{"id":22413,"date":"2018-12-30T07:10:50","date_gmt":"2018-12-30T07:10:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wineanorak.com:\/wineblog\/?p=22413"},"modified":"2018-12-30T07:13:28","modified_gmt":"2018-12-30T07:13:28","slug":"exploring-the-wines-of-greece-25-of-my-favourites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wineanorak.com:\/wineblog\/greece\/exploring-the-wines-of-greece-25-of-my-favourites","title":{"rendered":"Exploring the wines of Greece: 25 of my favourites"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Last year I travelled to Greece and did a quick-fire exploration of some of the country’s top wines, aided by Giannis Siganos of wine shop and importer Mr Vertigo. It’s taken me a little while to get round to producing this list, but here are 25 of my favourite wines. Over the next few days I’ll be posting short producer profiles of some of the top wineries. Greece is definitely a country to watch.<\/p>\n

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Hatzidakis Assyrtiko de Mylos Vielles Vignes 2016 Santorini, Greece
\n<\/strong>Very rich and bold textured with spice and apple, and a vivid bite to it. Crisp and intense with lovely precision allied to ripeness. Has a pithy, mineral edge. Such interest here: superb stuff, with so much concentration and salinity. 95\/100<\/p>\n

Sclavos Vino di Sasso Robola de C\u00e9phalonie 2015 Greece<\/strong>
\nFrom limestone soils. Amazing precision with a fresh acid core and some richness of texture. It\u2019s linear and the acid is so well integrated with the pear and table grape notes. Smoky and mineral in the background, but also so generous. 94\/100<\/p>\n

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Sclavos Synodos 2014 Slopes of Enos, Cephalonia, Greece<\/strong>
\nThis is a red wine that\u2019s a blend of Mavrodaphne with a bit of white grape Vostilidi. It\u2019s from ungrafted vines aged 40 years or more. It\u2019s beautifully floral, ripe and sweet wth silky berry fruits. Very smooth with some peppery detail and lovely finesse to the ripe, lush fruits. 93\/100<\/p>\n

Ligas Kidonitsa Barrique 2015 Pella, Greece
\n<\/strong>This is made by taking the end off a barrel and fermenting the white grapes as if they were red. It\u2019s a deep orange colour, with a bronze hint. Marmalade, spice, nuts and pears with some grip under the tangerine and lemon fruit. Some cold tea character and a bit of fruit sweetness, with nicely integrated tannins. Lovely stuff. 93\/100<\/p>\n

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Skouras Megas Oenos 2003 Nemea, Greece<\/strong>
\n12.5% alcohol. This was the first \u2018super-Nemea\u2019 wine, and it\u2019s a blend of 80% Agiorgitiko and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, first made in 1986. It\u2019s aromatic, sweet and leathery with black cherries, plums and lovely ripe fruit. There\u2019s an elegant, mature character with herbs, leather, black cherries and blackberry fruit. Textural, mature and stylish, and drinking well now. 93\/100<\/p>\n

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Sigalas Kavaleiros 2015 Santorini, Greece<\/strong>
\nSingle vineyard Assyrtiko that spends 18 months on its lees in stainless steel. Very stony, salty and mineral, with direct citrus fruit, some pear and a hint of sweetness. 93\/100<\/p>\n

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Hatzidakis Cuv\u00e9e No 15 2015 Santorini, Greece
\n<\/strong>Organic Assyrtiko. There’s a lovely nutty edge to the fruit. Citrus, nuts and pears with nice freshness and lots of depth. Stony, nutty and delicious. 93\/100<\/p>\n

Markovitis Winery Xinomavro 2012 Naoussa, Greece<\/strong>
\n13.5% alcohol. This is just so good, and very Nebbiolo like. Slightly faded red colour with a bricking rim, this is structured and savoury, but also has nice cherry, strawberry and raspberry fruit. Some notes of tar and spice, and some attractive floral character, too. It has elegance, but also quite grippy tannins, very much in the Barolo mould. 93\/100<\/p>\n

Biblia Chora ‘Ovilos’ 2016 Pangeon, Greece
\n<\/strong>A blend of Assyrtiko (40%) and Semillon (60%). Complex grapefruit, lemon and pear fruit with nice nuts and spice. Has richness, complexity and also freshness. Nice weight and focus: very stylish. 93\/100<\/p>\n

Vassiltis Santorini 2015 Santorini, Greece<\/strong>
\n100% Assytriko. Hints of nuts with some lovely mineral character. Has some pear fruit with a bit of citrus, but there’s nice development here, and a saline, mineral finish. 92\/100<\/p>\n

Papaioannou Estate Old Vines 2010 Nemea, Greece<\/strong>
\nOrganic, 100% Agiorgitiko. This has a lovely savoury, mineral edge to the red cherries and raspberries, as well as nice texture. Mellow with nice savouriness and some appealing stony texture. Still has plenty of fruit, too. 92\/100<\/p>\n

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Doulofakis Dafnios Red 2015 Dafnes, Greece<\/strong>
\nThis is 100% Liatiko. Vivid and fresh with stony, savoury damson, plum and red cherry fruit. Light with nice texture, tannin and acid. Sour and stony; this needs time. 92\/100<\/p>\n

Gaia Estate Assyrtiko \u2018Thalassitis\u2019 2011 Santorini, Greece
\n<\/strong>Really expressive and open with a creamy edge to the nutty citrus fruit and some lovely minerally acidity under the developed fruit. Expressive with real interest. Lovely purity and a citrussy finish, as well as almond hints. 92\/100<\/p>\n

Petrakopoulos-Melissinos Robola Bio 2016 Cephalonia, Greece<\/strong>
\nSlight minty edge to the stony lemon and pear fruit. Direct and linear with a savoury twist. Quite lovely. 92\/100<\/p>\n

Domaine de L’Acopalypse Patoinos Assyrtiko 2016 Dodecanese, Greece<\/strong>
\nDeep yellow\/orange colour. Rich but fresh with spicy peach and melon flavours. Richly textured with a fine spiciness and some hints of marmalade. This has lovely richness but it’s not at all heavy or clumsy. 92\/100<\/p>\n

Tetramythos Roditis Orange Wine 2016 Greece<\/strong>
\nApples, pears, some spice and a hint of raisin. Nice weight with a bit of structure. 91\/100<\/p>\n

Lyrarakis Dafni Psarades Vineyard 2015 Crete, Greece<\/strong>
\nDafni is a white variety whose name translates as bayleaf in Greek, and Lyrarakis saved it from extinction in the 1970s. Distinctive mint and rosemary herb character to the lemony fruit. So fresh and distinctive. Herbal and interesting. 91\/100<\/p>\n

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Wine Art Assyrtiko Unoaked 2011 Drama, Greece<\/strong>
\nPure and lively with fresh citrus fruit. Some tangerine richness, nice spiciness and a lively spicy edge. Has some toasty development here. 91\/100<\/p>\n

Ieropoulos Aras 2014 Nemea, Greece<\/strong>
\nThis is 100% Agiorgitiko. Sweetly floral, aromatic cherry fruit nose leads to a supple palate with fresh raspberry and cherry fruit. Nice freshness and grip. 91\/100<\/p>\n

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Haritatos Vineyard Mavrodaphne 2016 Slopes of Eneos, Greece
\n<\/strong>Grippy and vivid with intense tannins. Firm and direct with lovely black cherry fruit. Grippy, pure and vivid. 91\/100<\/p>\n

Rhous Tamiolakis Skipper Red 2014 Crete, Greece<\/strong>
\nThis is 50% Kotsifali and 50% Mandilaria. It’s an ancient classic red of Peza in Crete. Lovely savoury, spicy, slightly earthy edge to the sweet cherry and plum fruit. Has a nice presence: stony and delicious. 91\/100<\/p>\n

Karadimos Family Palaiokastra Malagousia 2015 Atalanti, Greece
\n<\/strong>Linear, stony, generous and rich with some pear and melon fruit. Fine spices with some ripe apple notes. A rich, fruit-driven white with some oxidative hints and nice depth. Distinctive. 91\/100<\/p>\n

Kir-Yianni Ramnista Xinomavro 2015 Naoussa, Greece<\/strong>
\n14.5% alcohol. This is vivid with a bit of mint and spice, as well as fresh raspberry and black cherry fruit. Smooth and stylish, this is a ripe interpretation of Xinomavro, with just a bit of its trademark tannic grip on the finish, lurking under the attractive fruit. 91\/100<\/p>\n

Mylonas Savatiano 2013 Attiki, Greece<\/strong>
\nApricot and herb with some tangerine on the nose. Nice weight on the palate with herb and mint notes. 90\/100<\/p>\n

Thymiopoulos Earth and Sky 2015 Naoussa, Greece<\/strong>
\n100% Xinomavro. Fresh, supple, elegant style with sweet cherries, plums and some warm spiciness. Ripe and seductive with nice structure, finishing sweet and grippy at the same time. A bit meaty. 90\/100<\/p>\n

Find these wines with wine-searcher.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last year I travelled to Greece and did a quick-fire exploration of some of the country’s top wines, aided by Giannis Siganos of wine shop and importer Mr Vertigo. It’s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[203],"tags":[415],"class_list":["post-22413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-greece","tag-greece"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wineanorak.com:\/wineblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wineanorak.com:\/wineblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wineanorak.com:\/wineblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wineanorak.com:\/wineblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wineanorak.com:\/wineblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22413"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.wineanorak.com:\/wineblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22413\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22431,"href":"https:\/\/www.wineanorak.com:\/wineblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22413\/revisions\/22431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wineanorak.com:\/wineblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wineanorak.com:\/wineblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wineanorak.com:\/wineblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}