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2011: road stories on a pretty vintage

Nico Manessis
An action-packed agenda for the autumn update. Much of it involved visiting top-performing addresses, or emerging talent in lesser-known, up and coming regions.

Weather

Prolonged spring rain brought downy mildew in places. Summer temperatures were steady, with no jarring extremes. Yields were down, which helped overall quality. In spite of a flat market there was shortage of red grapes. Harvest conditions were varied, but overall healthy. In some appellations showers actually helped. Autumn started overcast, with a notable drop in temperatures. This was followed by an Indian summer. Perfect for the late harvesting of red grapes. Tasted wines show no alcoholic imprint. Attractive in these early stages. Bright fruit. Balanced. An opportunity for regional differences to shine. Added bonus? Typicity in the more-demanding grapes.

Peloponnese
Achaia: Walked two name places at 840 m and 920 m. Mountainous horizon. One peak faded onto another. An idyllic setting, yet far from easy to farm, I learned. Lack of water in these hills means overstressing of vines is an issue; there are (cumbersome) solutions, though. Climate change? Hot air mass waves originating from the Thessaly plain present new farming challenges. It appears that nature has yet to adapt to fast-paced, extreme changes. Which means, up here, a mixed bag, in contrast to an exceptionally good 2010.

Nemea: Quantity down by 40% from the (recent) average of 15,000 tonnes. Healthy grapes, normal- and smaller-sized berries. Tasting the grapes that are delivered to wineries is instructive: The tastier grape, think of aroma on the palate, were good. No surprise that the best sites (and farmers) achieved this ‘‘aromatic’’ hallmark. Neutral-tasting grapes are destined for bulk- and entry-level labels. Going carefully over the numerous cluster variations one wonders how many types of Agiorgitiko exist. A trustworthy technician mentioned 280. One thing is certain: Agiorgitiko has been around for a very long time. Good colour, charming wines oozing character.
Laconia: The difficult in farming white grape Kydonitsa was bar none the single most remarkable tank tasted. A smoky mineral charged with gravitas fruit bomb. Simply, there is nothing else like it in the Greek vineyard. Photographer Kostantinos Pittas who rarely comments on our daily tastings was smitten. Forget Malagousia. ‘’ Little quince’’ has it all. Aroma, fruit and acidity. Minerality? It transposes the windswept rocky arid environment it struggles in this eastern ‘‘finger’’ of the Peloponnese. Untapped high potential.

Central Greece

Hinterland of Thebes: Quantities were down. Delicate aromatic Savatiano showed more typicity than the blowsy 2010s. Terrific, new to me Assyrtiko. Is this the birth of a new terroir for this star grape? The obscure dark-skinned Mouchtaro may not be the next best thing in the Greek vineyard. Useful in blends with cosmopolitan varieties, such as Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon, for rosé or dry red wines.

Tyrnavos: Thanks to an up and coming address, another pleasant surprise. Summer was cooler, with marked diurnal temperature variation. Re-discovered floral Limniona is poised, balanced. This cultivar is not to be confused with the demanding Limnio grown in Macedonia.

Northern Greece

Thrace: What a difference from recent previous visits! A still hazy terroir has grown up, slowly coming into focus. Fragrant, soft, mouth-watering. Star? The difficult to ripen Limnio. Have never seen this historic, though now obscure, grape deliver its distinctive identity.

Drama: in all colours, very impressive. Lip-smacking freshness in whites. Rosés are pleasing, with their refreshing bone-dry factor. Reds, varietal or blends, have taken this re-energised region a notch up. They will be talked about.
Kavala: A terroir is unfolding in these foothills of Mount Pangeon, influenced by the cooling breezes of the northern Aegean shoreline. Vibrant freshness, grapey whites. A new dimension of added depth in red blends. These are all worthy efforts.

Naoussa: In 17 years of field trips I have never tasted such attractive site translation (early November). Good colour. Perfumed complexity. Tasty ripe tannins. Elegance. Interesting to follow how these seductive wines develop. There was a change of guard in several underperforming estates. As reported elsewhere in these pages the so-called “Naoussa gang” 30-somethings are upping their game. This, shrinking in acreage, historic region needed this kick start. Look out for forthcoming reviews from a clutch of estates in transition.

Amyndeon: Vineyard hygiene was not the best; affected with downy mildew. Diligent farmers were rewarded with a small yet high-quality crop. Exciting Xinomavro sparkling Blanc de noir developments emphasize the increasingly understood talents of this cooler plateau. Xinomavro’s and blends are complete.
Siatista: What a change the Egnatia highway has brought to this, once important, historic old-vine region famous for its late-harvest Xinomavro and Moschomavro dessert wines! The fur business may not be what it once was, with most of the manufacturing moving to China. Nevertheless, I sensed a renewed interest for dry red wine. Met with several younger and older farmers. Soft, spicy aroma. Discreet. Whispering; not shouting. A new to me Xinomavro expression. Extolling the virtues of a wine made from 87 year old vines, I urged vineyard owners not to uproot the precious DNA pool of surviving old vines.

Aegean

Santorini: Cool weather patterns sealed a terrific vintage. It equals the 2009, perhaps surpasses the exceptional 2006. High standards in all the top names. Citrus-pear aroma, crisp fruit on the mineral-charged template, are all highlighted from some of the highest acidities on record. A keeper.

9.01.2012

Yannis Argyros – An appreciation by Nico Manessis

A leading figure of Santorinian wine died December 12, 2011. He was 64. Argyros was the antithesis of the ego-driven winemaker. Man of few words, modest. Not easy to get much out of him, either. Disciplined and hard-working. He let his wines do the talking. His grandfather founded Canava Argyros in 1903. When Yannis took over, in 1974, Santorinian wine fortunes had been in decline since the 1956 earthquake, when a large chunk of the middle class emigrated to Athens, or abroad. Born into a farming family, they did not only grow grapes. Tomato paste was big back then, as witnessed by the nine now defunct canneries that lie abandoned, or have been converted into night clubs and beach bars.

For 17 years I visited his vineyards and Canava. Clam-like, he slowly opened up. Eventually, in a measured and frank manner, we spent precious hours tasting from dozens of Vinsanto casks and older vintages of bone-dry wines. However, it was his profound understanding of the shrinking Santorinian sub-regions – Akrotiri, Megalochori, Pyrgos, Episkopi, Imerovigli – that was truly impressive. He also knew who the best farmers were. These were some of the fascinating aspects of this self-taught winemaker. His legacy lives on in the stunning collection of Vinsanto. In fact, it was this man’s persistence and continuous investment that singlehandedly repositioned Santorini Vinsanto as Greece’s top sweet wine. One of the great dessert wines to find anywhere in the world, it is expensive to produce and requires extensive ageing. Rewards include a searing acidity and a unique mineral character. His son Mattheos (29) has been groomed to continue this family business, now in its fourth generation.

On my last visit in June 2011, prior to his being diagnosed with cancer, I entered his tiny courtyard. He had some type of measuring instrument made of transparent material. It resembled a bicycle pump. I had never seen anything like it before. He pumped and looked at the gauge. “What is this?”, I asked, to which he retorted, “You tell me.” My deduction was that he was checking carbonic gas levels of the 2010 vintage. It was so, that was Yannis. Always thinking ahead. Always the perfectionist, protecting his wines. During the course of 40 years, he amassed the finest reserves of the island’s Vinsanto. In my ’The Greek Wine Guide and The Illustrated Greek Wine Book, his vintage Vinsanto was the only one regularly garnering 5 stars.

The last time I saw him was under happy circumstances. His great love was horses. He kept a couple. He was riding out with one of his son-in-laws on a balmy Saturday afternoon. They rode out to Monolithos, a black volcanic beach. Skimming the waves of the Aegean. Brimming with joy. A humble and gentle man. Farewell, Yannis Argyros.

3.01.2012

Santorini: A walk like no other.

By Nico Manessis

One learns about grape varieties by walking. Knowing where and how they are farmed partly helps decipher the sub-regional puzzle. Occasionally, there is a reward – that magic word, terroir. Memorable moments? Discovering high Roditis amongst the pine-forest terraces in Egialia. Untangling the complicated links of Amyndeo Xinomavro and today’s Naoussa. Most recent discovery? Standing on a patch of centenary Vidiano in the shadow of Crete’s Mount Psiloritis (2456 m.). There is more ground to cover. Santorini was top of my shortlist. Finally, the right people were in place. Truth is, little did I know what I was getting myself into.

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20.07.2011

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