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Red
750ml
Bottle: $18.08
12 bottles: $17.72
COLOR: Wine of very elegant red color. BOUQUET: Intense aroma, with fruity hints of ripe plums, cherry jam and notes...
Red
750ml
Bottle: $45.82
12 bottles: $44.90
The 2021 Grenache Bessan Vineyard is one of the more austere selections in this range. Fruit is very much pushed into...
12 FREE
VM
92
Red
750ml
Bottle: $32.94
12 bottles: $32.28
• Practicing Organic. • 100% Grenache. • Sourced from Hofer Vineyard (Rancho Cucamonga AVA) 42 miles east of...
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Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $28.93
12 bottles: $28.35
The Santa Barbara County Grenache was inspired by Fonsalette from Chateau Rayas. The wine represents two very...
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $41.87
12 bottles: $41.03
The 2021 Grenache Santa Barbara Highlands Vineyard is one of the more ethereal and aromatic wines in this range....
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VM
92
Red
750ml
Bottle: $44.93
12 bottles: $44.03
Fermented with 38% whole clusters, the 2020 Grenache Thompson Vineyard is more meaty and almost nutty, with ripe,...
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JD
91
VM
90
Red
750ml
Bottle: $45.66
12 bottles: $44.75
Deceptive in its light-bodied structure, the 2021 Grenache Vie Caprice packs quite the punch. Darker tonalities of...
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VM
93
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $51.94
A sleek, harmonious red, with a rich undertow of sweet smoke, fig jam and mocha notes, plus generous flavors of...
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WS
92
Red
750ml
Bottle: $44.88
12 bottles: $43.98
Appearance: Opaque red-black. Scarlet rim. Aroma: Initially closed. The wine opens to an amalgam of minerals and...
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Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $29.93 $31.99
12 bottles: $29.64
It is a wine with an attractive collection of balsamic notes, of chocolate and black fruits, very warm in the mouth...
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $11.70 $13.00
12 bottles: $11.12
100% Garnacha sourced from three villages within Sierra Santa Cruz, Aragon. Hand-harvested partially destemmed but...
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $344.95 $347.20
The single-vineyard 2019 Quiñón de Valmira is made with Garnacha (and 10% other traditional varieties) grown at 616...
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WA
98
JS
95
Red
750ml
Bottle: $76.08
6 bottles: $74.56
This old-vine Grenache delivers aromas of strawberry and rose jam that is hard to resist. Red licorice, green herbs...
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WE
92
DC
90
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $26.93 $27.60
12 bottles: $26.39
The 2019 Pasos de San Martín was produced with Garnacha from the cooler zone of San Martín de Unx in Navarra where...
DC
93
WA
93
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $14.94 $16.66
The 2022 Camino de Navaherreros is pale, light and primary. It was produced with Garnacha and 10% Tempranillo that...
WA
90
Red
750ml
Bottle: $46.84
12 bottles: $45.90
There is more complete ripeness in the 2021 Arroyo del Tórtolas, which shows a darker hue than the 2020 I tasted...
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WA
94
Red
750ml
Bottle: $61.84
12 bottles: $60.60
The 2021 Garnacha de Viña Bonita is pure Garnacha from a plot of very old vines planted in 1929 on very shallow and...
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WA
97
Red
750ml
Bottle: $24.94
12 bottles: $24.44
The 2022 Camino de Navaherreros is pale, light and primary. It was produced with Garnacha and 10% Tempranillo that...
12 FREE
WA
90
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $26.84 $28.20
12 bottles: $26.30
This young bottling will have a long cellar life, thanks perhaps to the old-vine attributes. Aromas of amaro-like...
WE
94
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $30.00
12 bottles: $29.40
The top wine, made in tiny quantities, the 2015 Brega comes from the oldest vineyards of the estate (both planted...
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JD
93

Grenache Mavrodaphne Mencia Primitivo

The purple skinned grapes of the Grenache varietal have quickly become one of the most widely planted red wine grapes in the world, flourishing in several countries which have the correct conditions in which they can grow to ripeness. They thrive anywhere with a dry, hot climate, such as that found in central Spain and other such arid areas, and produce delightfully light bodied wines full of spicy flavors and notes of dark berries. Their robustness and relative vigor has led them being a favorite grape varietal for wineries all over the world, and whilst it isn't uncommon to see bottles made from this varietal alone, they are also regularly used as a blending grape due to their high sugar content and ability to produce wines containing a relatively high level of alcohol.

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?

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.