Topic: TN: Greek wines at Oddbins
Author: Nerval
Date: Mon Dec 3 13:11:28 2001
A tasting of Greek wines from three wineries, imported and energetically marketed in the UK by Oddbins. TNs are interspersed with random comments from the three representatives.

Gaia Estate, Athens
The winery was founded in 1994 by Leon Karatsalos and Yannis Paraskevópoulos, who was present at the tasting. Yannis is a Bordeaux-trained oenologist with a meticulous, modern approach to winemaking.The estate is divided in two parts: a white-producing winery on the island of Thíra, or Santorini, and another one in Neméa, red-producing country. The Santorini vineyards are planted with 90% Assýrtiko and 10% Athíri and Aidáni, plus a minuscule production of reds from local grape Mandelária. The originality of Santorini plantings is that they are not grafted, since phylloxera never came to the island; the vine cuttings are planted directly into the extremely rich volcanic stone soil. The soil has 0% magnesium, 0% clay and 0% organic matter. Thanks to the very high sulphur content of the soil, no anti-rot spraying is necessary, and mildew is never a problem either. The vines are trained as bush vines planted in a type of basket for easier maintenance and protection against strong winds. Currently Gaia''s vineyards are between 17 and 20 years old. Practiced yields are in the region of 25-28 hl/ha/.

Thalássitis 2000, AOC Santorini
100% Assýrtiko from single vineyard Episkopí. 28 hl/ha, 12.8% alc., 6.9 g/l acids, 1.3 g/l r.s., pH 2.74. Aged in steel only, 76,000 bottles made. Note the extremely low pH. Due to extreme heat in the summer all the acid in the must is pure tartaric, hence the malolactic fermentation is a no-issue.
Medium dark straw with lots of green. Very intense nose which is yeasty and chalky, with some petrol, grapefruit peel and crisp pear. Lacks some focus in mouth, flavours are of citrus and petrol again, with lots of extract and a quite long, even more petrolly finish. Slightly disjointed perhaps, but interesting white with a personality. A wine I would like to see preserved in any case. £7.50.

Barrel Thalássitis 2000, AOC Santorini
Same grape origin, same figures except for pH 2.82. Aged 6 months sur lie in 100% new Nevers and Allier barrels, 225 and 500 liters. 17,000 bottles made.
Same colour as above. Nose has lots of oak of the rubbery, slightly bitter, herbal kind. On the palate there is good acidity and perhaps less oak. In the style of some oaked Sauvignons from Australia. Much less exciting, of course, than the un-oaked version. £9.

The Neméa estate of Gaia''s is located in the Koutsi subzone on hillsides. It is mainly planted with Aghiorghítiko. Paraskevópoulos is also experimenting with a sweet red made from grapes dried for 10 days on outside matts to 23o Beaumé, then aged 5-6 years in small barrels.

Nótios White 2000, Vin Régional du Pelopponèse
Blend of Rodítis and Moschofílero. 120 hl/ha, 11.7% alc., 6.0 g/l acids, 3.9 g/l r.s. Aged in steel.
Medium straw colour with gold. Slightly standardized nose with touches of industrial yeast, but also rose petals, sweet raisins and citrus peel. On the palate it is quite crisp, full-bodied but not hot, with gooseberry and citrus fruit. Slightly industrial but very good. £5.

Nótios Red 2000, V.R. du Pelopponèse
100% Aghiorghítiko. 80 hl/ha, 12.9% alc., 4.1 g/l acids, 1.4 g/l r.s. Macerated 5-6 days on the skins, then passed for 40 days in new barrels to wash off the ''plancher'', as Yannis puts it; 100% malolactic fermentation. Dark ruby-violet. Gently perfumed nose of black cherry, butter, some burnt bread and beurre noir. On the palate there is good intensity of cherry fruit and a slightly biscuity edge. A bit short. Very good, and a steal at £5.

Gaia Estate 1999, AOC Neméa
100% Aghiorghítiko from 12-year-old single vineyard in Koutsi at 650 m above sea level. 52 hl/ha, 13.2% alc., 5.3 g/l acids, 2.0 g/l r.s.. Macerated up to 40 days, aged for 12 months in French oak, 50% new, 25% 1-year-old, 25% 2-year-old. Fermented with indigenous yeast developed in lab. 26,000 bottles made.
Beautiful dark cherry colour. Lots of barrique on the nose, with some fresh butter and paint notes. Good presence on the palate, with a minor glassy, lead-pencilly thing to it. Thick. Medium acidity, some tannins in the background, medium length. A touch of petrol and burnt matter appear with time. Good, but not as fabulous as I''ve been said previous vintages are. £11.

Ritinítis Nóbilis NV, V.R. Pelopponèse
A white wine of 100% Rodítis, to which about 50 g/hl of the resin of the Pinus halepensis tree, creating a light, elegant style of Retsina.
Dark straw colour with green. Very herbal and stalky on the nose, with a yeastiness akin to the white Nótios. Quite fresh, and with just a minor touch of resin and menthol perhaps appearing at the back of the nose. But somehow it lacks the charm and poise of full-blown Retsina. On the palate there is in fact no resemblence to it, and we are left with a rather nautral, though still quite crisp and enjoyable white. Could work better with food. L5.50.

Domaine Gerovassíliou, Thessaloníki

This winery was presented by export manager Thras Giantsídis. It was founded by Vangélis Gerovassíliou, born in 1951 and another French-trained oenologist. He first worked on the Chalkidikí peninsula at the Château Carras. In 1983 he revived a small, 5-ha property at Epanomí near Thessaloníki which had belonged to his father. In 1986 he built a brand new winery. Today he has extended the vineyards to 23 ha. The plantings are a mix of French and Greek grape varieties. Among the latter, there is Assýrtiko and a rare indiegnous aromatic white, called Malagouziá, originally from Napypaktos, which Gerovassíliou has been following for years and which he believes has a great potential. It is in some ways similar to Moschofílero in its nose of Turkish delight and rose petals, high alcohol level and extract. French varieties planted here include Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Viognier, Syrah, Merlot and some Grenache. The climate is moderate, with warm summers, little rain, and sometimes harsh winters (the Olympus is only 3 km away). The soils are mostly sandy, with some clay patches and marine fossils adding mineral complexity.

All wines are V.R. Epanomí.

Gerovassíliou White 2000
50% Assýrtiko, 50% Malagouziá, 100% steel-fermented. Dark golden. Very perfumed and sweet nose with rose petals, lychees and peaches, slightly yeasty and stemmy, rustic, strong, but quite noble for what it is. On the palate it continues the Gewürztraminer analogy with a sweet, slightly flabby package, rounded off by a marmelady and slightly drying finish. Lacks a bit of elegance, but quite good. £6.50

Gerovassíliou Chardonnay 2000
Dark yellow colour. A rather standard oaked Chard with lots of butter and vanilla. Strong acidity on the finish. Rather anonymous. £8.

Gerovassíliou Red 2000
80% Syrah, 20% Merlot, aged in oak. Nice deep ruby colour. Nose of cherry and strawberry confiture, praline, fresh paint, slightly cooked, but interesting. Juicy and very glyceric on the palate, with a bit of sipce and aggressive paint , especially on the bitter, macerated cherry-like finish. Good acidity. The more traditional of the two reds, and quite convincing. £8.50.

Gerovassíliou Syrah 2000
Barrel sample. Aged in oak for 12 months, will be bottled Nov 2001. 13.5% alc. Slightly darker purple than above. Lots of new oak here, to sustain the dry nose of bacon and red cherry. On the palate it is quite fat, but with a citrus character for balance. A bit hollow and dried-out here as well, with poerful, dusty tannins. Needs time, but promising. The estate''s best wine IMO. £9.

Gerovassíliou''s third white, The Fumé blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Malagouziá, was not on tasting.

Ktíma Kir-Yánni, Yanakohóri

The story started in 1879 when Yánnis M. Boutáris founded a winery in Naoussa, in north-western Greece near the Macedonian border. Today the estate is managed by his grandson Yánnis B. and his sons Stéllios and Mihális, the latter present in London to present the family winery. It now employs 45 people in two separate estates, a 50-ha property in Yanakohóri and a smaller one in Amíndeo. A new winery was built in 1990. At this time the estate has been separated from the Boutári winery and is now run independently.
Current plantings include 30 ha of 30-year-old Xynómavro, 4 ha of Merlot and 2 ha of Syrah, both 15-year-old, plus 5 other ha planted with Sauvignon Blanc, Gewürztraminer and Chardonnay. The soils are mainly loam, clay and sand, with some calcareous patches. The average altitude is 300 m above sea level, and the climate is continental. Yields practiced at the estate are in the region of 70 q/ha for Xynómavro, instead of the 150 q/ha allowed by the AOC rulebook. The estate used to follow organic methods of farming but Mihális says ''they will move away from that'', estimating that some problems cannot be solved by these methods.

Samáropetra 2000, V.P. Florína
This and the two following wines belong to the lower Grypas range. A blend of Sauvignon and barrel-fermented Rodítis from single vineyard Amíndeo, it was released in 48,000 bottles.
Dark straw with lots of green. A perfumed, strongly yeasty wine with quite a creamy, waxy side to it, not unlike a Verdicchio. On the palate there is again an impression of creaminess from the texture, plus a touch of wax on the finish from the Roditis. An OK wine at £7.

Orinós Rodítis 2000, V.P. Florina
100% Rodítis grown on high-altitude vineyards (hence the name) on sandy soils at 700 m above sea level. Has seen some old oak barrels. 72,000 bottles made.
Slightly lighter colour. Peachy, fleshy and rather stinky nose here, with a green lettuce note and lots of SO2 as yet. Very nice texture, creamy but cool, like lemon sorbet. Quite intense and flowery, with the varietal waxiness appearing on the finish together with waxy lemond peel notes. Excellent. £5.

Xynómavro Rosé 2000, AOC Amíndeo
From single vineyard Ráspo, 12,000 bottles made.
Medium pink, rose petal colour. Fresh and crips on the nose, with strawberry, whipped cream and lemon peel. Palate is intense and juicy, with some raspberry on finish. A bit neutral, but good. £5.

Xynómavro 1998, AOC Náoussa
From the estate range. Medium ruby with a sightly rusty rim. Nose of woman''s perfume, cherry liqueur and oak, perhaps a bit of cinnamon. The palate is dusty, juicy and full-blown, with good tannic power. Well-made, characterful red. £8.

Rámnitsa 1997, AOC Náoussa
100% Xynómavro, 12 months of new American oak, 8,400 bottles made.
Medium ruby with a slight orange rim. Dusty, chalky nose of very sweet raspberry, soft, liqueury, in a Piedmont register I would say, with something watery and spirity at the same time. On the palate it is quite acidic despite the malolactic (I asked and Mihális says the pH here is a low 3.3, while the high phenolics add to the impression of high acids), with lots of lemon peel bitterness and chalky tannins on the finish. Medium long. A bit of bottle age have smoothed this considerably, and the integration is near-perfect. Quite traditional, and perhaps the best of the reds to my tastes.

Syrah 1999, V.R. Imáthia
Aged 12 months in new and second-vintage Allier oak, 12,000 bottles made.
Quite dark ruby with a cherry juice rim. Lots of oak on the nose, but quite elegantly wrapped around fresh bacon and red cherry. Powerful in mouth, with good structure and juiciness. Medium tannins quite harmoniously balanced by the acidity. Quite good. £9.

Voyátzi 1997, V.R. Velvéndo
This wine has been created by Yánnis Voyátzis, ex-winemaker of the Boutári winery. It is a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon from lake Polylytos, 30-40% Xynómavro and a bit of other traditional varieites, of which Mihális mentions Moschómavro. Parker apparently rated this 88, his highest ever for a Greek wine (or perhaps the only time he ever tasted a Greek wine, I forgot).
Dark purple-brown with some rim. Dusty and chalky nose of sweet raspberry, quite similar both to the Syrah and Xynómavro, which makes me wonder why they would not stick to their great Greek grapes instead of adding CS. Quite wild and smokey nose with opulent cherry fruit and some oak grain. On the palate it shows some liqueur-like bitterness, but is a good, juicy, temperamental red, if lacking immediate focus. A fine bottle for £8 if you ask me.

Quite an interesting tasting. On the whole I was perhaps a bit disappointed by the fact that there were no standouts, por perhaps a slight lack of personality in all wines. Other people might be annoyed by a slightly brown colour, oxidative touches, unclean, stemmy noses; what I regret most is not to have found a wine that does not look towards the west. So even if the Syrahs and Merlots are quite fine, I would have preferred more extreme styles, also within the traditional varieties. But as far as good gutsy whites and reds are concerned, everytyhing is there, including value for money. Please drink more Greek wine!

Best,
Nerval