The wines of Gerovassiliou, Greece
One of Greece's top producers, from Epanomi in Halkidiki

Website: www.gerovassiliou.gr

Evangelos (Vangelos) Gerovassiliou had been working as winemaker at well known Greek estate Château Carras, when in 1981 he decided to revive his family’s small 2.5 ha vineyard and begin making his own wines, with the first one released in 1986. It’s located in the Epanomi subregion of Halkidiki, not far from Thessaloniki. The vineyard has since been expanded and is now 56 hectares, enough to supply all the domaine’s needs.

One focus here has been the white variety 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 Vangelos was working.

At the time Carras were exploring the potential of different varieties with the help of Logothetis, and Vangelos 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 foreign varieties Viognier, Chardonnay and Sauvignon.

Vangelos has since also partnered with fellow winemaker Vassilis Tsaktsarlis to found Biblia Chora.

THE WINES

Gerovassiliou Malagousia 2008
Highly aromatic with notes of peach, pear and citrus, as well as some mineral notes. The palate has lovely weight of fruit, with real presence and some minerality. A very stylish white. 91/100

Gerovassiliou Viognier 2007
Barrel-fermented, spending five months in oak. Vanilla and ripe pear nose is aromatic and intense. Rich and toasty. The palate is viscous but still fresh with nuts and pears. Warm, textured and amazing. 92/100

Gerovassiliou Avaton 2006
A red blend. Sweet dark fruits nose is pure, modern and intense with blackberry and spicy oak. The palate is focused and dense with concentrated, rich ripe fruit. Very bold with lovely purity, good structure and some new oak. Stylish modern style. 90/100

Gerovassiliou Syrah 2006
Sweet, focused and quite rich with pure red berry fruit framed by oak. The palate is fresh, fruit-driven and intense with pure ripe berry fruits combined with vanilla/new oak. 89/100

Gerovassiliou Malagousia Late Harvest 2004
Viscous and grapey with a herby edge. Bold and intense with lots of sweetness and some sherbet notes. A bit syrupy. 86/100

Wines tasted 04/09

An earlier tasting (01/07):

Gerovassiliou Malagousia 2006 Epanomi
There's a smooth, minerally complexity to the nose, which is bold with good fruit. The palate has lovely bright complex melon and herb fruit. Quite a fascinating style with some minerality on the finish. 91/100 (£10.99)

Gerovassiliou Estate White (Assyrtiko/Malagousia) 2006
The Assyrtiko in this blend is mostly grown in Santorini. Lovely, vivid, intense herbal nose which is limey and aromatic, but melony too. Attractive zippy palate with fresh acid, and lovely balance and weight. Great fruit intensity. 89/100 (£9.49)

Gerovassiliou Viognier 2005 Epanomi
Fantastic nose: peachy, rich and nutty, with some vanilla, bread and toast notes from the oak. This is beautifully perfumed. The palate is rich but fresh with really expressive fruit. Bold, peachy and rich. Quite brilliant. 94/100 (£13.99)

Gerovassiliou Chardonnay 2005 Epanomi
Complex, refined nose which is a bit nutty, but at the same time herby and quite fresh. The palate is fresh and expressive with rich, complex fruit and well integrated oak. A really super Chardonnay with some spice, too. Good balance. 92/100 (£14.99)

See also:

An older report on the wines of Gerovassiliou
Lyrarakis, Crete

Published 12/10  
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