This joint venture underlines the openminded attitude of Nemeabased I Sofia tis Fisis Natures Wisdom and the forward thinking of the KatogiStrofilia wineries It all started after a casual roadside meeting between Nikos Bouzinelos and veteran Achilleas Lampsidis As Sofia tis Fisis make Greek varietal and herbinfused vinegar petimezi grape syrup and other grapebased products they are not geared to make wine per se
A healthy dose of skepticism enters my mind every time I read organically farmed grapes on a label Who is your neighbor is the first of many questions any wine writer worth his salt should ask So after tasting this newsworthy effort off I went to see where The Wise Owl grapes originate Beyond a pretty bucolic setting of olive groves interrupted by natures exclamation marks cypress trees this Paleochori single vineyard on the northeastern flank of Koutsi is in good company conifers With a growing demand from the US market and Europe for natural wines both principals jumped to the opportunity and joined their talents Petros Keknopoulos oenologist at the KatogiStrofilia winery in Nemeas Asprokambos was the perfect man to take up this challenge His principals had the good sense to send him off for a year to become a post graduate student at the Australian Wine Research Institute in Adelaide Nosulphite wine is the most difficult to control Luckily harvest had not yet begun There is quite a lot of preparation one needs to sterilize all the kit It is a demanding but fun project
So all you switchedon readers are by now wondering why the back label still states 10 parts per million of sulphur The answer is that the fermentation process naturally creates tiny quantities of sulphur Interestingly white wine produces higher amounts than red Another tip Just after harvest I got to taste the 2011 Wise Owl It is fruitier No lover of Nemea should give this wine a miss It is a new to all of us facet of this charmer of a grape Yet again as this novel approach clearly demonstrates we really know very little about its dynamics
Very dark for this grape as noaddedsulphite wines usually are Bright floral notes with black pepper Textbook Agiorgitiko core of cherries on the midpalate Ripe tannins spice following through on the rich tasty finish Vibrant and pure Such a sense of place that not all of Koutsi 500m is capable of Stylistically a modern take of Nemea which I first encountered in 1993 Serve it at cellar temperature in large glassware For immediate enjoyment Best 20112013
Wine: Agiorgitiko The Wise Owl
Year: 2010
Link: http://www.katogi-strofilia.gr
Score: 16
Type: Red
Variety: Agiorgitiko
Area: Peloponnese