|
By Kim Marcus
for Wine Spectator magazine, December 31, 2006
Crisp white wines offer distinctive flavors, while reds are less exciting
At their best, the table wines of Greece offer lively, fruit-driven flavors that pair well with the inviting cuisine of their native land. The most interesting so far are well-structured white wines based on native grapes such as Moschofilero, which offers crunchy apple, peach and mineral elements that are reminiscent of fine Riesling.
Moschofilero (pronounced mos-ko-FEE-lay-ro) is one of the primary wine grapes of Greece, which boasts an amazing and sometimes bewildering collection of more than 300 native varieties. Vintners are just now beginning to discover the distinctive flavors that these grapes can provide, from Macedonia in the north to the islands of the southern Aegean.
There's definitely a new energy coursing through this ancient land, which until the past few years was known mostly for insipid, poorly made table wines and the resinous retsinas of rustic Greek tavernas. Quality is rising among the white wines, especially from the storied Pelo-ponnesian peninsula west of Athens and idyllic island redoubts such as Santorini. The reds are currently much less consistent in quality and style.
Many Greek vintners are still struggling to learn which grapes to grow. International varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Viognier have been planted throughout Greece and are either bottled as stand-alone varietals or blended with native grapes. Though some are appealing for their well-rounded textures, I find these wines to be less interesting than wines based solely on native grapes.
A recent dinner at Avra, a lively modern Greek restaurant in New York, proved illustrative. I asked the waiter to bring us what he thought to be the best Greek white on the list. The wine he eventually served was pleasant enough, a blend of native Greek grapes and the French grape Sémillon, but it lacked soul. It was quite expensive too, at $80.
For the next bottle, I decided to stick with a native grape variety. I chose a Moschofilero from the Mantinia winemaking district in the Peloponnese, a 2004 bottling made by the garrulous, cigar-smoking Yiannis Tselepos, one of the region's quality leaders. Featuring snappy acidity, with lemon-lime and mineral notes, it proved just the foil for my plate of grilled fish and for the savory dips, called mezedes in Greek. It was also half the price of the first wine.
The highest-scoring white table wine in this report, which comprises the more than 110 Greek wines that I've tasted over the past year, is the Antonopoulos Mantinia 2005 (89 points on the Wine Spectator 100-point scale, $14), a delicate, fruity and spicy Moschofilero. Another well-priced Mantinia Moschofilero is the Tselepos 2005 (88, $14).
Mantinia is a prime example of where the future of Greek wines may lie. While popular images of Greece draw largely on languorous beaches baking under a hot summer sun, the heart of Mantinia rests in a broad valley at about 2,000 feet in altitude surrounded by rugged mountains. The climate is thus much cooler than the coast's, and winter snows are common. The soils are well-drained mixtures of sand, clay and gravel.
Other interesting Greek whites are made from the native grapes Assyrtiko, Robola and Roditis. Assyrtiko is an aromatic variety widely planted throughout Greece that makes wines featuring plenty of acidity. Domaine Sigalas on the island of Santorini is the leading producer of Assyrtiko; its barrel-fermented version is very appealing. The Santorini Barrel 2004 (88, $18) is rich and ripe, with plenty of tropical fruit flavors and spice. Sigalas also made an outstanding Assyrtiko dessert wine, Vinsanto 2002 (91, $25/375ml), which ranks as the highest- rated wine overall in this report.
Robola is a grape mostly planted on the island of Cephalonia, in the Ionian Sea off the west coast of the mainland. It makes well-rounded wines featuring flavors of baked apple and quince, the best of which is the rich and well-crafted M. Cosmetatos Robola of Cephalonia Gentilini 2005 (88, $16).
Roditis finds its home in the northern Peloponnese and has a softer structure than Moschofilero, but with good richness as well. An exceptionally well-priced version is the Lafazanis Roditis Péloponnèse 2005 (88, $10), reminiscent of Riesling, with a creamy finish.
When it comes to Greece's red wines, too many of them are still dominated by astringent characteristics. Some of these wines simply do not have enough body and freshness to deliver the fruit flavors that should be a vintner's primary goal. Many of the country's reds also have harsh tannins, an indication that tannin management must also play a key role in the advancement of Greek wines.
One winemaker who is learning this lesson is George Palivos. His winery, Palivou, is located in the Nemea region of the northeast Peloponnese, south of Corinth. Nemea is a broad, upland valley flanked by dramatic mountains and hillsides. Thanks to a new highway, Athens is now less than two hours away.
The leading red grape of Nemea is Agiorgitiko, which means "St. George." At its best, Agiorgitiko (ah-yohr-YEE-tee-koh) is reminiscent of Nebbiolo in its purity of fruit flavors. Palivos' version, Agiorgitiko Vin de Pays de Péloponnèse 2005 (86, $14), is one of the more widely available and features well-concentrated plum and berry flavors with touches of licorice. Another very good Nemea red is made by Greece's largest winery, Boutari. Its Nemea 2004 (87, $14) features red plum and roasted meat flavors, with a crisp finish.
Palivos comes from a long line of local grapegrowers, and he concentrates his efforts on producing the best fruit possible: rejuvenating old vineyards, cutting green bunches and limiting production. He grows all his grapes on the slopes and discounts grapes harvested from the valley floor. "The philosophy of my wine lies in the vineyard," he says. "The vineyards are completely different from the valley floor. I try to grow authentic flavors. I want to make a traditional, but new-styled, Nemea red."
The top-scoring Greek red also comes from the Peloponnese, the Mercouri Vin de Pays des Letrinon 2003 (89, $19) made from the Refosco grape of northeastern Italy. This wine features intense mineral, herb and dark fruit flavors. It is associated almost entirely with the Mercouri winery, which is located in the northwestern corner of the peninsula and has grown Refosco in the region for more than a century.
A red-wine region that bears watching is Macedonia, in northeastern Greece. The area's leading grape is Xinomavro (zee-NO-mah-vroe), which many Greek vintners extol, but which I have found to be mostly problematic. Unlike the fecund Agiorgitiko of Nemea, Xinomavro is less productive and is prone to various vineyard maladies such as powdery mildew and botrytis.
In the cooler mountainsides where Xinomavro grows it is also difficult to ripen. Many of its wines have dense, hard tannins, and most versions dry out after a few years in the bottle. Despite these challenges, Greek vintners are trying to develop the proper clones to realize its potential, which they see as rivaling the reds of Italy's Piedmont region. The most inviting I've tasted recently is the Kir-Yianni Vin de Pays de Macedoine Paranga 2004 (87, $14), a delicate, spicy blend of Xinomavro and other native Greek grapes.
Wine was an integral part of ancient Greek culture, and wine's role in Western civilization draws much from these traditions. Yet modern winemaking and viticultural techniques are still in their infancy in this inspiring land. Whether Greek wines in the 21st century will reach their potential is up to the country's vintners.
Managing editor Kim Marcus is Wine Spectator's lead taster on the wines of Greece.
|