The setting the spacious canava of Pelekanos Hotel Wine Bar Haridimos Hatzidakis had invited the farmers from whom he sources some of his grapes alongside with a clutch of wine lovers to explore a decade of his Nichteri If you are unfamiliar with this term some insight In the past after harvesting all day long this was the first wine made after dusk Nichta is Greek for night In essence it was the freerun juice of the then ageold foot presses It was a canavas finest and most expensive wine In todays terms it translates into grapes picked later of ABV145 ABV16 To put this in context the bonedry PDO Santorini are on average ABV5 These wines need strongly flavoured dishes Their intensity compares to Sherry Fino en rama Surprisingly another wine region also gives a nod to the unique wines of the crescentshaped volcanic island More on that in a moment
On a large communal table the mingling of landowning farmers like the genial Christoforos Chryssou and chef Vassilis Zacharakis who went as far as to name his restaurant what else Nichteri boded for a great evening The guest list rounded up most of the islands wine community Sharing was genuine Their stories behind these wines encompassing a very diverse and farreaching spectrum of experiences and opinions made this simply the most instructive and enjoyable clan gathering on my wineroute travels in years Leading the tasting was Parisbased Hatzidakis importer Yorgos Ioannidis All bottles came from the producers cellar and were decanted between 24 hours To put us in the mood with a reference a teaser 2012 cask sample Reminiscent of a Vin Jaune from the Jura It felt like it was harvested a few months ago Not rated
2010 Did not reach standards and was declassified
2009 Grapey Quince Textured Elegance Structured for ageing 18520
2008 Finolike Heat Tannic bite Bone dry Approachable 17520
2007 Petrol Heat imprint Honeyed Stoney backbone 17 20
2006 Focused Complexity Freshness Classy Complete 19520
2005 Petrol Maritime salinity Extract Intensity 175 20
2004 A large harvest Fleshy Marred by hollow finish 1420
2003 Floral Spice Cherubic Playful 16520
2002 The smallest harvest in recent memory Lactic Mushroom 15520
2001 Lively fresh flavours Energy Some staying power 18520
2000 Back to the Nichteri style Smokey pyritic aftertaste Holding up 1720
1999 Reductive Signs of oxidation Sherrylike flor Dried out 1420
Haridimos explained that these wines were not always from the same sites Rather it was all about a quest to locate the most suitable place name to deliver the best Nichteri possible With hindsight it is a pity that a team of young technicians with their tablets were not involved to help compile a database to build on from this pioneering quest Interestingly Hatzidakis also stated that the average ABV on all these wines was 147 The 2006 the nights star was perfection This breathtaking bottle has joined my pantheon of the greatest wines I have been lucky enough to enjoy over the years Let me put it this way There was no spitting out As I stepped out on the cobblestone street of Fira cold winter air bracing my face something quite unexpected happened I jumped up clicking my heels Now I may be a poor dancer but with the elating rush throughout my body and soul it felt for that fleeting instant like the gravitydefying midair hovering leap Mikhail Baryshnikov performed in his day