Wow, thinks the unsuspecting gullible punter. It was a handy sound bite for scores of journos discovering Greek wine in the late 1990s. It was repeated ad nauseam. I doubted this as a cheap, opportunistic marketing gimmick. In the very small world of Greek wine it almost got as big as the Black Athena story. Thankfully, it did not come up during the NBC Television live overview of the Greek vineyard to mark the Athens 2004 Summer Olympic Games. Now, imagine Aristotle the philosopher on his peripatetic campus below today’s Naoussa. Amongst his pupils from nearby Pella, a young prince, Alexander. Yes, the very one. Dusk, supper. What did they drink? Generous quantities of Limnio? Not so, says wine historian S. Kourakou-Dragona. She attributes this to a rear-label distortion of facts by a naughty consultant. “The only person linked to Limnia ampelos (the Limnos vine) is Polydeuces”, she clarifies. Will get round to him in a forthcoming post.

Traveling on today’s Via Egnatia motorway. Eastbound. Fog. Time to focus on my visit ahead to Kikones. It becomes impossible. Seasonal changes tease. The light is shades of sandstone, gold-grey hues. Lake upon lake to my right unfold, as do convoys of trucks. As I enter Maronia, the sun beaks, softly. The northern Aegean shimmers, platinum. Billowing smoke from fields becomes one with the lifting fog. As I turn off, I spot a solitary heron with his striking stance and hunter’s glance. Kikones, the winery, named after the warrior race that lived in this part of the world two millenia ago, comes into view.

Sister-brother team Melina and Vassilis Tassou are a breath of fresh air. Cosmopolitan, realists, conscientious stewards of the soil. They are pioneers in reviving wine and its culture in Greek Thrace. In the 1990s, their father, Apostolos, planted the first modern-day Maronian vineyards. There are several novel approaches that this switched-on, open-minded address has to show for itself. All wines have taken a quantum leap forward. Until now, most Limnio ended up in blends, mostly to conform to arcane legislation. This is now changing, however. Kikones offers not an over-cropped example. In all honesty, this is the first ever varietal of this now obscure grape of anecdotal acreage that translates such a clear picture. While I research Polydeuces and the Athonite monasteries, I enjoy this worthy newcomer’s breakthrough.

Mid-ruby. Elegant aromatics. Initial whiff of griottes (morello cherries). With aeration it opens up to maquis-botanic notes. Firm, tannic backbone, with tension on the savoury, long finish. Well-judged extraction and oak ageing. A stand-apart wine, brimming with character. Decant and “watch” it evolve over what can be a long dialogue. Instructive and enjoyable. Best 2012-2017.

Score: 16,5+ / 20

More info: http://www.kikones.gr/

Agiorgitiko is new to northern Greece: all of 12 years. Having in situ tasted current and forthcoming releases, the future looks bright. The cherry core present in Nemea is still there, enveloped by a tauter, less Mediterranean generosity. As seen in this review, it is capable to stand its ground as a varietal. However, the great surprise was some rather clever blends. There will be a series of postings. Four such wines in the rich 2010 and the pretty 2011 vintages are a step up. In fact, they take your breath away.Vassilis Tsaktsakrlis ‘‘listens’’ to his numerous vineyards. As vines with time increase complexity, he fine-tunes blends accordingly. In my recent visit, all wines were focused and articulate, subtle and effective. His gentle touch and use of cooperage is textbook. A consummate professional, he is a man of few words, with the smarts to keep away from politics. He is walking the vineyards most of the time. It shows. The 2008 was, again, not a uniform vintage, with regional variations swinging either way. In broad strokes, solid yet low on excitement. Certain mesoclimates and addresses achieved a touch of seriousness. There is no doubt of wines improving not something than can be said about label design. Even though there are improvements, the packaging of some of today’s Greek wine is doing little justice to it’s content. This label stands apart. At first glance it reminded me of  Spanish landscapes ‘‘leaping’’ from Miles Davis’s Concierto de Aranjuez. The artist? Vassilis’s daughter, Areti: She painted Harvest when she was seven. I can see her perky-faced shot framed in her dad’s office. There is little doubt that the northern expressions of Agiorgitiko will continue to pleasantly surprise us. Beyond the senses, they tickle the intellect. Nemea is hedonistic, at this juncture Macedonia has added stature. Watch this space for more!

Purple rim. Dark, for this grape. Red berry fruit with gentle cocoa aroma. Layers of velvety tannins. Morello cherry follows up on a creamy intensity. Stony mineral on the richly-flavoured, fine-grained, dry finish. Serious stuff. Best 2012-2018.

Score: 17.5 /20

For more information please visit: www.bibliachora.gr

In all of the fragmented Greek vineyard, it is landlocked Amyndeon that boasts of the most impressive diurnal temperature variations. Recent statistics only reinforce the comparative advantage of this cooler climate. For several reasons, it is ideal for sparkling wines.

Xinomavro is an endlessly fascinating grape. It is different in warmer Naoussa, where the aromatics are more Mediterranean (tomato vine comes to mind), and in Goumenissa, with its  discreet, spicy aroma – and these are just two out of several nearby sites where this leading cultivar is to be found. Furthermore, the Xinomavro-induced aromatic and palate intensity would be overpowering for a sparkling wine. The subtlety and freshness of Amyndeon wins hand down

What is admirable is that a relative newcomer, the Dutchman Laurence Hartman, found his way around this largely uncharted, nuanced Xinomavro terroir. Thanks to a thought-through approach and the precision required for a  handcrafted Méthode traditionelle, we are also seeing the more discreet  side of this, now booming, region. The choice of focusing on 40-year-old vines contributes to a restrained, polished profile.

This Blanc de noir is a revelation. It has been taught good manners. Yet, my gut feeling is that there is still so much more to learn and receive from this, now urbanized, strong-gene peasant. For this I what I can only liken it to due to the infinite guises and name places to which this grape is capable of morphing into. I urge you to search elsewhere on this site my chronicling of the new wave of Xinomavro and blends. If you like wines that speak to heart and mind, then you may have found a new soul mate.

To date, of the 12 wineries now operating in Amyndeon, Domaine Karanika has under its belt the most convincing effort in this under-invested category. Catch early this unfolding act and, pokerfaced, glass in hand,  go ahead and surprise your friends. Serve it blind. As this going-places address grows, I expect new nuances to be introduced  to this, so far, all-black grape cuvée.  Perhaps some of the delectable 2011 vintage could undergo its secondary fermentation in magnums.

Beyond pleasure, further clues could be gleamed on the microclimate and the silt, sandy and limestone bedrock on which these vineyards sit. Laurence is a thinker; he plans ahead. Beyond a twinkle in his eye there is grit. It serves him well. This is an estate to watch. As I leave, his smiling wife Annette and a school of dogs see me off in the autumn afternoon mist. Heading west on the Egnatia Highway to under-revival Siatista for yet another Xinomavro “you-know-what”.

Pink-grey hues. Fine, small, bead mousse. Yeasty. Subtle gunflint. Hint of strawberry. Finely defined tannins. Vibrant, tangy acid. Persistent “string of pearls” beads with no sign of going flat even after 15 minutes in a fluted glass. Neat and light-footed, elegant even. From the 2009 maiden vintage. Best 2012 – 2015.

Score: 17 / 20

For more details please visit www.karanika.com

A healthy dose of skepticism enters my mind every time I read “organically farmed grapes” on a label. “Who is your neighbor”, is the first of many questions any wine writer worth his salt should ask. So after tasting this news-worthy effort, off I went to see where The Wise Owl grapes originate. Beyond a pretty bucolic setting of olive groves interrupted by nature’s exclamation marks, cypress trees, this Paleochori single vineyard on the north-eastern flank of Koutsi is in good company: conifers. With a growing demand from the US market and Europe for natural wines, both principals jumped to the opportunity and joined their talents. Petros Keknopoulos, oenologist at the Katogi-Strofilia winery in Nemea’s Asprokambos, was the perfect man to take up this challenge. His principals had the good sense to send him off for a year to become a post graduate student at the Australian Wine Research Institute, in Adelaide. “No-sulphite wine is the most difficult to control. Luckily, harvest had not yet begun. There is quite a lot of preparation; one needs to sterilize all the kit. It is a demanding but fun project.”

So all you switched-on readers are by now wondering why the back label still states: “10 parts per million of sulphur”. The answer is that the fermentation process naturally creates tiny quantities of sulphur. Interestingly, white wine produces higher amounts than red.  Another tip: Just after harvest, I got to taste the 2011 Wise Owl. It is fruitier. No lover of Nemea should give this wine a miss. It is a new to all of us facet of this charmer of a grape. Yet again, as this novel approach clearly demonstrates, we really know very little about its dynamics.

Very dark for this grape, as no-added-sulphite wines usually are. Bright floral notes with black pepper. Textbook Agiorgitiko core of cherries on the mid-palate.  Ripe tannins, spice following through on the rich, tasty finish. Vibrant and pure. Such a sense of place that not all of Koutsi (500m) is capable of. Stylistically, a modern take of Nemea, which I first  encountered in 1993. Serve it at cellar temperature in large glassware. For immediate enjoyment. Best 2011-2013.

Score: 16 / 20

For more information please visit www.sofiatisfisis.gr and www.katogi-strofilia.gr

SBC’s ambitious new venture was founded by a clutch of cosmopolitan partners. The guiding lights as to three, so far, styles of fresh beer are an Austrian consulting brewer, an English marketing guru with a penchant for brewing, and a Greek oenologist. The resident Master Brewer is Boban Krunic, who is Serbian, and Managing Director is the Californian Magda Anderson. I know, this sounds like an introduction to a joke. In fact, this is a serious effort by players brimming with talent and determination. In the current economic gloom, smiles have been wiped off people’s faces in Greece. This effort could not be more timely. Something positive to fuel some passion back into our daily lives.

In search of my hunting terroir, I get to taste unexpected, to say the least, concoctions. A taste apart? A white wine, of sorts, on the island of Evia. It was kept in cask made of Cyprus wood. Taste-wise, let’s call it a medicinal elixir. There is something similar, though more sophisticated, on the island of Lanzarote. As those of you who have followed my writing may know, I have never liked beer. This mass-produced, pasteurized stuff is one-dimensional, lifeless, tasteless. What’s worse, the morning after, I wake up with a soapy palate. Enough said.

This new crazy donkey ale is of limited production. No hype here, all true. Per batch 200 champagne bottles. The wine connection comes through two unexpected sources. This is the world’s first unfiltered, non-pasteurized barley-malt beer primed with Santorini Assyrtiko (2011) must. The wine kinship continues with help from another famous wine producing island, New Zealand. Not in the form of its signature grape, but Sauvin, one the world’s prized New-Zealand-grown hops. As the tasting note reveals, though, there is a similarity in the aromatic and tasting profile.

The back label is no crashing bore of legal requirements. It is informative, entertaining too. Not unlike the people involved in this venture. The witty parting shot is, “HIP HOPPY KICK-ASS ALE. Semantics apart, crazy donkey is the first ale as wine that I know of. SBC’s other two brews are yellow donkey and red donkey. More about those later.

Cloudy orange in colour. Long-lasting frothy head. Hoppy wine notes reminiscent of Sauvignon blanc. The southern-Aegean volcanic juice seems to lurk somewhere in this briny, yeasty, rich cocktail. As improbable as this sounds, it works. This is an unexpectedly fruity ale, with an IPA-ish mid-palate which goes on to a very fruity finish that seems to go on forever. A rarity. Who knows, it may even convert a few of us wine lovers to what Egyptians called “liquid bread”.

Score: 18 / 20

Website: www.santorinibrewingcompany.gr

More recently, the aromatic Malagousia grape has also been grown in this ”sea” of Savatiano vineyards. Hailing from north-western Central Greece, this fashionable aromatic grape seems to have adapted well in its new limestone-rich home.

In its 21st century incarnation, the Papagiannakos winery has garnered praise in architecture magazines. It has also picked up several awards for its energy-efficient design. In a roundabout way, this new dessert wine has much in common with its ancestors in these vineyards. Malagousia, is the Greek vineyard’s less oily answer to Viognier. In Attica’s long-standing farming traditions, out of thrifty necessity, locals maximized the vine’s offerings through resourcefulness. In late spring/early summer, vert jus from unripe green grapes was used as an alternative to lemon juice. During harvest, grape must was used as natural sweetener to bake biscuits named mousto- (must) kouloura. A dash of cinnamon et voilà: healthy energy-packing carbohydrates. The fine lees were used in baking pork. Lees and grape pips were used as a protective rind in cheese-making. Nothing went to waste.

Topping this rather long list of uses is “vrasto” (boiled) to make sweet wine; some of it served sacramental purposes and some as a handy pick-me-up during winter pruning.  There was a social aspect in partaking at Xmas, or drinking by the fireplace.  Vrasto is the method that 3^rd-generation winemaker Vassilis Papagiannakos has revived for this maiden vintage of Melías: He starts with boiling approximately 40% of the desired final quantity of wine with Malagousia grape must. He then adds successive doses of the live fermenting grape must. Eventually, this golden-coloured nectar ends up with 13% ABV. Natural sugar reaches 120 gr./l. Balance in such a rich wine comes from 6.9 gr./l. of acidity (in tartaric). The uncluttered label is elegant, not unlike the liquid itself, in a useful 500 ml. clear bottle. Who says Attican wines are boring?

Honeycomb waxiness, acacia-honey aroma. Smokey. Ripe pineapple. Textured cedrat on the medium-length, layered finish. Fine balance. Satisfying. Drink 2011- 2016.

Score: 17.5 / 20

For more details please visit: www.papagiannakos.gr

One of the attractive traits of this grape is its inherently medium red colour. There is no purple-blue anthocyanin here as in Syrah or Aghiorghitiko. Colour-wise it keeps company with Pinot Noir. Its tannic structure resembles Nebbiolo from Piemonte.

Unfortunately, a few addresses are succumbing to a makeover notion that ”darker is better”. I find it a pity that the odd bucket or two of Syrah, or poorly farmed Merlot, find their way into these wines. Yet, the crux of the problem is farming practices. Few Greek winemakers understand that, with climate change and vines overstressed by lack of water, especially during véraison, there is a risk for the muscular tannins of Xinomavro to dry out. Recent statistics show a decrease in annual rainfall on this patchwork of vineyards below Mount Vermion (2,052 m.), especially during periods when it is most needed. Moreover, only a handful of vignerons are willing to risk harvesting late, which would give this vigorous grape a chance to deliver fully ripened grapes

Ever since the remarkably aromatic and delicate 2004, I have chronicled the rise of Ghi ke Uranos(Earth and Sky). It was more than an eye-opener; it was the long-awaited next step.

With this young-vine Naoussa, Apostolos Thymiopoulos continues to set an example to this underperforming appellation of how to ripen Xinomavro. This estate has now become Naoussa’s tannin management champions. This single-vineyard wine in its maiden vintage comes from the young vines on the Ghi ke Uranos slope. Back in 2005, I took note of these, then scrawny, vines. Wine from these young vines was sold in bulk – until now. There is a lot to be said for patience: It is essential if one is to make a statement backed by deeds, rather than marketing hype.

It is for this level of commitment in safeguarding the high standards of Ghi ke Uranos (Uranos in the US) that this producer continues to earn praise. 2009 was a difficult, rain-plagued vintage, but the breeze on this slope helped out against rot, as did terroir.

Bright ruby. Upfront fruity charm. Dark cherries, freshness. Smooth texture. Seamless oak. Persistent, crystalline, elegant. Purity and breed. Serve at cellar temperature. Best 2011-2016.

Score:  17 / 20

US Importer :    www.atheneeimporters.com

US Distributor:  www.winebow.com

UK : www.thewinesociety.com

Summer 2010, visit number 23 to this unique island vineyard, I stopped off again at the Sigalas winery, long ago moved out of the beach-front house. Here, I got a first glimpse of this, then yet-to-be-released, single-vineyard wine. Tasted it from tank: Leesy and quirky, my Moleskin notebook reads, tastes like nothing else.

On my recent visit to Sigalas, I had the opportunity to taste it bottled. My terroir jigsaw puzzle had another piece – or so I thought. Cold sweat gripped me as the realization hit me: Impervious to the Greek economy meltdown, building construction continues unabated on this mother-of-all-terroirs. I lack the time to research public records to establish the number of hectares of this highly regarded vineyard that have disappeared under the cement of a now prime real estate location. We should be grateful to Paris Sigalas for bottling this 2.2-hectare single-vineyard located at Imerovigli. How much longer these vines will survive is another story. I urge all of you fellow terroir boy- and girl-scouts to squirrel some away. Watch it unfold its distinct character and style. One other thing: Focus on the silhouette outline, embossed on the bottle label, of the late Kir Giorgos, the farmer who tended this vineyard for over half a century and gave this place its name. Turn it upside down (it might be easier if you are reading this on a tablet) – clever!

Green tints. Pink grapefruit aroma. Intensely yeasty. Honey and stones on the aftertaste. A full-bodied, bold wine. Very different to any other bone-dry Santorini on the market. More suitable for cold-weather pairing with grilled-meat enjoyment. Carafe it for at least two hours, or give it the refrigerator test by sipping it over a week. There is a lot in there. Best 2011-2017.

Score: 17

For more information, please visit www.sigalas-wine.com

The style of this wine could not be further away from the aforementioned confected Syrahs. When fully mature, it is reminiscent of that other great tannic high-acid red grape, Switzerland’s Cornalin. The owner of the Lefkafitiki Gi winery, oenologist Dimitris Robotis, is on to a good thing here. He works closely with his suppliers, trying to persuade them to lower yields in order to achieve phenolic ripeness. His marketing communication is understated and to the point. The uncluttered back label of this fascinating, high-quality variety carries the following message: “No big stories. Just quality wine!”

Restrained aroma of spice and violets. A defined, delicious tannic grip. Shades of integrated oak. A core of red cherries. Vivacious, crisp palate. Expressive mountain character comes through on the finish. Best: 2011-2015

Score: 17

For more information, please visit www.lefkaditikigi.gr

Nothing quite prepares you for the wild beauty of the southern part of the island. An overcast early-spring morning, dense dark green olive groves.  Sunlight bursting through silver and white clouds, casting  giant shadows over a silvery Ionian sea. A sense of wonder, seizing this change-of-season moment.

Driving past Nidri, the island sailing hub, one leaves behind the off-season resort melancholy.  As the twisting road climbs en route to Vassiliki, one of the world’s great windsurfing spots, one arrives at the Lefkaditiki Gi winery.  Its honey-coloured stone buildings would not have been out of place in southern Tuscany, or Umbria. To this traveller, it is the most attractive recently built (finished in 2008) wine address to date. Mediterranean at its best.  Dimitris Robotis  is a man of taste.  This goes beyond his architectural interests.

Most of his wines are sold locally, or exported. With the current meltdown of the Greek economy, he is clearly less exposed than if he had depended on national distributors going bust and leaving large unpaid bills. Market sources say it will be even worse in 2012.

Vardea is one of the most intriguing lesser- seen high-quality grapes.  The wine it produces is distinctly different from that other Ionian-island great white grape, Robola from Cephalonia. The success of this flourishing winery has spurred more acreage of the distinct Vardea now been planted in the sandy-clay soils of the villages of Vassiliki, Kontarena and Ayios Petros.  These initiatives are more than just news. They are important steps in strengthening  regional diversity and individuality in a market awash with me-too blends.

Golden.  Floral.  Smells of grapes.  Orange peel. Creamy texture lifted by minerality.  Tannic bite. Honeyed opulent fruit lingers.  By far, the most exciting discovery in ages. A bright light for the future.

Score: 16.5/20

For more information, please visit www.lefkaditikigi.gr