas of blackberries,...
750ml
Bottle:
$19.52
12 bottles:
$17.86
Ruby-red coloured wine tending to violet-purple. Soft fruit aroma with a prevalence of plum and morello cherry. Well...
750ml
Bottle:
$21.93
12 bottles:
$21.49
• 100% Aglianico.
• From Montemiletto, within the Taurasi DOCG appellation.
• Altitude is 500-700 meters.
•...
750ml
Bottle:
$22.95
12 bottles:
$22.49
The 2022 Nero d'Avola is dark and woodsy in the glass, with dried blueberries and exotic spices lifted by sage hints....
750ml
Bottle:
$11.94
$13.01
An excellent deep, spicy, intriguing red wine from Sicily, the 2023 Nero d’Avolo is a tank-fermented and aged, dark...
750ml
Bottle:
$20.94
12 bottles:
$20.52
Intense ruby red colored wine, dense and opaque. The nose is rich and lingering with hints of ripe fruits, balsamic...
750ml
Bottle:
$41.94
12 bottles:
$41.10
Intense ruby red colored wine, dense and opaque. The nose is rich and lingering with hints of ripe fruits, balsamic...
750ml
Bottle:
$84.95
12 bottles:
$83.25
The 2011 Taurasi Riserva pulls you close and holds your attention firm with its deeply alluring bouquet of crushed...
750ml
Bottle:
$19.93
12 bottles:
$19.53
Donna Chiara has a broad aroma, intense and persistent flavors of raspberry jam, elegant.
750ml
Bottle:
$34.94
$36.00
12 bottles:
$34.24
The 2019 Taurasi Vigna Andrea seduces the senses with sweet exotic spice and cedar shavings, giving way to medicinal...
750ml
Bottle:
$13.62
$15.13
The 2022 Nero d'Avola mixes sweet herbal tones with crushed black cherries and wet stone to form an inviting bouquet....
750ml
Bottle:
$18.00
12 bottles:
$17.64
Nero d’Avola, guyot, planted in 2011, harvested in late September at 42 hl/ha. Destemmed and crushed, with...
750ml
Bottle:
$16.63
$18.48
12 bottles:
$13.59
Umami notes of soy sauce and black olives, a bit of mossy underbrush and berries swirl together on the nose of the...
750ml
Bottle:
$16.25
$17.59
12 bottles:
$15.92
Ashen soils, crushed stone, animal musk, plum and exotic savory spices can all be found in the dark and sultry 2016...
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$44.40
Aromas of wild berry, espresso, dark spice and French oak take center stage while the firmly structured palate...
Aglianico Mavrodaphne Nero D'avola Mencia
Aglianico is a black skinned grape most commonly associated with the exquisite wines of the Campania region of Italy. It thrives most happily in hot and dry climates, and as such, has had plenty of success in the New World, particularly in the United States, where it is used to great effect in many red wines. It was believed to come from Greece several thousand years ago, brought by Pheonician tradesman, and was wildly popular in Roman times, when it was used in the finest wines made by the Roman empire. Aglianico grapes produce full bodied red wines which have a high tannin and acid content. As such, it has excellent ageing potential, and with a standard amount of time in a barrel, it rounds out and mellows to produce beautifully balanced wines.
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.