×
White
750ml
Bottle: $169.93
12 bottles: $166.53
Complex and super intense Palo Cortado, loaded with concentration. Salted caramel, toffee, walnut and some tangy...
12 FREE
WA
96
JS
96
White
375ml
Bottle: $13.00
12 bottles: $12.35
Sale
White
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $14.41 $15.83
This is bright for a cream Sherry, with green tea and singed ginger notes out front, providing heft to the date,...
WS
91
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $61.55 $64.79
An exceptionally old fino, perhaps the oldest on the market, at about 15 years, from a gentle, gracious family, who...
12 FREE
DC
96
WA
95
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $14.94 $15.83
Sea salt, Brazil nut and dried chamomile notes are racy and filigreed, with a stony edge on the finish. Drink now.
WS
90
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $27.94 $31.19
Shows lovely focus and persistence, with a prominent thread of bitter almond that runs from start to finish, while...
WS
92
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $59.93 $64.79
The NV Villapanes Oloroso wears a dark amber-brown robe and has a very intense nose, showing some marmalade, dark...
12 FREE
WA
91
Sale
White
500ml
Bottle: $19.90 $20.80
12 bottles: $19.00
Nothing besides glorious dried fig and raisin aromas are the greeting on this brown, lusty, sweet Sherry. Given the...
WE
95
White
500ml
Bottle: $43.64
6 bottles: $36.80
DECANTER WORLD WINE AWARDS 2018 - PLATINUM: Deliciously complex notes of fresh apple, chamomile, lemon and baked...
12 FREE
DC
97
JS
95
Rapid Ship
White
750ml
Bottle: $17.99
Zingy, rich nose that’s full of yellow apples, white almonds, biscuits and sour dough. Creamy, round and flavorful...
JS
92
UBC
91
Sale
White
1.0Ltr
Bottle: $25.31 $26.64
12 bottles: $19.15
Intense nose of toffee, coconut, spicy fruitcake and chocolate; rich and concentrated, well-integrated sweetness,...
DC
90
Sale
White
1.5Ltr
Bottle: $41.00 $43.16
6 bottles: $28.01
Intense nose of toffee, coconut, spicy fruitcake and chocolate; rich and concentrated, well-integrated sweetness,...
DC
90
White
375ml
Bottle: $13.48
24 bottles: $9.51
Intense nose of toffee, coconut, spicy fruitcake and chocolate; rich and concentrated, well-integrated sweetness,...
DC
90
Sale
Rapid Ship
White
750ml
Bottle: $12.84 $15.46
Intense nose of toffee, coconut, spicy fruitcake and chocolate; rich and concentrated, well-integrated sweetness,...
DC
90
White
750ml
Bottle: $13.43
12 bottles: $11.52
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $11.94 $13.43
12 bottles: $11.70
White
750ml
Bottle: $13.43
12 bottles: $11.52
White
500ml
Bottle: $39.94
12 FREE
White
375ml
Bottle: $13.94
12 bottles: $13.66
Smoke and brioche aromas. Elegant palate with subtle stony, iodine notes. Squeaky clean, with a salty delicacy.
DC
94
WA
93

Mencia Primitivo Sherry Spain Andalusia Jerez - Sherry

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.

Sherry is made in a unique way using the solera system, which blends fractional shares of young wine from oak barrels with older, more mature wines. Sherry has no vintage date because it is blended from a variety of years. Rare, old sherries can contain wine that dates back 25 to 50 years or more, the date the solera was begun. If a bottle has a date on it, it probably refers to the date the company was founded.

Most sherries begin with the Palomino grape, which enjoys a generally mild climate in and around the triad of towns known as the "Sherry Triangle" and grows in white, limestone and clay soils that look like beach sand. The Pedro Ximenez type of sweet sherry comes from the Pedro Ximenez grape.

Sherry is a "fortified" wine, which means that distilled, neutral spirits are used to fortify the sherry. The added liquor means that the final sherry will be 16 to 20 percent alcohol (higher than table wines) and that it will have a longer shelf life than table wines.

Ever since the Phoenicians and Romans brought their knowledge of vine cultivation to Spanish soils, the country's culture has grown alongside wine production, with wine being a vital part of Spanish identity and Spanish traditions. Each region of Spain has a wine quite distinct from the others, and it is produced by smallholders and families as much as it is by large companies and established wineries. From the relatively mild and lush regions of La Rioja to the arid plateaus that surround Madrid, grapes are grown in abundance for the now booming Spanish wine industry, and new laws and regulations have recently been put in place to keep the country's standards high. By combining traditional practices with modern technology, Spanish wineries are continuing to produce distinctive wines of great character, flavor and aroma, with the focus shifting in recent decades to quality over quantity.

Andalusia, in the south of Spain, is surely the quintessential Spanish wine region. Here we find all the color and passion of this ancient country, the streets ringing with flamenco music, and wines being enjoyed with gusto at every pavement cafe. The viticultural history of Andalusia is so old, that nobody really knows when it began - it could have been started by the ancient Greeks, or by the earlier Phoenicians who certainly used the peninsula as a trading post. Whoever got it started certainly did a good job, however, as by the time the Romans moved in, the wine industry was already well established, and it has barely faltered since.

Today, the most famous wines made in Andalusia are surely the Sherries, those beautiful, aromatic fortified wines, which come out of the city of Jerez and which are made from the characterful native Palomino grape. Sherry is not the be all and end all of Andalusian produce, however - the region is also highly appreciated for the sweet dessert wines of Malaga and Montilla Moriles, as well as the beautifully refined dry red and white wines from the region’s other DO (Denomination de Origen), Condado de Huelva which are quickly gaining popularity outside of Spain.