The
wines of Domaine
Gerovassiliou, Epanomi, Greece
Epanomi 57 500, Thessaloniki, Greece
Tel: +30 23920 44 567 Fax: +30 23920 44 560
Website: www.gerovassiliou.gr
There are some benefits to being a wine journalist. I
tasted these wines at a fabulous dinner with Evangelos
Gerovassiliou, held at Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant at
Claridge’s. Present were Evangelos, two of his colleagues from
Greece, George Lemos (whose company, Vickbar, imports these wines
into the UK) and three journos: Charles Metcalfe, Steven Spurrier
and myself.
Although I don’t like using the word ‘best’ when
it comes to wine, Gerovassiliou is clearly one of the very best
(if not the best)
producers in Greece, and I’m not just saying this because I got
a nice dinner out of them. The wines are really interesting.
We started off with the delicious Malagousia. It’s an
ancient Greek variety that almost became extinct. 30 years ago an
agronomist called Professor Logothetis, who was a collector of
rare, ancient varieties, took a cutting
from somewhere in Northwest Greece and it was planted at Château Carras, where Evangelos was
working – he was winemaker with Carras for some 20 years until
he went full time with his own estate. At the time Carras were
investigating the potential of different varieties with the help
of Logothetis, and Evangelos vinified the grapes from some 23
different varieties in his trials. He recognized the potential of
Malagousia, so when he started his own domaine he planted in as
one of his key white grapes, along with Assyrtiko and imports
Viognier, Chardonnay and Sauvignon. It makes a really impressive
white wine.
Gerovassiliou Malagousia 2003
This is a semi-aromatic wine with honeyed, melony fruit and
lovely texture and length. Soft and quite rich, with good
minerality – a lovely wine. Very good/excellent 92/100
The domaine is family owned and consists of some 40
hectares of vines. Integrated pest management – a system that
minimizes agricultural inputs such as fungicides and insecticides
– is now practiced. It’s located in Epanomi, a short distance
south from Thessaloniki in Northwest Greece.
The next wine was a Viognier, which you'll no doubt be
aware isn’t a traditional Greek variety.
Gerovassiliou Viognier 2003
Quite dense and plump textured. Lovely peachy fruit with
subtle herbiness. Nice bright rounded character with hints of
vanilla and coconut, but fortunately these are well in the
background. An attractive wine. Very good/excellent 91/100
Now it was the turn of the reds. I’ve been pretty
convinced by many of the white wines coming from the top estates
in Greece over recent years; less so by the reds. Would these be
any different? They were. Yes, these are made in quite a modern
style, but they are striking wines. One of the features of
Gerovassiliou is that the imported varieties exist
alongside the traditional Greek ones, quite happily. I guess the
pressures of the modern marketplace push producers towards
recognizable names, but from a wine nut's perspective, I hope that
more producers begin to explore the potential of the traditional
varieties using modern viticultural and winemaking practices.
Gerovassiliou Syrah 2001
Dark colour. Lovely sweet, open nose showing dark fruit that
possesses some vanilla richness and a roasted edge. The palate is
sweet and seamless with good richness of fruit. Very ripe and open
with good density and a roasted, spicy edge. Soft centred.
Sophisticated and with good balance, albeit in a modern style.
Very good/excellent 92/100
Gerovassiliou Avaton 2002
A blend of Limnio, Mavroudi and Mavrotragano. Elegant, savoury,
dry spicy nose showing earthy black fruits. The palate has some
fruit richness, which is backed up by nice spicy structure. Really
nice balance. Modern and fruity but with a lovely structure – a
fantastic wine. Very good/excellent 93/100
I’ve also added here some notes from May 2004, when I
tasted some more of the range:
Gerovassiliou Malagousia 2003
This white wine has a very fresh, distinctive nose: aromatic
and fruity with a lemony edge. The palate is rounded and fruity
with notes of mango, a lovely texture and some gentle herbiness.
Beautifully fresh and appealing. Very good/excellent 90/100
Gerovassiliou Fumé Sauvignon Blanc 2002
Fresh grassy, herby fruit combines well with the rich, toasty
nutty oak on the nose. The palate is concentrated, nutty and
herby, with a rich rounded texture. This is quite brilliant. Very
good/excellent 91/100
Gerovassiliou Chardonnay 2002
Quite an assertive fresh, nutty, herby nose showing some
melony richness. The palate shows rich mango and peach fruit with
some nutty oak. Well made. Very good/excellent 90/100
Gerovassiliou Viognier 2003
Very ripe, open tropical fruit nose with a youthful limey
edge. The palate is nutty and fresh with good acidity. Crisp and
tasty. Very good+ 88/100
see
a more recent review of the Gerovassiliou wines (April 2009 and
January 2007) here
see
also: tasting notes of other Greek
wines
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