2008
Terra Levea Xinomavro – Cabernet Domaine Karanika

Over the past decade, much has happened in cooler–climate Amyndeon. Incomers continue to invest in this, once sleeper, region.  Currently there are ten wineries. Annette and Laurens Hartman left publishing in Holland to establish their vineyards and winery overlooking Lake Vegoris.

Annette no longer handles encyclopaedias and reference books. She is hands-on vigneronne and discusses their newly planted five grape varieties and the challenges in farming healthy and ripe grapes.  Laurens’s approach to wine making is like no other in the region. A horizontal basket press resembling the ones used in champagne is not his only ‘’doing it my way’’.  They have a gentle touch, with a nod towards “natural” wines. He does use minimum sulphur and so avoids all the weirdness and extremes these cult wines sometimes reach. Another attractive factor to all these handcrafted wines is the refreshingly lower alcohol levels. This one of a kind and new to me blend was the most homogeneous of their current offerings in a recent in-situ tasting.

For fragrance and texture, 30-year-old Xinomavro. Cabernet Sauvignon Bordeaux clone 330. Stawberry nose and black cherries on the palate. Balanced backbone, capturing the best of the two characterful  varieties.  Freshness of  Amyndeon’s cooler mesoclimate. At  12.6 % ABV, it almost whispers. Not short on presence. Focused. Toothsome and different. Best 2010-2014.

Score:  16.5 / 20

For more details please visit www.karanika.com

Dutch agent: www.grieksewijnen.com

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1.11.2010


2005
Chateau Julia Refosco – Agiorgitiko

During my first trips to Drama in the mid- 1990s, I often lamented that there were no Greek varietal or blends. In this re-energised region, French-origin grapes were dominant, alongside the odd Italian, such as Trebbiano , and not much else. How things have changed! This inspired Italian-Greek blend is one of the more interesting new things to emerge from this North-Eastern Macedonian inner valley. It is one of several limited-production premium labels made in the Chateau Julia series by the Costa Lazaridi Estate, Adriani, Drama.

While tasting this wine, a flash of memory reminded me of what a solid, uniform-quality vintage 2005 is. Even the beneficial post-harvest rains were appreciated. Weather-wise, the picture is getting far more complicated, with decreasing rainfall and extreme heat peaks. Back to this lovely new departure — Drama wine.  My  in-situ post-harvest notes to this professionally-managed estate read: Tank sample Refosco; purple blue-black colour, full bodied,  high acid, crushed fresh blueberry paste-like. What will this lead to?  This vintage is a landmark year for Domaine Costa Lazaridi for another reason, too: Michel Rolland went to work with them. He walked the vineyards extensively prior to the harvest.  Every January he comes to Adriani to prepare the blends. The wild side of aforementioned Refosco dal peduncolo rosso  was softened and fleshed out with 40% Agiorgitiko. This is clever stuff.  It is a big, gutsy wine that benefits from being served at cellar-room temperature. Carafing, too.

Floral, with ripe plums. Black cherry, mocha-choc flavours. Thickly textured. An earthy note leading on to a tannic grip with a warm spicy afterglow (14.6% ABV). A true sense of place.  Not for the faint hearted. Enjoy with spicy dishes. Best 2010-2015

Score 17/20

For more details, please visit www.domaine-lazaridi.gr

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19.10.2010


2007
Alpha Estate Xinomavro Reserve Vieilles Vignes

The head of France’s ENTAV ( Etablissement National Technique pour la Amélioration de la Viticulture), Jean Michel Boursiquot, has discovered in his travels issues that have slipped through the proverbial net. Two years ago, he visited Australia, where he found out that what was thought to be Albarino vines was in fact Savagnin. As chronicled in these pages, I met JMB in the vineyards of Nemea. For a non-scientist like myself, it was a rare treat to be in such company. This fils de vigneron from the Charentes, whose professional manner was free of any pomposity and wine chauvinism his compatriots may be prone to, was an objective reality check of the status quo in Greek viticulture. His grasp and spot-on comments on wines I had selected for him was another highlight. I will get back to JMB.

Angelos Iatridis is a man on a mission. With his redoubtable partner, farmer Makis Mavridis, they have brought a scientific approach and discipline in vine cultivation that is new to Greece. Their 21st-century vineyards were largely first planted in 1997. All of the 65 hectares are recent, excepting a block of old Xinomavro bush vines. Here lies the Boursiquot connection. JMB was intrigued by the Amyndeo Xinomavro “DNA bank” to be found in this cooler-climate, sandy plateau. Alpha Estate was keen on showing him the ungrafted old Xinomavro. Boursiquot asked for them to dig at several vines. His findings? Well, err, it is not ungrafted. The rootstock was French in origin and had been decommissioned over 50 years ago. There is another, even more intriguing JMB find in the Greek vineyard. Look for this myth-busting discovery in the all-new forthcoming book. This time with much wider ramifications than this Amyndeo sortie.

Due to its limited production and high price (retailing at 48 Euro), many perceive that Alpha One, the iconic wine of Alpha Estate, is their top wine. Marketing wise, it is positioned so. Yet, is it? Well, with this Xinomavro Reserve, which also costs less money, the Alpha One has been eclipsed.

There are several factors other than the top-notch vintage for making this wine the star of the estate. One cannot ignore the “wisdom” of the 86-year-old bush vines. Further to the phenolically ripe tannins, there is the — bordering on the obsessive — approach to these heritage vines applied by Angelos Iatridis with his cellar technical know-how. Whatever my reservations on Iatridis’s approach to some of his wines, the results in this Xinomavro Reserve are unequivocal. Above all, I get a clearer picture of the, only now realized, potential that this star grape has on offer. The dynamics are shiver-down-the-spine stuff. This wine goes beyond being a landmark for Amyndeo. Such red wines are a step up, closing the gap to the excellent white wines that the South-Eastern Mediterranean corner has been consistently producing for over a decade now.

Very dark ruby. Multifaceted and refined, classy aroma. Smoky black fruit and strawberry. Freshly ground allspice. Sous bois. Côte de Nuits-like spicy earthiness. Mouth-filling, polished tannins. Hugely attractive tannic bite. Generous, vivacious, savoury-textured mineral finish. Best: 2011–2027.

Score: 18.5/20

For more details please visit www.alpha-estate.com

USA  www.diamondwineimporters.com

New York www.frederickwildman.com

UK  www.novumwines.com

Switzerland  www.greekwines.ch

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4.10.2010