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Red
750ml
Bottle: $47.16 $52.40
Colour: Lively, deep ruby-red; nature's gift. Perfume: Complex scent of ripe red fruit (mainly black cherry), spices,...
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $31.16 $32.80
The aromas of blue fruits, such as raspberries, with subtle cloves and bark follow through to a palate of...
JS
93
VM
92
Red
750ml
Bottle: $21.50
12 bottles: $21.07
12 FREE
Red
750ml
Bottle: $29.94
12 bottles: $29.34
• 100% Carignan. • Practicing Organic. • Poor Ranch Vyd (mult-generational family owned on benchland outside...
Red
750ml
Bottle: $29.94
6 bottles: $29.34
Colour: Deep, almost solid ruby red. Nose: Intense fruity notes of blackberry, blueberry, vanilla, myrtle, leather...
12 FREE
Red
750ml
Bottle: $44.80
6 bottles: $44.00
12 FREE
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $24.44
Deep crimson red in color with intense, lingering aromas of red berry fruit, cherry, myrtle and juniper. Elegant and...
12 FREE
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $32.54
Color: Intense ruby red and covered up to the glass edge, with aubergine peel nuances. Perfume: Very fine and...
12 FREE
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $18.13
Big raspberry and plum aromas on the nose as well as a hint of eucalyptus and liquorice. The wine is rich and mouth...
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $16.85
Roasted coffee and liquorice on the nose with some blackberry notes and a light smokiness showing the age of the...
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $13.93
12 bottles: $13.65
All old vine Carignan, the 2019 Côtes Catalanes Tessellae from Jean-Marc Lafage offers a beautifully pure nose of...
JD
92
Red
750ml
Bottle: $36.94
Deep, brooding and fresh-toned, with blackberries, graphite and some blue fruit and violets. Quite a full body with...
12 FREE
JS
93
Red
750ml
Bottle: $21.20
12 bottles: $20.78
• 100% Mavrodaphne. • Low yielding vines from loamy clay soils. • Fermented and aged in stainless steel.
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Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $23.94
Impressive Petit Verdot with ripe berry, violet and chocolate. Hints of green coffee. It's fully bodied, chewy and...
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $68.50
Rich and powerful with expressions of ripe cherries, dark chocolate and spices. This full bodied wine is supported by...
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Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $25.01
Deep purple color with crimson highlights. Elegant floral nose with peony and violet flowers along with the typical...
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $33.94
12 bottles: $33.26
Aroma : Black cherry, sarsaparilla, cacao. Flavor : Salted plum, black raspberry, cola.
12 FREE
Red
750ml
Bottle: $33.94
12 bottles: $33.26
Soft tannin and stimulating acidity rise to meet this deeply fruited, social wine. Carignan from this beloved site...
12 FREE
Red
750ml
Bottle: $13.43
12 bottles: $11.52
Our Cabrerisse comes from 40-60 year-old Carignan vines, dry-famed in the stony landscape of this small Languedoc...
Red
750ml
Bottle: $24.94
12 bottles: $24.44
The 2021 Carignane from Jessie's Grove is fabulous. Rich, deep, and dynamic, the 2021 is done in a style that shows...
VM
93

Carignan Mavrodaphne Mencia Petit Verdot

Carignan is an ancient blue-skinned grape varietal, thought to be indigenous to the Aragon region of Spain. However, today it is most commonly associated with the fine wines of southern France, and has been grown in many countries around the world which have the warm and dry conditions it requires to thrive. Carignan is recognized as being quite a sensitive vine, highly susceptible to all kinds of rot and mildew, although producing excellent results when given the right conditions and handled correctly. Its high tannin levels and acidity make the Carignan grapes very astringent, and as such, they are often used as a blending grape to give body to other, lesser bodied varietals. Despite this, with careful treatment, Carignan can produce superb single varietal wines packed full of character and unique attributes.

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?