As I drove out of the parking at the Raxabased distillery near Trikala Makis Tsililiss parting words were Until the age of 12 I looked after my fathers sheep Over the course of a longplanned twoday visit I came to appreciate this guy one of two brothers and their success story
The wiry Makis 55 is refreshingly down to earth and candid about his vineyards and wine shortcomings We focused during the past 20 years on building the Tsilili tsipouro brand We now have to sort out our vineyards and winemaking A breath of fresh air It has been ages since I had last been subjected to neverending inventive vintner tales
While being driven around the various vineyard sites I came to appreciate Makiss knowledge of local geology and profound understanding of nature Equally impressive was his grasp of the subcultures of the Karagouni Hasiotes himself one and Vlachs which is part of the diverse human mosaic of todays Greece Speaking of origins mine are Arberesh All in all it a was an enriching factfinding mission Thanks to Makis being a great guide this previously littleknown to me part of the western Thessaly plain has now been sketched According to a paper recently sent to me geologists have recently discovered near Hasiote country granitic rocks dating some 700 million years So far thought to be the oldest in Greece This is already on my next vineyard trip action list
After studying chemistry Makis and his elder brother Kostas who manages sales in Athens started distilling Muscat of Hamburg of which there are 2000 hectares How did this lightly aromatic grape come to dominate the Thessaly plain In 1934 a disastrous frost left thousands of farmers with a loss of an important source of revenue State agronomists recommended planting highyielding MOH 70 odd years later the Thessaly plain with a reported 3000 stills is the nations unofficial tsipouro capital and the Tsililis Brothers have become one of the leading tsipouro producers Makis has another reason to be proud His daughter Ioanna a Bordeaux graduate recently joined the family firm
Clear Very clean delicate muscat aroma reminiscent of flowering vines Finely balanced grapey spirit offset by a creamy textured assertive yet not aggressive finish Charms with a spicy finish Reconfirming that lowerranking grapes make worthy distillates
Wine: Tsipouro Thessalias Tsilili 41% ABV
Year: 2008
Link: http://www.tsililis.gr/
Score: 17
Type: Distillates
Variety: Muscat
Area: Thessalia