Nico Manessis shares insight on the finest Roditis he has ever tasted.
Some of you may have noticed that until this review Roditis was missing. Some history to put things into perspective. When I first ventured out in to the Greek vineyard armed with a borrowed copy of Babis Kotinis book on cultivars it was a very different scene. Wine making was improving by leaps and bounds though to get a sense of what is what and where does it stand was great schooling. With what was then available in my early guides I had placed Roditis above Savatiano. Well a decade later Papaggianakos emerged and I reversed the order to which I still adhere today. Chateau Matsa, then an old vine Savatiano, was the only exception holding out against many Roditis then new wave wines such as Asprolithi from Angelos Rouvalis. The Aegialia slopes with their perched vineyards over looking the gulf of Corinth were the source of this useful lower 11,5% abv. Another Roditis terroir to emerge with a style of wine in the opposite spectrum of the lighter bodied Aegialia was then little known Kavala shoreline. Here the full bodied Roditis from Simeonidis is and remains a contender for a top spot. It also argues convincingly that a more northern latitude does not always equate to a cooler climate. The main difference of Kavala and Aegialia is the altitude with the latter one can find vines slowly ripening up to 1,100m. The other Kavala difference is the sandy alluvial soils – a subject I will be addressing in a future blog. Roditis translates the rose pink coloured grape. Nature is never as simple as that. There are many biotypes. The so called Alepou(Fox) is almost red. It is considered more aromatic and qualitative above the rest. There are also white skinned Roditis. By far the most interesting of all was a tank in the old Aidarinis winery in Goumenissa. During in one of my trips with a considerable drop in ambient temperature the tank had just finished its alcoholic fermentation. The wine had a spicy character reminiscent to the florality of young in the raw Gewurtzraminer though does not maintain this trait in bottle. The common issue with the many Roditis planted through out the country is that they are overcropped. It is a productive grape and fits the mentality of a farmer who has no interest in wine making. There are many old Agiorgitiko bush vines in Nemea and Xinomavro in north western Greece being uprooted and replaced with a high yielding Roditis. In short a terroir assasin. One can not describe the satisfaction of some farmers wanting to show off to their colleagues the high tonnage their Roditis produces. One can easily install in a basement a cask and fill it up. Presto it covers all their needs perhaps dreams too. Only young farmers can change and adapt to winemaking blue prints, the older generation is very much set in their ways. Early 1990’s Aegialia was languishing as it faces the cooler north-eastern exposure which meant lower 11,3% -11, 5% abv. Prices were depressed as the warmer and more humid north-western side of Achaia over looking the town of Patras and the Ionian sea had much higher demand and prices from the then still dominant large merchant houses. Nothing stays standstill and market forces where shifting to lighter higher-acid wines. Enter Asprolithi who stole the show and others followed establishing these less in demand high vineyards as a new keenly priced dependable source Another factor lies across the Gulf of Corinth, Mount Parnassos(2,457m) whose cold gusts influence these plateau’s in to a much cooler region that latitude alone would suggest. In as much as these slopes were referred to as Mikros Vorias the small North. Hype? Not really. It is one of the only regions where a high malic acid is present every year: it suprisingly matches the considerably cooler semi-continental climate of Amyndeo. Even with climate change the diurnal difference in Aigialia remains important. Thank you for bearing with me as the Roditis plot becomes interesting again as we look at this effort. Marketers of the diaspora, notably Dionysis Grevenitis in America, Theo Diamantis in Canada and Yorgos Ioannidis in France have inspired fresh approaches and opportunities to a number of addresses around the country. Switched on wineries have not only listened but embraced their mentoring with gusto. This Roditis natur is the brainchild of Paris based Ioannidis. I can not think of a better partner than listening to and improving on ideas than the Tetramythos Winery of Aristos and Stathis Spanos and ultra cool oenologist Panagiotis Papagiannopoulos. They scoured Aegialia and focused on the Ai Asomaton vineyard on the Mamousia plateau. Of the many biotypes here the rarest purple skinned Roditis is still to be found. These densely planted low yielding bush vines are organically farmed. At 750-800m they are not the highest in altitude, yet they have been producing superior fruit for years. There is not much of it to go round. In essence a hand crafted micro cuvée worth every euro cent they are asking for it. This find reaches beyond just another Roditis revisited exercise.
Organic. Natural cork closure. ”Grey”pink hued. Fragrant grapey nose reminiscent of plums. Initial creamy viscosity. It moves on to a deliciously clean pure-fruited mid palate. Fully flavoured mineral chalky bone dry finish. Impressive depth. Wine of singular elegant concentrated character capturing the grapes persona. Splendid and serious. The finest Roditis I have ever tasted. Drink 2018-2021
Wine: Tetramythos Winery Roditis natur
Year: 2017
Link: http://www.tetramythoswines.com/el/
Score: 17/20
Type: White
Variety: Roditis
Area: Peloponnese