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750ml
Bottle:
$20.08
12 bottles:
$19.68
Ripe, plummy aromas and flavors. Medium body. A hint of vanilla coming through at the end. Balanced, tasty finish....
750ml
Bottle:
$13.81
$15.34
Color: Streaks of garnet giving way to intense ruby red.
Nose: Candied fruits and spices that evolve into clean...
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$16.92
Color: Ruby red very intense and deep.
Bouquet: Strong and distinctive with scents of red fruits and spicy hints of...
750ml
Bottle:
$31.05
Very ripe and spicy aromas in the nose. Powerful and earthy on the palate, rich and deep. (Bronze) - DWWA 2022
750ml
Bottle:
$11.93
$12.57
A rustic, chewy red, with pungent stemmy herb and smoke notes on the nose layered with tangy raspberry and red...
750ml
Bottle:
$14.94
$15.63
12 bottles:
$14.85
The term "Maru" translates into dark or severe and correctly describes some of the characteristics of Puglia's native...
750ml
Bottle:
$11.34
$12.13
100% Negroamaro, one of the most representative red grapes of Salento, is known for producing wines that are rich,...
700ml
Bottle:
$91.20
12 bottles:
$80.94
Fukano Blonde—an all-new, limited expression from the famed distillery—is bottled to showcase the beauty of...
700ml
Bottle:
$93.48
$98.40
12 bottles:
$88.92
Texturally robust and aromatically refined, Fukano’s Sherry Cask whisky feels and tastes downright luxurious....
700ml
Bottle:
$79.80
$84.00
Each individual cask displays Fukano’s signature aromas of ripe fruit and toasted baking spice—think...
750ml
Bottle:
$21.20
12 bottles:
$20.78
• 100% Mavrodaphne.
• Low yielding vines from loamy clay soils.
• Fermented and aged in stainless steel.
Japanese Whiskey Mavrodaphne Negroamaro Mencia
Whisky might not be the first thing that springs to mind when we think of Japanese fine produce, but over the past one hundred years, this fascinating and multi-faceted country has diligently forged a unique whisky identity which is growing in popularity, and which is entirely its own.
The story of Japanese whisky begins in 1918, when Masataka Taketsuru was sent to Scotland to undertake a tour of single malt distilleries in the Highlands, and bring home a knowledge of whisky and distillation skills. He returned full of inspiration, helped no doubt by his new Scottish wife, and alongside his friend, Shinjiro Torii, set up what would become a successful whisky industry.
Today, the Japanese whisky industry is spread over a relatively small handful of distilleries, which continue to use Scottish techniques and recipes, but with a hefty dose of distinctly Japanese experimentalism. This is displayed most obviously in the barrelling techniques the Japanese use - to create a distinctly Oriental set of tasting notes, native Japanese oakwood casks are used for ageing, alongside casks taken from plum wine producers, which impart a beautiful set of floral flavors to the whisky.
While some distilleries produce some excellent single malts, the majority of Japanese whiskies are blended, which reveals a unique set of flavors and aromas ranging from honeysuckle and orange blossom, to toffee and acetone.
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?
One of the key grapes of the ever-growing Puglia wine industry is the Negroamaro, a native grape of this southern Italian region, famed for its deep, bloody red color and excellent set of flavors Indeed, many of the finest and most highly esteemed full bodied red wines of Puglia are made using the Negroamaro varietal grape, and it is grown most notably in the Salento area of the region, where it makes several types of red wine enjoyed locally and sold overseas. The name 'Negroamaro' means 'black-bitter', giving some clue as to one of the key features of the grape. Wines made with Negroamaro do indeed hold quite a lot of earthy bitterness, but generally are celebrated for their 'rustic' taste and extremely aromatic qualities.