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Rapid Ship
White
750ml
Bottle: $18.93
12 bottles: $18.55
A particular specialty of the Valle Isarco. Greenish to bright yellow in color. Peaches, apricots, and tones of...
White
750ml
Bottle: $32.94
Light golden yellow with clearly green reflections. Ripe peaches, dried apricots, orange peel, ginger, and elder...
12 FREE
Sale
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,...
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
White
750ml
Bottle: $24.94
12 bottles: $24.44
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
Rapid Ship
White
750ml
Bottle: $19.83
Notes of sliced apples, lemon zest and citrus blossom on the nose with crushed stone minerality in the background....
12 FREE
JS
91
White
750ml
Bottle: $17.94
12 bottles: $17.58
Color: Straw yellow with greenish hues Nose: Fresh, intense, spiced, aromatic Palate: Balanced acidity, aromatic,...
White
750ml
Bottle: $32.94
12 bottles: $32.28
Here's another stellar bottle from one of Italy's greatest wine subzones: the high-elevation Valle Isarco. Made in...
12 FREE
WA
92
VM
92
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...
12 FREE
Case only
White
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $23.42
Red
750ml
Bottle: $33.94
12 bottles: $33.26
Aroma : Black cherry, sarsaparilla, cacao. Flavor : Salted plum, black raspberry, cola.
12 FREE
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $29.90 $30.72
12 bottles: $29.30
The 2022 Kerner is bright and fresh with notes of apricot and citrus flowers, layered with hints of beeswax and a bit...
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 Kerner Mencia Savatiano

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.

Savatiano is probably Greece's most well known and most widely grown grape varietal, as it is the primary grape used in the production of Retsina, where the fermenting juices of the Savatiano varietal are flavored with pine resin in order to make this distinctive and famous wine. One of the reasons for the wide cultivation of this grape is due to its hardiness, and resistance to drought conditions. In the sun-drenched and dry, rocky Greek landscapes, this makes it an ideal vine to grow for wine-makers who require a strong and bounteous yield each year.

However, there are plenty of examples of Greek white wines which use the Savatiano grape but withhold from the addition the pine resin flavoring, allowing the true characteristics of this varietal to shine through. The result is often very pleasing indeed, with Savatiano grapes generally producing extremely well balanced and rounded white wines, with a juicily fruity flavor. Their aromas can vary quite a lot, with many Savatiano wines bearing the fragrance of citrus fruits, and also occasionally having a strong floral aroma reminiscent of elder and rose. Due to the relatively low acidity of Savatiano grapes, the wines which use them (including Retsina) generally bolster themselves with the addition of smaller quantities of more acidic varieties, such as Assyrtiko or Rhoditis, in order to improve their sometimes weak structure.

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?