Malagousia Antonopoulos Vineyards
Anything with the word Malagousia on the label seems much in demand. Apparently, exports are up in the U.S., and interest is growing in Northern Europe. Despite new plantings, so far, demand far outstrips supply. Are all Malagousias that worthy? The short answer is no. With the sudden weather changes of the more recent vintages, I find this ultrafashionable grape has an increasingly less uniform quality about it. The worst – oily and blowsy– manage caricature expressions of this fragrant dry, ideal as an aperitif, wine. The chief suspect: vineyard management. There is a strong quality correlation between addresses who are pro-active in the vineyard and ones who still hang on to a bygone happy-go-lucky route. Let’s face it: The last exceptional across the board white wine vintage was back in 2005. With the climate change, now even white wine farming is more demanding. To paraphrase a real-estate term, the new mantra is irrigation, irrigation, irrigation. More precisely: measured stress, irrigation, measured stress, irrigation, and so on.
The longstanding oenologist and guiding light at Antonopoulos, Michalis Probonas, has always paid attention to nature. Like other stellar colleagues, he spends most of his time amongst the vines. In the Antonopoulos vineyards there is a new factor in the equation: The more recent Demestika 900-m.-high vineyard has been bearing exceptionally balanced fruit. It was first shown to me (the picture on the home page of their website) as a bare knoll in the mid-1990s. It has now grown up, and the breezy qualities in terms of natural freshness end up in several of this pioneering boutique’s innovative and clever blends.
2009 was a difficult vintage. Exceptions are emerging in several delicate and insistent white wines. Yellow, lime tints. Light carbonic gas prickle. Attractive ripe grassy notes. Pit stone (peach) aroma. Crunchy apple- and white pepper-textured mid-palate. Tension and a bone-dry, elegant, mineral finish. Polished. At 12.2% ABV, a strong candidate to welcome spring with al fresco sipping. Best 2010-12.
Score: 16.5/20
For more details please visit: www.antonopoulos-vineyards.com
Greece distributor: www.cavahalari.gr
23.12.2009
