The first recollection of this estate harks back to the 1980s a period when Greek wine was not yet a renaissance story My esteemed colleague Gerald Asher whose wellresearched urbane essays remain amongst the finest in the winewriting canon actually drove to Polla Nera an area on the northeastern tip of the Naoussa appellation
In spring 1993 I first went to see the founders brothers Trifonas and Dimitris Markovitis The very name Polla Nera a lot of water was for a budding wine writer alarming to say the least During my formative years of working in France my mentors mantra was that welldraining soils make the finest wines In that preclimatechange period this was proven time and time again Why but why would anyone start a boutique winery near a place with such a name The answer was unexpected in part Apparently during the 1922 population exchange euphemism for ethnic cleansing of Greeks from Turkey and Bulgaria the Modern Greek state allocated these uprooted people land in remote sparsely populated areas There is a charming story here Someone was given the task of establishing a new village named Polla Nera a rudimentary topo in hand Wrong directions The location proved to be wrong By the time the designated area was discovered to be elsewhere its water springs and plane tress indeed befitting its evocative name it was too late On my recent visit I mentioned this to Dimitris Markovitis who illuminated further Chuckling he added that the correct location was 16 km away at Polyplatanos a placename meaning many plane trees
Dimitriss son Markos shares two cultures the other being German He studied at Weissberg in BadenWrtterberg The year 2007 was his first vintage He is partially replanting the extensive welldraining vineyards his first steps include changes in cellar practices such as less oak To my understanding Pegasus was one of if not the first boutique producers to embrace organic farming over 25 years ago Biodynamic agriculture next The winged horse enters a new era Good to see Markos blazing his own path
The 2007 vintage in Naoussa was one of extended heatwaves Xinomavro does not thrive in these conditions especially overstressing during vraison when grapes change colour from green to red It actually performs best in cooler summers such as the pretty 2011 So does this mean a fivehour decanting Not quite I found one hour was sufficient for it to come on song
Unusual and different fragrant fruit aromas due in part to red topsoil Ripe thanks to low yields and old vines Not as tannic as other 2007s Follows through with a floral place signature gentle spice on the finish Seductive digeststyle midweight Naoussa Best 20122017
Wine: Chateau Pegasus
Year: 2007
Link: http://www.chateaupegasus.gr
Score: 16
Type: Red
Variety: Xinomavro
Area: Macedonia