Greek Academy of Gastronomy
40 Years of Red Wine 20091969
I first met Yiannis Theodorou when we were both living in France His profound knowledge in food and wine pairing made an impression A true gardenofFrance man who speaks French with gusto and pride Upon returning to Athens he embarked on a successful business career Also quietly bought French Hungarian Austrian Shrewdly he focused on upandcoming addresses He championed Jura long before it became a world trend Staying current and supporting true food artisans and offpiste insider restaurants is a lifelong pursuit He also took a punt on the then unreported obscure Greek wine scene While Retsina fuelled popular tourism he squirreled Over three decades he put together a unique collection
Lets step back in time Greece joined what was then European Community in 1981 To my understanding it was 1985 when structural funds started to flow in wine By the time I researched and published my first The Greek Wine Guide 1994 the 34 featured boutique producers were signalling serious salvos to the four largevolume merchant houses If memory serves me well I had enjoyed at best ten red wines during my rare Greece visits during that gap from 19711992
They were then more dependable than the unstable oxidized whites Todays Greek wine involves as many as 900 wineries As I boarded the Athensbound flight my curiosity reached higher than the 31thousandfeet cruising altitude Wines prior to climate change Lower yields How did they age My mind went into overdrive Theodorou invested for pleasure not to speculate or trade Storage was impeccable with temperature 1114 C For a commentator filling this gap was a priceless experience All wines tasted blind Identities revealed at the end of each flight
Day 1 20091999
Thymiopoulos 2009 Jeunes Vignes Magnum 17520
Dark for the variety faint orange rim Perfumed Leather gamey juicy Energetic Naoussa A vintage of cloudcover Full of life Will age for another 5 years At this standardsetting address JV are 915 years old
Zafeirakis 2009 Paleomylos SangioveseSyrahCabernet Franc Magnum 1720
Ruby sweet nose smokey pyritic Earthiness Many years ahead
Agios Hronos 2009 Avantis Estate SyrahViognier Magnum 17520
Dark focused Modern Good fruit tar mineral tow Exciting One of the more successful vintages of this CteRotieinspired effort
Hatzidakis 2009 Mavrotragano 16520
Feral drying tannins Botanic notes Spicy Vinous The first vintage where the stylistic shift towards a fruitier more precise softer profile is obvious This upward trend continues
Sigalas 2009 Mavrotragano Magnum 1620
Dusty dense balsamic Dryingout tannin Closed Give it time
Avantis Estate 2009 Collection Syrah 16520
Purple Spicy savoury tones Viscous Pepper edge Ripe and firm tannins
Papagiannakos Kalogeri 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Magnum 1620
Dark ruby Heat Closed Wellpadded tannin backbone lends to further ageing
Zafeirakis 2008 Limniona 17520
Floral Perfumed delicate Pinotnoirlike class and finesse Silky Who would have thought from the Tyrnavos western fringes In the past it was famous for Retsina and cheapandcheerful crowncapped Muscat of Hamburg It took me eight years to understand how to farm Limniona speaks volumes of this rising star
Sylva Daskalaki 2008 SyrahKotsifali 1720
Very dark Exotic aromatics Finegrained tannins Allspice Old vines showing breed with depth and length Signalling how well these two grapes feed off one another creating a new flavour spectrum
Sclavos 2008 Orgion Mavrodaphne 16520
Dark brick red Tincture Funky natural wine from centenary vines on clay topsoil in Paliki southwestern Cephalonia Recent vintages are less funky
Domaine Karanika 2008 Xinomavro 17520
Restrained florality Fleshy on the palate leading to a juicy fruit finish Elegant Balanced Understated class Made from ungrafted xinomavro planted in 1912 a piece of Amyndeo history Bears little resemblance to todays grafted XM Achieves much with lower ABV
Alpha Estate 2008 Xinomavro Reserve vieilles vignes 1820
Bright vibrant purple Strawberryscented Electric charge Highly strung Arab thoroughbred galloping through Amyndeo sand dune Serious A modern rendition of an old block of vines
Skouras 2007 Grande Cuvee 1720
Perfumed Truffles and mushrooms warmfruited black cherries Not short of character Idiosyncratic Always different standing apart from other Nemeas Sort of insideout
Mitravelas 2007 Estate 17520
Midred vibrant freshness youthfullooking Melted tannins with enough acidity to keep it going for several more years Bush vines Vineyarddriven Nemea One of the tastings surprises
Domaine Zafeirakis 2007 Paleomylos SangioveseSyrah 17520
Spicy generous gutsy Black olives botanical camphor A lot going on here Singular character In ten short years this estate grew from strength to strength thanks to precision farming and vision in the cellar His large Austrian oak uprights are one of many changes
Ktima Voyatzis 2007 Tsapournakos 16520
Orange rim Sweet nose Tobaccoleaf notes Drying Needs aerating From a Cabernetfranc clone planted locally in 1915 by French soldiers or railroad engineers laying tracks throughout Northern Greece Not by accident that Cinsault aka Gallika is to be found not far from these lines in Greek Thrace all the way to the Turkish border
Boutari Terroir 3 Naoussa 2007 Xinomavro 1720
In your face Vinous Tannic Though an incomplete picture it is compelling Part of the worthy and tireless research Yiannis Voyatzis has been conducting for years now
Boutari Terroir 1 Naoussa 2007 Xinomavro 1720
Stewed fruit raisins Shows heat and melted tannins From a Trilofos single vineyard Now the 1879
Domaine Dalamaras 2007 Triadikos 16520
So fresh for this hot rainless vintage Offbeat experimental cuve
Domaine Dalamaras 2007 Paliokalias 16520
Intense perfume Cinnamon Issues with firm drying tannins
Alpha Estate 2007 Xinomavro vieilles vignes Magnum 16520
Lean and wiry Austere with bouncy freshness None of the excitement and gravitas of the 2008
Alpha Estate 2007 Tannat 1720
Ticking all boxes in the varietal check list Tannins and acidity aplenty Drying streak on the finish Angelos Iatridis pet project harking back to his time in Bordeaux
Ekonomou 2006 Sitia 17520
Garnet Gamey Textured Sweet Bottle variation a factor oscillating from sublime to indifferent
Alpha Estate 2006 Syrah 1720
Dark Textbook blackpepper aromatics Shows why this sunandwind grape has adapted so well in coolerclimate Amyndeo Aromatics are NorthernRhone with a Greek twist Freshness keeps it interesting Shows a lot better than when released
Alpha Estate 2006 XinomavroSyrahMerlot 17520
Fresh vibrant Complete Very good To age further The first vintage of this ambitious estate with complex floral aromatics and structure Merlot bridging the spicy Syrah and vivacious Xinomavro
Avantis Estate 2006 Syrah Collection 1820
Classy aromatics akin to fireworks Textbook ripe fruit with finely grained tannins Silk Nearperfect Vineyard imprint is a joy Has years ahead of it A rare homogeneous vintage throughout Greece
Oinopoiitiki Monemvasias 300 2005 AgiorgitikoMavroudi 16520
Healthy fruity nose Spicy earthy edge on the long aftertaste An elegant vintage From the fringe of the easternmost leg of the Peloponnese In the shadow of the medieval walled town of Monemvasia Drink up
Ktima Foundis 2005 Naoussa 1520
Spicy Some heat Drying Short aftertaste Rarely does this label top the same producers more approachable Naoussea which outperformed the Ktima again in the splendid 2007
KirYianni 2005 Ramnista Magnum 1720
Beautiful complex Depth and sweet throughout a sprinting finish Secondbest showing after the ethereal 2001 Ramnista
Mitravelas Estate 2005 Nemea 1720
Oriental spice Not the first time that Agiorgitiko apes a CtesdeBeaune Not as impressive as the broader 2007 A surprise for its aliveness One of the more consistent Nemea addresses
Chateau Semeli 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon 1720
Sweetfruited almost lush Vinous velvety smooth Difficult to pin this to the cooler elevated Stamata about an hour from central Athens Would be a great blindtasting ringer What an elegant whispering not shouting vintage in all of Greece 05 was
Avantis 2005 Collection 17520
Initially reductive Opens up to a pretty bottle Poised complex Highly polished From a porous welldraining stoney vineyard in Boeotia Aromatic one of the finest classiest varietal fireworks around
Semeli 2004 Grande Reserve 14520
Soft accessible redcherries hallmark Drying short
Papaioannou 2004 Terroir 15520
Youthfullooking dark colour Unusual nose Onedimensional palate Not ageing well Chunky oldschool The world of Nemea has moved on
Gerovassiliou 2004 Syrah 1720
Richly perfumed Softly dry with elegant tannins Earthy character with that coolerfruited notes from a protracted vintage In great shape
KirYianni 2001 Ramnista 17520
One of the finest expressions prior to the shift embracing modernism with the 2011 Uncompromising old school aromatics to die for Rose hips leather sous bois Tea leaf on the textured lively palate Such an elegant pretty vintage following the heatwaveplagued dry 2000
Antonopoulos 2000 Gerontoklima Rematias VertzamiCabernet Franc Magnum 1820
One of two intriguing wines of the tasting Not for everyone Dusty notes opening up to violets and tobacco leaf Gravitas from two megacharacter grapes Ripe gamey smokey mineral tow edgy acid Compact long angular bonedry tannic bite Savoury aftertaste Challenging and intellectual Satisfying