More cerebral though leaves room for the sensual
The varied landscape of the Peloponnese needs to be experienced in person. Having slept at a fir forest retreat near Vitina(1,100m) which lies 40kms from the heart of the Mantinian plateau(650m)nothing quite prepares you for the ever changing scenery while driving westerly through stone built villages towards the undulating slopes facing the Ionian sea. The twisting road through Langadia famous for its stone masons, is narrow at times, which forces you to slow down and take in some of the landscape. One descends more like a panoramic helicopter flight rather than negotiating twisted roads for little more than an hour with the odd encounter of a splendid looking goat. In this sliver of land the climate is more humid than the alpille Mt.Menalon(1.980m) of my overnight stay. This high Ionian gem in Skyloundia is so verdant calling it such would be an understatement. A tapestry of five shades of green unfolds. Large conifers, oak, plane trees along streams, curly olive groves punctuated by gravity defying cypress trees leaves this seasoned wine route traveller in awe. Of course myths and history is woven in this pearl of a place. It is natures over the top production, for good reason. There is a spiritual angle in all this. Not far from this family owned estate is the site of Ancient Olympia birthplace of the Olympic Games. The energy fields where ancients chose for their ceremonies is no accident. One can feel this rejuvenating energy through my bare feet as I find myself squinting over the horizon on to the island of Zakynthos, where as the sun sets, car beams flicker into dusk.
For all you spoilt by Greek grapes there is life after Agiorgitiko and Xinomavro. The more recent emergence of dry Mavrodaphne and Limniona, in red and pink colours for the latter, are the most striking arrivals on anyones shortlist. Crete’s dry Liatikos’ are now in the frame with a bright future. On the Ionian islands, Vertzami has been around for centuries. In the 1960’s prior grape DNA analysis Italian technicians claimed it was Italian, well, they were wrong. It is a smaller berried grape, thick skinned and can handle summer and autumn rains better than most other Greek grapes. The only sighting I recall was in 2012 as it drizzled outside Dimitris Robotis Lefkaditiki Gi winery. In the first decade of 2000 Yiannis Halikias at Antonopoulos sourced some from his native Ionian island Lefkada. Some of you may remember the Gerontoklima tis Rematias. The problem is that there it is grown at high altitude of close to 450- 500m and it rarely ripened. Free in commerce with great activity in raisins dubbed black gold especially Zakynthos and Kefalonia and wine under the Venetian rule(1388-1797),the Ionian islands influenced this western shore of the Peloponnese where Vertzami is sporadically found. It rates in my top 5 indigenous red grapes. Like all of natures great things it is not always easy to understand. It strikes a cord as more cerebral though leaves room for the sensual. Beyond it’s dark colour and density, the aromatics are quite exceptional. Violets, camfor are the more obvious. The rest is a tour de force of aromatic fireworks. So are it’s evolving talents. During my visit, we left our Diagon glasses for about two hours while I was given a tour of their numerous vineyards by this switched on new to me address. Giannis Hristopoulos is very much in tune with all his vines, their issues, pros and cons and climate change challenges. It is a mind expanding exercise to hear explain all the minutiae. This find of a wine had transformed to such a different aromatic and taste profile which left us to marvel at natures diversity. There is another thing too, it belongs to that rare group of high-acid red grapes. Now that it is grown in lower altitude and is phenollically ripe, it could prove to be a useful climate change champion. This excellent example is only the beginning. Look forward in bringing to you more of this haunting grape gaining traction on the western Peloponnesian shoreline. By the way, farmers refer to it in masculine ‘o Vertzamos’.
Single vineyard sandy loam soil. Estimated 25 year old un-grafted vines. Dark purple. Intense fruit cool climate blueberries with black cherry bitter essence. Pyritic notes with tension throughout the vivacious fruity crammed structured juicy tannic bite. Malolactic fermentation has rounded off edges yet still registers 7,1grs/lit in tartaric. Much energy and drive, chamfered tannins. Menthol lift on the spicy finish. Manages to deliver a duality of freshness and generous viscosity. 2 days later: marked graphite contrasted with amaro bitters finish. Strikingly different, easily the most significant red wine to be reviewed in these pages in years. What a candidate for a blind tasting! Can we please have more of this? Drink 2018-2025.
Wine: Markogianni Winery DIagon
Year: 2016
Link: https://markogianni.gr/
Score: 18,5/20
Type: Red
Variety: Vertzami
Area: Peloponnese