Time to debunk another very modern Greek myth In fact this is one of the most annoying bits of disinformation in circulation Limnio was Aristotles favourite wine
Wow thinks the unsuspecting gullible punter It was a handy sound bite for scores of journos discovering Greek wine in the late 1990s It was repeated ad nauseam I doubted this as a cheap opportunistic marketing gimmick In the very small world of Greek wine it almost got as big as the Black Athena story Thankfully it did not come up during the NBC Television live overview of the Greek vineyard to mark the Athens 2004 Summer Olympic Games Now imagine Aristotle the philosopher on his peripatetic campus below todays Naoussa Amongst his pupils from nearby Pella a young prince Alexander Yes the very one Dusk supper What did they drink Generous quantities of Limnio Not so says wine historian S KourakouDragona She attributes this to a rearlabel distortion of facts by a naughty consultant The only person linked to Limnia ampelos the Limnos vine is Polydeuces she clarifies Will get round to him in a forthcoming post
Traveling on todays Via Egnatia motorway Eastbound Fog Time to focus on my visit ahead to Kikones It becomes impossible Seasonal changes tease The light is shades of sandstone goldgrey hues Lake upon lake to my right unfold as do convoys of trucks As I enter Maronia the sun beaks softly The northern Aegean shimmers platinum Billowing smoke from fields becomes one with the lifting fog As I turn off I spot a solitary heron with his striking stance and hunters glance Kikones the winery named after the warrior race that lived in this part of the world two millenia ago comes into view
Sisterbrother team Melina and Vassilis Tassou are a breath of fresh air Cosmopolitan realists conscientious stewards of the soil They are pioneers in reviving wine and its culture in Greek Thrace In the 1990s their father Apostolos planted the first modernday Maronian vineyards There are several novel approaches that this switchedon openminded address has to show for itself All wines have taken a quantum leap forward Until now most Limnio ended up in blends mostly to conform to arcane legislation This is now changing however Kikones offers not an overcropped example In all honesty this is the first ever varietal of this now obscure grape of anecdotal acreage that translates such a clear picture While I research Polydeuces and the Athonite monasteries I enjoy this worthy newcomers breakthrough
Midruby Elegant aromatics Initial whiff of griottes morello cherries With aeration it opens up to maquisbotanic notes Firm tannic backbone with tension on the savoury long finish Welljudged extraction and oak ageing A standapart wine brimming with character Decant and watch it evolve over what can be a long dialogue Instructive and enjoyable Best 20122017
Wine: Limnio Kikones
Year: 2009
Link: http://www.kikones.gr/
Score: 16.5+
Type: Red
Variety: Limnio
Area: Thrace