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750ml
Bottle:
$1135.08
$1261.20
An utterly perfect wine from Alain Vauthier, the 2015 Château Ausone offers off the hook notes of crème de cassis,...
750ml
Bottle:
$1011.15
$1123.50
The incredible succulent power in Ausone puts a different perspective on other wines, as it so often does. The...
750ml
Bottle:
$1005.48
$1117.20
#73 TOP 100 WINES OF FRANCE 2022. Like a bouquet of fresh flowers on the nose, as well as blackberries, raspberries...
750ml
Bottle:
$865.08
$961.20
The flowers in the nose are spectacular with violets, lavender, and honeysuckle. Then there’s wet stone and freshly...
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$59.94
The 2005 Château Barde-Haut showed beautifully and was one of the gems in the lineup. Offers loads of ripe dark...
750ml
Bottle:
$55.88
$57.20
12 bottles:
$54.76
Even better than the 2009, the 2010 Château Barde-Haut offers the same sexy, extroverted style yet has slightly more...
750ml
Bottle:
$41.88
12 bottles:
$37.98
Readers will find a rich, flamboyant wine in the 2016 Barde-Haut. There is not a ton of subtlety here, but I am not...
750ml
Bottle:
$51.30
12 bottles:
$47.60
Showing brilliantly, the 2018 Château Barde-Haut comes from a beautiful, cooler terroir on the eastern side of...
750ml
Bottle:
$39.60
$44.00
Attractive black-fruit and berry character with some chocolate and toasted-hazelnut undertones. It’s full-bodied...
750ml
Bottle:
$22.80
12 bottles:
$21.66
Superb intensity and clarity of fruit, ranging from blueberries to blackcurrants to oyster shells and lightly tarry...
750ml
Bottle:
$44.69
$48.79
This is really nicely done with plenty of blackberries, dark chocolate and toasted oak. Medium to full body. Needs to...
750ml
Bottle:
$182.70
$203.00
This wine showed exceptionally well, both at the the Bordeaux 10 Years On tasting in London a few weeks ago and in...
1.5Ltr
Bottle:
$205.00
6 bottles:
$200.90
Fantastic aromas of crushed plums and blackberries. Perfumed! Full-bodied and very silky with stone undertones. Best...
750ml
Bottle:
$99.36
$110.40
Shows beautiful, ripe cabernet aromas with currants, plums, meat and smoke. Flowers, too. Full body, deep and ripe...
375ml
Bottle:
$55.35
12 bottles:
$54.24
This offers up a small plume of cocoa before steering back to more typical dark currant and black cherry fruit notes,...
750ml
Bottle:
$12.99
12 bottles:
$11.52
Shining ruby at its core with violet reflections, Beau-Rivage rouge shows fragrant blackberry, raspberry and...
Carignan Red Bordeaux 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.
There are few regions in the world with stricter regulations in regards to wine production and grape varietals than those found in Bordeaux, France. Here, in the home of the world's finest wines, the type and quality of grapes used is of utmost importance, and the legendary wineries which work on the banks of the Gironde river have mastered the careful art of juice blending to find the perfect balance for their produce. Whilst there are six 'official' Bordeaux grapes, the two key varietals for almost every fine Bordeaux wine are Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and with good reason. Whilst Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are renowned for their acidity and astringency, strong fruit and spice flavors and full body, Merlot grapes are notably rounded, soft, fleshy and lighter on tannin. The combination of these two varietals, along with a small percentage of (commonly) Petit Verdot or Cabernet Franc, is the perfect balancing act – the two grape varietals cancel out each others weaker points, and accentuate all that is good about the other.
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?