Mitravelas Estate Neméa 2016
When we asked for a glass of white to be followed by red – go ahead suprise us, the sommelier eyes smiled. The first was not hard to pin: Diamantakis Vidiano 2016, saline and insistent it worked wonders around the bass ceviche. It handled the citrus and teased out the chile flakes whose heat in turn opened up the lesser seen side of this multifaceted grape. Relaxed the evening rolled on. When the red wine arrived I was at loss. First impression cherries with whiff of Burgundy. The rest of the picture was unfamiliar territory. It had some amber on the rim though kept it together on the mid-end palate. Solid fruit, still had life in it. Mystery wine got my attention. When the label was revealed we shared a moment of wine learning at its humbling best. Mitravelas Kokino se Mavro Neméa…2008. In theory this benchmark wine in its style(unoaked)and price(6 euro) suggested drinking window is 5-6 years. That it had further aged gracefully speaks volumes. Some of this tour de force staying power must be down to the fact that the bottle was kept under optimum storage conditions. It also reminds us that we tend to drink Greek wine before their true peak.
Unless you turn up at the winery with an appointment Kostas Mitravelas is not the communicating type. His thing is tending vineyards and nurturing the long established contacts with a clutch of some of the regions finest farmers. He also knows how to blend the patchwork of sites based on the large family of the Agiorgitiko grape. Simply put the number of biotypes is staggering. The reviewed Neméa is several notches above the aforementioned entry level. Ever since it came 12 years ago to my attention it has been one of the most consistent premium Nemea’s. Of course it has evolved. There has been a shift to use less oak focusing on the seductive fruit concentration of Agiorgitiko. More importantly this was achieved with no sacrifice to regional typicity. Few addresses have managed to reach and maintain such heights. More recently Chryssa Giatra, a wine educator with an international checkered career, is handling exports with inroads in the North American markets and Europe.
There is a dark cloud over Neméa and she is not alone, as to varying levels other regions in Greece and other zones world wide have the same issue. In view of the widespread virused vines Nemea’s charmer grapes shortcomings, lack of colour, lean structure, shallow wines, short staying power, thin drying out with bottle ageing are in the short term corrected and managed by reducing yields. Old bush vines help too, so far, they also seem impervious to hot arid vintages and act as a memory keeper of typicity. All these details feature in this estates trump cards. There is virus free Agiorgitiko beeing planted in handful of estates – Mitravelas vineyards including. Amongst others ampelographer local boy made good Kostas Bakasietas of VNB nurseries at Gymno(one of the several Neméa sub-regions) has been instrumental in offering healthy virus free cuttings. First micro-vinifications are more than encouraging, it is a big step up. Think of Tuscany in the 1980’s when forward thinking estates researched Sangiovese and made the quality wines from healthy vines they are producing today such as Villa Caffaggio in Panzano.
Back to the Umbria looking hillsides of Neméa rich in olive groves punctuated by defiant solitary cyprus trees. These new lease of life vines are offering an aromatic tasting spectrum which has little to do with todays wine. In other words they have transformed a happy go lucky generous Meditarrenean to an ambitious focused disciplined Northerner. It takes time to replant 2,500 hectares, eventually over 15-25 years there will be a more homogenous regional profile based on reduced percentage of virus free vines. For the time being the regional identity keeper biscuit goes to this founded in 1913 self effacing unassuming producer.
From selected plots of 40 and 50 year old vines. 6 months in second and third fill French oak. Bottled unfiltered and cellar aged for further 6 months. Purple tinged. Initially shy nose that opens up with aeration. Vinous. Perfumed floral complexity. Spice, black cherries. A dense wine of youthful rounded ripe tannin. Seamless oak. Bright fruited plummy juicy elegant dry finish. Graphite mineral notes. Brims with individuality and panache. It captures not only a sense of place added bonus that elusive essence of the Agiorgitiko grape. Big yet elegant delicious silky Nemea. A rule breaker: serve lightly chilled. Double decant. Drink: 2018-2027
Wine: Mitravelas Estate Nemea
Year: 2016
Link: http://www.mitravelas.gr/index.php/en/
Score: 17/20
Type: Red
Variety: Agiorgitiko
Area: Peloponnese