Do we ship to you?.
750ml
Bottle:
$13.93
$15.48
12 bottles:
$11.58
This wine is rich, concentrated with aromas of blackberry, cumin, dried herbs and florals. The palate offers black...
750ml
Bottle:
$13.84
12 bottles:
$13.56
Spiced red fruit with plums, strawberries and red cherries. A hint of grilled tarragon. Juicy, medium-bodied palate...
750ml
Bottle:
$37.80
$42.00
The top-of-the-range 2020 Luz Carménère feels closed, serious and austere, even in a warm and dry year like 2020....
750ml
Bottle:
$18.00
12 bottles:
$17.10
The 2020 Carménère Massal 1945 from Almahue, Cachapoal, was made in used barrels and foudres for 12 months. Garnet...
750ml
Bottle:
$34.63
6 bottles:
$33.94
Aromas of black fruit, green herbs, smoked meat, oyster and lemon zest. It’s medium-to full-bodied with firm,...
750ml
Bottle:
$89.94
6 bottles:
$88.14
This is a very sophisticated Kai with aromas of blackberries, blueberries, violets and graphite that follow through...
750ml
Bottle:
$15.94
$17.50
12 bottles:
$15.44
Tightly wound for Carmenere, but slowly reveals subtle dusty cocoa, petrichor and spice notes up front, joining black...
750ml
Bottle:
$76.94
Undergoing a four-week maceration followed by approximately nine months in French oak (50% new), Es is intoxicating:...
750ml
Bottle:
$76.72
3 bottles:
$76.00
From the moment I tilt the glass, the 2016 Carmenere makes itself known with an intensely spicy and pungently floral...
750ml
Bottle:
$22.90
$25.68
6 bottles:
$18.80
The 2021 Petite Sirah Tower Road is a beauty, with an up-front, lush, yet concentrated, nicely balanced style....
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$73.94
A new wine in this range, the 2017 Petite Sirah is a total knockout. Rich, ample and explosive, with terrific...
750ml
Bottle:
$18.34
12 bottles:
$17.42
A medium-to full-bodied carmenere with lots of dark, grilled cumin, black beans, olives and smoked meat. Dry and...
750ml
Bottle:
$15.90
12 bottles:
$15.58
Raspberry coulis and fresh soil with grass popping through on the nose turns to an almost cake-like raspberry and...
750ml
Bottle:
$19.90
$20.80
12 bottles:
$19.50
The 2021 Petite Sirah is laced with inky blue/purplish fruit, hard candy, mint, sage and white flowers. Whole...
750ml
Bottle:
$94.94
A consistent Purple Angel that really delivers the carmenere’s plushness when ripened well. Dark olives,...
750ml
Bottle:
$17.94
12 bottles:
$17.58
Blackberry, stewed-plum, basil and cigar-box aromas. It’s medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins. Crisp and...
750ml
Bottle:
$34.33
$36.80
A wine of weight and substance, the 2019 Petite Syrah Lytton Estate is fabulous. Best of all, readers won't have to...
750ml
Bottle:
$35.64
$39.60
12 bottles:
$34.20
Lovely aromas of toasted herbs, baked plums, nutmeg and chicory root. Full-bodied with tight tannins. Juicy and...
750ml
Bottle:
$39.89
$40.79
12 bottles:
$39.09
This Rutherford-based winery has sourced the fruit for its 2019 Petite Sirah from Guarino Vineyards in Calistoga....
750ml
Bottle:
$89.94
The 2021 Petite Syrah Hayne Vineyard comes from vines planted in 1953. Opaque ruby-black in color, this has some...
Carmenere Petite Sirah Primitivo
The deep blue colored grapes of the Carmenere varietal have their origins in France, where they are still listed as one of the elite grape varietals allowed by French law for the use in Bordeaux wines, generally regarded to be the finest in the world. However, the use of Carmenere grapes in France has been dwindling for many decades now, and it has been in several New World countries where they have seen their renaissance. Although still mostly used as a blending grape, single variety Carmenere wines are greatly sought after as a result of their deep, complex aromas, stunning blood red color and the fact that the grapes, when processed at optimum ripeness, carry some fascinating flavors, including chocolate, tobacco, and spicy cherry notes.
Petite Sirah was first brought from France to America in the 1880s. It later went on to become one of the only grapes to make it through the devastating Phylloxera virus in the 1890s, both World Wars, and the Great Depression. During Prohibition, it was a main ingredient used to make sacramental wines. In fact, through the 1960s it was a major blending grape in a number of the finest wines produced in California.
By itself, a bottle of Petite Sirah usually has no problem making a quick impression on consumers. With a large amount of natural color and tannins, wines made with the grape commonly feature intensive sweet fruit characteristics like fresh raspberry or blackberry jam, black pepper spice, and plenty of backbone or structure.
There are a number of different styles available. Some concentrate on highlighting fresh, fruity flavors; others are bigger, more voluptuous; and it keeps going up the ladder until you reach the powerful, more machismo-style category.
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.