Agiorgitiko is new to northern Greece all of 12 years Having in situ tasted current and forthcoming releases the future looks bright The cherry core present in Nemea is still there enveloped by a tauter less Mediterranean generosity As seen in this review it is capable to stand its ground as a varietal However the great surprise was some rather clever blends There will be a series of postings Four such wines in the rich 2010 and the pretty 2011 vintages are a step up In fact they take your breath away Vassilis Tsaktsakrlis listens to his numerous vineyards As vines with time increase complexity he finetunes blends accordingly In my recent visit all wines were focused and articulate subtle and effective His gentle touch and use of cooperage is textbook A consummate professional he is a man of few words with the smarts to keep away from politics He is walking the vineyards most of the time It shows The 2008 was again not a uniform vintage with regional variations swinging either way In broad strokes solid yet low on excitement Certain mesoclimates and addresses achieved a touch of seriousness There is no doubt of wines improving not something than can be said about label design Even though there are improvements the packaging of some of todays Greek wine is doing little justice to its content This label stands apart At first glance it reminded me of Spanish landscapes leaping from Miles Daviss Concierto de Aranjuez The artist Vassiliss daughter Areti She painted Harvest when she was seven I can see her perkyfaced shot framed in her dads office There is little doubt that the northern expressions of Agiorgitiko will continue to pleasantly surprise us Beyond the senses they tickle the intellect Nemea is hedonistic at this juncture Macedonia has added stature Watch this space for more
Purple rim Dark for this grape Red berry fruit with gentle cocoa aroma Layers of velvety tannins Morello cherry follows up on a creamy intensity Stony mineral on the richlyflavoured finegrained dry finish Serious stuff Best 20122018
Wine: Areti Biblia Chora
Year: 2008
Link: http://www.bibliachora.gr
Score: 17.5
Type: Red
Variety: Agiorgitiko
Area: Macedonia