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Agiorgitiko-Verkostung

Über Agiorgitiko haben wir auf diesem Blog schon ausführlich gesprochen – allerdings als Cuvée-Partner für internationale Rebsorten wie Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot oder Syrah. Reinsortig? Fehlanzeige. Dabei haben wir der anderen griechischen Rebsorte, die den Anspruch erhebt, König unter den roten Sorten zu sein – Xinomavro –, längst eine eigene Masterclass gewidmet. Agiorgitiko wird hier also etwas stiefmütterlich behandelt, und das ist nicht ganz fair. Denn nach den offiziel

Griechische Weine

vor 9 Stunden19 Min. Lesezeit

Merlot 2021: Griechenland im internationalen Vergleich

Merlot hat es nicht leicht. Die Rebsorte, die in Pomerol und Saint-Émilion einige der teuersten Weine der Welt hervorbringt, kämpft andernorts mit dem Ruf, eher gefälligen als großen Wein zu liefern. Spätestens seit dem Film Sideways (2004) hat sie ein Imageproblem – zumindest in den Köpfen jener, die ihren Weingeschmack von Kinofilmen leiten lassen. Ich hingegen mag den Film, aber ich mag auch die Rebsorte. In diesem Beitrag will ich ein Scheinwerferlicht auf den Jahrgang

Griechische Weine

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Großer Wein? Kleines Geld?

Skouras Megas Oenos 2019 blind gegen fünf Bordeaux mit dem besten Preis-Leistungs-Verhältnis der Region. Wer gewinnt? Es gibt Weine, die man mehr aus Respekt vor ihrer Geschichte trinkt als aus purer Begeisterung. Der Skouras Megas Oenos gehört für mich in diese Kategorie. Jahrelang war er so etwas wie der inoffizielle Botschafter des griechischen Weins – der Beweis, dass Griechenland nicht nur Retsina kann, sondern auch ernsthaften, international wettbewerbsfähigen Rotwein.

Griechische Weine

30. März14 Min. Lesezeit

Mein Bild von Kretas Wein: Ein Mosaik aus Flaschen

Die Weinkultur Kretas reicht über 4000 Jahre zurück und erlebt aktuell eine spannende Renaissance. Im folgenden Artikel möchte ich...

Griechische Weine

4. März 202520 Min. Lesezeit

Xinomavro Masterclass

Für das Jahr 2024 hatten wir uns eine systematische Erkundung des Xinomavro vorgenommen, einer der edelsten Rebsorten Griechenlands. Im...

Griechische Weine

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Der graue Herbstnebel hat die Spätsommersonne jetzt doch recht endgültig abgelöst. Das soll uns heute Anlass sein, sich wärmenden...

Griechische Weine

26. Okt. 20239 Min. Lesezeit

2 3 4 5

Dionysos Winery Agiorgitiko 2021 – PGI Peloponnese | 86/100 🍷

@dionysos_wines is one of Greece's bigger producers, founded in Athens in 1936 and making more than 11 million litres a year. This Agiorgitiko is sourced from the Corinthos district on the Peloponnese and bottled as PGI, not to be confused with the house's separate PDO Nemea, which gets barrel ageing. In Greece it sells for around 4 €, so firmly entry level.

I've tasted a few wines from this producer, and this is the best of them so far. Red-berry nose. Still fresh on the palate, with grippy tannin and a good balance between acidity and alcohol. The finish lets it down a little, and there are some slightly unclean notes on the second pass, a touch musty. 86 points.

For the money it does its job, and it's a reasonable everyday way into the grape.

There's a fuller note in our database of more than 500 Greek wines at griechische-weine.info.

#GreekWine #Agiorgitiko #GreekRedWine #EntryLevelWine #ValueWine

New article discussing Agiorgitiko wines from @cavinowinery @megaspileo_estate @dionysos_wines @barafakas_winery @acrawinery @nikolaouestate @kokotosestate @latourmelas @ktima_tselepos @ktimapavlidis @astirxwinery @ktimabibliachora @ktima_palivou @domainerepanis @boutariwines @tsantali @philoswines @wineandnature

Philos Wines Apeiro "∞" 2015 – Nemea, Peloponnese | 95+/100 🍷

This was my first taste of the Apeiro, and it turned out to be one of the best Agiorgitiko wines I've ever had.

@philoswines is based in Dafni, one of the seventeen villages inside the Nemea PDO, but the Apeiro looks like it deliberately sits outside the appellation. It's a single-vineyard, old-vine Agiorgitiko, bottled unfiltered, 100% Agiorgitiko at 14.5%. In Germany, you can get the wine from @wineandnature for 55.55 €. Not cheap and no bargain hunt, but fair for what it is.

I went in with no real expectations, and the nose floored me, probably the most complex bouquet I've had from a Greek red all year, with black-cherry liqueur, violets, graphite and a bit of sea breeze. On the palate the parts aren't fully knitted together yet and the middle is slightly loose, but the salty-edged fruit and a finish that lasts minutes push it to 95+. You wouldn't guess it's ten years old. Drink it across a range of temperatures; warmer it shows more cherry and plum, the oak folds in, and the age starts to show.

2015 was a great Agiorgitiko vintage, which @ktimabibliachora's Areti from the same year confirmed again not long ago.

There's a much longer note on this wine in our database of more than 500 Greek wines at griechische-weine.info.

#GreekWine #Agiorgitiko #GreekRedWine #OldVines #NemeaWine

Lafazanis Geometria Agiorgitiko 2024 – PGI Peloponnese | 88/100 🍷

Geometria is the fresh, oak-free Agiorgitiko of Lafazanis (@lafazanis_winery) from ancient Kleones at the gateway to Nemea, labelled PGI Peloponnese again in 2024 because some fruit comes from the Korinthia hills. The style is unchanged: cold maceration, six days on skins, a cool ferment, no oak. At around €10, still about fruit, line and flow, not wood.

I’ve had two vintages myself: the 2020 (89), loved for its flinty style, and the 2023 (88), all idea but flat and short. Outside scores zigzag too. The 2021 was a 50 Great Greek Wines darling, the 2023 took only Decanter Bronze (88), the 2024 now Decanter Gold at 95, its highest yet.

2024 in Nemea was hot, dry, very early and short on volume, the opposite of wet, fungal 2023. The drought kept disease low, so the little fruit picked came in healthy and concentrated. Decanter’s note mirrors that, citing a chalky-mineral core, cocoa tannin and pomegranate acidity, the structural terms 2023 lacked.

In my glass, Decanter’s pomegranate shows from the nose. The palate is far denser than the 2020 or 2023, its coarse, mealy tannin making itself felt. A more classical Agiorgitiko, one that could come from Nemea itself. What it lacks is the coolness, the flint that made the earlier vintages so appealing.

It fixes some 2023 faults; the finish, for one, is longer. Even so, it climbs no higher for me. The coarse tannin and above all the missing coolness hold it back, so the difficult 2023 and the feted 2024 end up level in my book, for opposite reasons: one short on palate, the other on coolness. The seven-point gap Decanter draws I can’t justify. For me, 88 points.

A much more detailed review lives in our site’s tasting-note database of 500+ Greek wines.

#GreekWine #Agiorgitiko #GreekWines #Nemea #GreekRedWine

Lafazanis Geometria Agiorgitiko 2023 – PGI Peloponnese | 88/100 🍷

Geometria is the fresh, oak-free Agiorgitiko of Lafazanis (@lafazanis_winery), a three-generation family winery at ancient Kleones, right at the gateway to Nemea. The label still reads PGI Peloponnese, not PDO Nemea, since some fruit comes from the Korinthia hills to the north. The name is the idea, a deliberately clean-drawn Agiorgitiko rather than a rustic Nemea: 24-hour cold maceration, six days on skins, a cool ferment, no oak. At around €10, a wine about fruit and flow, not wood or muscle.

I like this style, and the line can clearly do more. The 2021 was a 50 Great Greek Wines favourite, the 2024 took Decanter Gold at 95. No everyday wine.

2023, though, was a crisis year in Nemea: rain at flowering, downy mildew, heat stress, then September’s storms Daniel and Elias with deluge and botrytis. Much was picked early, phenolic ripeness lagged, yields collapsed. For a wine built on freshness, not substance, an ungrateful year, and you can tell.

Curious whether any of that survives, I tasted it. The nose is still very appealing, a little blackberry, and when cool a floral bouquet that alone would lift it past 90, almost a cool-floral Brouilly. But the palate is too flat, with a hint of the reductive flint I know from the line, and the finish too short, only a second wave bringing pepper.

Tellingly, even the kinder scores reward exactly that, nose and charm, not depth; Decanter stopped at Bronze (88), close to mine. You smell a lovely idea whose palate pays for the hard year. The potential is real, and I’d love a fully successful vintage. These 88 points are for the idea, less for what’s in the glass.

A much more detailed review lives in our site’s tasting-note database of 500+ Greek wines.

#GreekWine #Agiorgitiko #WinesOfGreece #Nemea #GreekRedWine

Domaine Skouras Akres 2025 – PGI Peloponnese | 87/100 🍷

Akres is Domaine Skouras’s (@domaineskouras) easygoing everyday red, about €8, a Peloponnese cuvée of 90% Agiorgitiko and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. Read it as the little brother of the famous Megas Oenos, the same idea kept lean, with stainless fermentation, short extraction, full malolactic, brief lees and a screwcap. No oak, no hard tannin grab, just fruit-forward, early-drinking red.

I’ve nothing against Agiorgitiko as the Greek signature in a Bordeaux-style blend. What nags me is the newer habit of giving it Syrah when it gets just one partner; for racier, more fun wines, Cabernet is the better call, and this Akres makes it, though it’s no heavyweight.

2025 was no easy Nemea year: drought stress, smaller berries, sharply lower yields, but a kind final ripening, no heat spikes, dry weather, healthy fruit. For a lean stainless wine that means a touch more colour and concentration than in a lush year, without weight; the altitude holds freshness.
Curious what the small Cabernet does, I tasted it. Very floral, the varietal Agiorgitiko violet, a hint of eucalyptus where the Cabernet shows. The palate has a demanding tannin that dries the mouth, then opens to an at-least-medium finish. Few layers to pick out; complex it isn’t.

And yet it does, better than Lafazanis’s much-praised Geometria (two vintages in; more on that soon), what an oak-free Agiorgitiko should: character and real drinking pleasure. The grip and small punch come from the Cabernet the varietal Lafazanis forgoes. But you must nail it as cleanly as here, or better go without.

Surprisingly good for what it is, cleanly done, nothing to fault. For me, 87 points.

A much more detailed review lives in our site’s tasting-note database of 500+ Greek wines.
#GreekWine #Agiorgitiko #WinesOfGreece #Nemea #ValueWine

Nico Lazaridi The Black Sheep Red 2023 – PGI Pangeon | 82/100 🍷

To Mavro Provato, The Black Sheep, is the emphatically modern, accessible line of Nico Lazaridi (@nicolazaridiwinery), made at the Mackedon winery at the foot of Pangeon near Kavala. The red blends 60% Syrah and 40% Merlot under screwcap. At just under €17, a price at which I expect some substance.

Poured, it’s a pale, watery thing in the glass, and the 12.5% on the label confirms something is off. The nose is still fine, a little red fruit, some pepper. But the palate gives nothing. It tastes like a popsicle chewed down to the bare wooden stick: pure wood, barely drinkable, and by the next day not at all.

Only after noting that did I look up why. 2023 at Pangeon was hard, a mild dry winter, then a cold, very wet spring into July, plenty of water but heavy disease pressure and a late, compressed ripening. That can favour a leaner wine, yet it wasn’t rain-diluted: the September harvest was dry, and the region made aromatic, structured reds where vineyard work was right. So it isn’t the vintage alone.

It is the wine itself. The 12.5% is no vintage slip; the 2022 sits the same. It’s a deliberately light, early-drinking house style. And it’s aged with oak chips, not barrels, whatever some German retailers claim. Chips shed wood fast, with some bitterness, and where fruit and mid-palate are missing, only bare wood is left. Here it simply doesn’t work.

I don’t see what a wine like this is for. Syrah and Merlot make such great wines in Greece, and instead you get this pale nothing. At just under €17 it is simply too expensive. For me, 82 points. A real black sheep among the better-known Greek international blends.

A much more detailed review lives in our site’s tasting-note database of 500+ Greek wines.

#GreekWine #Syrah #Merlot #GreekWines #GreekRedWine

Château Nico Lazaridi Red 2019 – PGI Drama | 87/100 🍷

Château Nico Lazaridi (@nicolazaridiwinery) is the house’s best-known label, a red from PGI Drama, northern Greece’s inland “little Bordeaux” for French varieties since the late ’70s. Not to be confused with brother Kostas’s Domaine Costa Lazaridi, also in Drama; the two parted ways early. A Bordeaux blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 10% Sangiovese, 14%, around €17, oddly priced in Germany like the far simpler Black Sheep.

2019 was no gift in Drama. A cold winter and good budburst gave way to near-daily rain from June to mid-July, with local hail, delaying harvest and cutting yields. The wet kept acidity high, and excellent reds with rich tannin and phenolics were expected. On paper, a vintage of tension and structure.

In the glass it’s a wine like a Black Forest gateau. Through its making, above all the tannin-rounding délestage, it’s been beaten so soft it can bother no one. Structure to set against time, though, it doesn’t bring. A gateau, best eaten the day it’s made.

2019 could have given that structure, but the soft making levelled it. From a wine with “Château” in its name and a year in oak, you’d want more. Seven years on, there’s little reserve; it’s gone the day after opening. Drink it now if you like the style, even the whole bottle; one glass does me. For me, 87 points.

The label is almost ironic. The same 2019 brought the house’s new design by Drama-born artist Giorgos Taxidis (@giorgostaxidis): the red shows planting, birth, the beginning, with moon and stars for the passage of time and a new start. A lovely emblem of a fresh start, on a wine with no time ahead.

A much more detailed review lives in our site’s tasting-note database of 500+ Greek wines.

#GreekWine #CabernetSauvignon #BordeauxBlend #WinesOfGreece #GreekRedWine

Domaine Hatzimichalis Alfega Erythros 2021 – PGI Atalanti Valley | 89/100 🍷

I have a soft spot for Hatzimichalis (@domainehatzimichalis). Few pushed international varieties in Greece earlier or harder: Dimitris Hatzimichalis bought his first nine hectares at Atalanti in 1973 and stunned the scene in the early ’80s with a Cabernet Sauvignon thought impossible here. The Alfega Erythros is the estate red, a classic Bordeaux blend (Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot – 40/40/20), raised for at least a year in French barriques.

2021 was a year of extremes. In Fthiotida a cold, wet winter and cool spring held the vines back, then came three heatwaves – 46.3 °C in early August – and the worst wildfires in over a decade. Mid-harvest, Leonidas Hatzimichalis (@leochatz ) spoke of picking ten days early to beat the heat, hoping to have escaped the smoke. A normal September saved health and balance; the reds got off lightly.

In the glass, little of that drama at first. The nose is tame, dark-berried but restrained – some smoke after all, a little ash, nowhere near Biblia Chora’s level. I rather like it. Good tannin, built for time; the label promises fifteen years, ten it shrugs off with ease, I am sure – though it does not need further aging. Salty on the finish, tender in between, balanced ... yet admittedly not hugely animating.

As with some previous vintages, I waver between 89 and 90 and land, once again, on 89. Very respectable for a bottle at around ten euros in Germany – well below, e.g., Biblia Chora’s or Gerovassiliou’s estate reds – its synthetic cork flagging the more modest ambitions. Still: The name fuses alpha and omega, all in their own hands, start to finish. Which is exactly why I’d sometimes wish for just a liiiiittle more punch, aiming a liiiiittle higher.

A much more detailed review lives in our site’s tasting-note database of 500+ Greek wines.

#GreekWine #CabernetFranc #BordeauxBlend #GreekWines #greekredwine

Dio Fili Pinot Noir 2019 – Siatista, Western Macedonia | 81/100 🍷

Greek Pinot Noir is rare – and rarely succeeds. Dio Fili (@diofili_winery), “Two Friends”, born in 2006 of winemaker Yiannis Boutaris’ friendship with Georgia Goutziamani and Yiannis Polizos, has chased a varietal Pinot Noir for years. Conditions are better than you’d think: vineyards at 650 m, cool nights, stony calcareous soils, yields of just 500 kg/stremma (≈ 5 t/ha), up to a year in oak (casks to 300 l), about 12,000 bottles.

PGI Siatista admits Merlot, Cinsault and Cabernet among its reds, but not Pinot Noir – so despite its unmistakable origin, the wine sells as a varietal wine (Ποικιλιακός Οίνος), shut out by a PGI that Dio Fili itself once co-applied for.

The bar was high: the 2017 earned 8/10 in the FNL Guide – violets, blackberry, dried tarragon – and a place among Greece’s best Pinots, beside Biblia Chora’s Sole. And 2019 ranks among Northern Greece’s finest vintages of the decade.

With the 2019, though, something seemed off early: just 84 points and no medal at the 2023 Thessaloniki International Wine Competition – which decorates some three-quarters of entries.

The glass confirms the suspicion. The unfiltered wine smells nutty, as if it had ten more years on its back. What the winery markets as a style (nuts, dried fruit) turns out to be aging of the unwelcome kind — endlessly oxidative on the palate, mineral – no: metallic – and soberingly thin. Water with tannin. 81 points.

Greece will never produce the world’s most elegant Pinot Noirs – but with a bit of extract, lovely bottles are possible. This one heads in exactly the wrong direction.

A much more detailed review lives in our site’s tasting-note database, with over 500 Greek wines.

#GreekWine #GreekWines #WinesOfGreece #DrinkGreek #greekvineyards

@domaineskouras Peplo Rosé.

Around €15 retail in Greece. Around €17 in Germany.

George and @skourasdim experimented for three years before releasing the first Peplo in 2017. Their stated goal: "We wanted to make a serious rosé wine. Something similar to our big reds or whites." Rosé specialist Elizabeth Gabay MW tasted the debut vintage and wrote: "I would say they have succeeded."

Here's what "serious" means in practice. Three grapes in equal parts, each from a different corner of the Peloponnese, each on different soil, at different altitude, aged in a different vessel:
- Agiorgitiko. Nemea, 850m, clay. Acacia barrels.

- Syrah. Argolida, 600m, rocky soil. Stainless steel, on its lees.

-Mavrofilero. Mantinia, 650m, sand. Egg-shaped amphoras, four months on its skins, wrapped in fabric – the peplos that gives the wine its name.

Three vineyards. Three vinification paths. Three ageing vessels. Then blended. At most wineries, this level of complexity is reserved for the flagship red. Here it's the rosé. For fifteen euros.

In the glass: pale coral, red-gold hints. Strawberry, white flowers, grapefruit, something mineral. The palate has real structure – salty, precise, a finish that keeps going. Not a patio sipper that vanishes. A rosé you remember.

It's an interesting case of critics either getting or not getting the idea. Jancis Robinson gave this wine 17/20 across three vintages (2017, 2021, 2024). Parker, by contrast, sits around 89. Wine Enthusiast called it "easy to drink but conceptually fascinating" and noted it could age three years or more. That sounds like: theoretically nice, but in practice just a decent wine. It's not. It's a great wine. Still, I see what they mean. Something still needs to click. For all the effort to fully pay off. For this to become iconic.

I tasted the 2024 last autumn. 92 points. I think it will improve, so I'm adding a plus. Try the 2024 this year. And don't be surprised if one of the coming vintages goes through the roof.

I've been ordering this wine for years without really loving it. Skouras Megas Oenos – Greece's most famous red. George Skouras studied in Dijon, came home, blended Agiorgitiko with Cabernet, and changed the conversation. Everyone knows the story. But I always felt the price was paying for that story more than for the glass.

So we set up a blind tasting. Six wines, all 2019, all €20–40. Five Bordeaux chosen for their value: Meyney, Carmenère, Clos Manou, Belgrave, Doyac. Tasters had the list but didn't know which glass was which.

The four Cabernet-heavy Bordeaux grouped together instantly. Meyney smelled of raspberry and tasted of marzipan – round, agreeable, but where's the tension? 91. Carmenère poured nearly purple. Leather, smoke, something feral – someone asked if a Syrah had snuck in. It developed interesting fruit sweetness over time but never quite settled. 92. Clos Manou was mute on the nose, then loaded the palate with structure and jammy blackberry. The finish kept trying to take off but stayed stuck in earth. 92+, come back in 2027. Belgrave brought speculoos spice, plum, and a dusty delicate tannin. Long finish. 93+.

Then the two wines where Cabernet wasn't in charge. Doyac – 85% Merlot on limestone – dark gingerbread nose, blackberry as jelly – far more elegant than the Clos Manou – then herbs, iodine, black tea in the finish. A complete wine already. 94. And Megas Oenos – 80% Agiorgitiko, 20% Cabernet. It looked pale and thin next to the near-black Bordeaux. The nose was pure vanilla – heaviest oak of the night. But the palate told a different story: delicate, varied berries, then caramel and toast instead of just vanilla, and a finish where sweetness, bitterness and peppery heat circled each other. It could have failed. It didn't. 94.

Yes, the Greek wine blog gave the top score to the Greek wine. I know how that looks. Can't change what happened in the glass.

Full notes (in German, English, and Greek!) on the blog – link in bio.

@domaineskouras @chateaumeyney @chateaucarmenere @dourthe.bordeaux @chateau_doyac @lobenbergs

Today we opened two special Greek Cabernet Sauvignons from the 2008 vintage — both single-varietal wines.

The first was Trilogia 2008 from the west coast of the Peloponnese in southern Greece, made by Christos Kokkalis. The second came from Northern Greece, from Pangeon: Etos 2008 by @ktimabibliachora — the very estate that later took over and continued the Trilogia story (@ktimadioipsi ).

Both bottles are very hard to find today, so I was genuinely happy to taste them side by side. I’ve had many vintages of Trilogia over the years. Etos, by contrast, is produced only in special vintages (from diggerent grapesand released only after long ageing. Biblia Chora also makes an excellent “regular” Cabernet Sauvignon under the Ovilos Red label.

Trilogia 2008 is one of the best Trilogia vintages I’ve had. It is clearly better than 2009, and while 2012 has improved a lot in recent years, I don’t think it reaches this level. Right now, 2008 feels fully at its peak. I still don’t think it surpasses the 2006, which remains the best Trilogia I’ve personally tasted at 98 points (I’ve never had the chance to try the truly mythical 1990s vintages). Even with a pessimistic estimate, Trilogia 2008 still scores 96 points for me.

On the nose, it is quintessential old-school Kokkalis: eucalyptus, juniper berry, overripe raspberry and blackberry, and cedarwood. On the palate, the tannins are mellowed and pliant, with a very long finish. It should continue to evolve beautifully over the next decade and beyond.

Etos 2008, by contrast, surprises with real freshness on the nose and textbook blackcurrant. On the palate it shows more smokiness, more acidity, and still very firm tannins. That acidity does a remarkable job of masking the alcohol difference (15% vs. 14%). It is already giving plenty of pleasure; if there is a weakness at the moment, it is a slightly short finish.

I would rate Etos 2008 at 94+ points right now, and I can imagine it one day outperforming Trilogia in international blind tastings. But for lovers of the old Kokkalis wines — for those who want to remember that legend in the glass — a wine like Trilogia 2008 is simply very hard to beat.

PART 7: MERLOT WINES OF 2021

THE EMPEROR LIMITED EDITION 2021 – Papargyriou Winery @papargyriouwinery

Greece's New Merlot King?

Papargyriou Winery is based in Korinthia, northeastern Peloponnese. @ypapargyriou72 is known for his powerful, concentrated reds. The Emperor is their new flagship wine: a limited-edition Merlot made only in exceptional vintages. 2021 is the first. 2023 will be released toward the end of 2026.

The Wine:
🍇 95% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc
🍷 15% alcohol
📍 PGI Korinthia

Tasting Notes:
Very fine – but not overripe – raspberry on the nose, a touch of blackberry, plus subtle seagrass that adds freshness without heavy iodine. Reminds me of Pomerol – yet nothing in Pomerol feels this electrifying. On the palate, in aroma and tannin, anything but delicate. A real monster! Incredible fruit sweetness on entry, but then the impression is shaped by an astonishingly refreshing acidity – remarkable at 15% alcohol. With lots of oxygen, the wine shows a cooler character and hints at its future development. I can't wait to see how it will look in five years. Unfortunately, I've already drunk far too many bottles – hard to resist. But please: hold back and give it time. If you're at all interested in Greek wine, you should try this at least once. It's crazy to me that of this very limited production (only 2,170 bottles), some are still available in Germany from @wineandnature – for only €59.99, which is a steal for such an icon wine.

Rating: up from 95+ points in 2024 to 96+ points in 2025 – with plenty of room to grow. Until now, the 2018 Merlot from @lacules_estate is the finest Greek Merlot I have ever tasted (I gave it 96 points, the same rating the 2021 now also got from me, but I think most wine enthusiasts might prefer the 2018). Generally, Lacules' Merlot has darker, spicier notes. The Emperor is very different – it doesn't impress you with its seriousness but with its restrained power. It's amazing that the Peloponnese now has two such different but equally excellent Merlot wines to offer.

PART 6: MERLOT WINES OF 2021

**DAME ROUGE III 2021 – Jima Winery** @jima.winery

**The Artisan from Arta**

Jima Winery is a family operation founded by oenologist Panagiotis Jimas @panosjimas and his wife Kristy Karagiannidou. Panagiotis holds a WSET Diploma and applies that knowledge to wines of unusual precision.

The winery sits in Kalomodia, Arta, just a few kilometers from the Ambracian Gulf. The soil is clay-rich with marine fossil deposits – the kind of terroir that produces structured, mineral reds.

**The Wine:**
🍇 90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc
🍷 14.5% alcohol
📍 Arta, Northwestern Greece
🍇 Part of the Merlot grapes shade-dried after harvest (appassimento-style)
🪵 12 months in new French oak, bottled unfiltered

**Tasting Notes:**
A striking amount of leather on the nose, layered with ripe cherries and plums. On the palate: very fine tannins that lend elegance and take away any brute force. Lots of olive paste in the flavor, long finish. Unique in Greece – and will find fans among those who want a more delicate Merlot at 14.5%.

93+ points. Probably would show even better with more air. If you have one of the couple of hundred bottles, give it time – and don't open it too early. I had purchased the Dame Rouge IV Day 26 2023 from @wineandnature and opened it last summer. That was definitely too early. (The same applies to the fantastic Odyssey – the 85:15 Merlot-Cabernet Franc blend I've regularly reviewed here – as well as the monovarietal Cabernet Franc, both from 2023. They were still so young it felt like a barrel tasting, so I won't rate them here.)

#GreekWine #JimaWinery #Merlot #Arta #winetasting🍷

PART 4: MERLOTS OF 2021

Merlot Alargino 2021 – Ktima Hatzimichalis @domainehatzimichalis

Pioneer of Greek Merlot
Domaine Hatzimichalis is one of Greece's most important estates. Founded by Dimitris Hatzimichalis in 1973 in Atalanti Valley (Central Greece), the winery was among the first to plant international varieties – starting with Cabernet Sauvignon – alongside indigenous Greek grapes.

The Merlot Alargino comes from the vineyard called "Alargino" – meaning "the furthest away" – at 320–350m elevation. No irrigation, low yields (3,500 kg/ha). The microclimate benefits from cool breezes flowing between Mount Parnassus and the Euboean Gulf.

Hatzimichalis was the first Greek winery to bottle Merlot as a single varietal, with the first vintage in 1989. I have previously (in 2023 and, the oldest vintage, in 2025) tasted the following vintages:

1992: The first Greek wine ever on the IWC Top 100 list, according to @leochatz (cf. my tasting note on this vintage below). Dense raspberry woven into mushroom and earth. Softened tannins but still noticeable grip. Despite only 12% alcohol: fresh, juicy, long. One of the most pleasing wines of that era I've tasted – should hold until 2030. 93 pts.
2004: Leather, then licorice, flint, graphite, blackberry. Great acidity. At its peak. 95 pts!
2011: Surprising. Initially mushrooms and underbrush, then remarkable improvement over days – black olive aromas, more complex than 2020. 94 pts.
2020: Bright color, reminds of hot-year Pomerol. Cherries, marzipan, strong yet refined tannins, outstanding finish. 93 pts, likely to improve.

Now - the 2021 vintage:
🍇 100% Merlot
🍷 14.5% alcohol
📍 PGI Atalanti Valley
🪵 12 months in new French oak barriques, 12 months bottle aging

Tasting Notes:
Quite expressive on the nose – lots of cherry jam. On the palate: sea buckthorn and marzipan, good length. Right at the finish, a subtle plum note sneaks in behind the sea buckthorn. 93+ points, like the 2020 vintage. Both will one day reach 95 points – but interestingly the 2021 already showed better oak integration (after roughly the same time after harvest).

#GreekWine #Hatzimichalis #Merlot #AtalantiValley #WineTasting

PART 3: Merlot of 2021

GALATRONA 2021 – Petrolo @petrolo_winery
Tuscany's Answer to Pomerol

Petrolo is a small family estate in the Val d'Arno di Sopra DOC, located just outside the Chianti Classico zone near Montevarchi. The Bazzocchi family acquired the property in the 1940s; today it's run by Luca Sanjust, third generation of the Bazzocchi-Sanjust family, who took over in 1993 after a career as an artist in Rome.
Galatrona, first released in 1994, is their flagship: 100% Merlot from a single vineyard planted between the late 1980s and mid-1990s. The soil – clay with shale, marl and sandstones at 300m elevation – retains the moisture Merlot needs in hot Tuscan summers. Critics regularly mention Galatrona alongside Masseto, Messorio, L'Apparita, and Redigaffi as Italy's finest Merlots.

The Wine:
🍇 100% Merlot
🍷 14% alcohol
📍 Val d'Arno di Sopra DOC
💰 Around €100

Tasting Notes:
Already visually a different league – incredibly dense in the glass. On the palate: absolutely mouthfilling. Finest nougat, delicate juniper, beautifully integrated oak. One of the world's best single-varietal Merlots – and still very fairly priced.
97 points.

Update: The Merlot tasting took place a few months ago. After Christmas, I opened another bottle – alongside Saffredi 2022 (). Galatrona did great, especially in the beginning. So much fruit, so much power. Mouth-coating fullness and a wonderful bloody aftertaste. Also: astonishingly much tannin. I had given it slightly less air than the Saffredi, which made Galatrona appear more youthful and powerful at first. With more air and rising temperature, Saffredi showed its strengths and overtook Galatrona (98+ for Saffredi). Galatrona confirmed at 97 points – but with a LOT of potential. I wouldn't be surprised if it reached 99 points one day.

So: After a modest benchmark from Pomerol, here's a real powerhouse to be reckoned with, to put it mildly. Will the Greek wines from @domainehatzimichalis, @lacules_estate, @jima.winery, and @papargyriouwinery simply be eclipsed? They won't surpass this – but can they somehow keep up? Stay tuned to find out...

#Galatrona #Petrolo #Merlot #Tuscany #Saffredi

PART 2: Merlot of 2021

CHÂTEAU LA CROIX 2021 – Pomerol

The Bordeaux Benchmark

Château La Croix is a 10-hectare estate in Catusseau, right next to Château Beauregard. The vineyard sits on sandy-gravel terraces with iron-rich soil – a terroir that was once dismissed in Pomerol but now produces wines of notable elegance. The Janoueix family has owned La Croix for over 150 years.

The Wine:
🍇 90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc
🍷 13.5% alcohol
📍 Pomerol AOC

Tasting Notes:
Dense on the nose, dense on entry. Loads of dark berries – especially sloe – with sandalwood undertones. Then, with air, the wine opens up: juicy, fruity, refreshing. A lovely, classic Pomerol.

My Score: 92 points.
A note on some other ratings: @lobenbergs gives 97-98+. @weinwisser6498 scores 95-96. I find these too generous. It's charming and drinkable, but 2021 was difficult for Bordeaux Merlot – and the wine reflects that. Lighter and more delicate than La Croix in great years. A solid benchmark, not a revelation, in my opinion. Now let's see over the coming days how the other wines, introduced yesterday, perform in comparison....

2021 Merlot: How Does Greece Compare? 🍷🇬🇷

2021 was brutal for Merlot in Bordeaux. A devastating late April frost wiped out up to 90% of yields in some areas. What followed wasn't better: a wet summer created ideal conditions for mildew and brought diluted grapes into many cellars. Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon ripened more evenly and saved many cuvées. For Merlot, results were often inconsistent – light, sometimes hollow wines.

In Greece, 2021 told a different story. The summer was hot and dry, with no disease pressure. Grapes came in healthy, with excellent phenolic ripeness and deep color extraction. Yields were down 10–15% due to heat stress, but smaller berries delivered intensity and concentration.

I wanted to put this to the test. How would Greek Merlots from 2021 stand up against international benchmarks? The tasting included six wines:

🍷 Château La Croix 2021 – Pomerol (90% Merlot, 10% Cab Franc)

🍷 Galatrona 2021 – @petrolo_winery (100% Merlot, Tuscany's benchmark)

🍷 Merlot Alargino 2021 – @domainehatzimichalis (100% Merlot, Atalanti Valley) - a wine I've had in several vintages and that always convinced me

🍷 Lacules Estate Merlot 2021 – @lacules_estate (100% Merlot, Messinia) - the 2018 has been the best Greek Merlot I've tasted so far

🍷 Dame Rouge III 2021 – @jima.winery (90% Merlot, 10% Cab Franc, partial appassimento)

🍷 The Emperor 2021 – @papargyriouwinery (95% Merlot, 5% Cab Franc, 15% alcohol) - rated 95+ points by us in 2023

Over the next couple of days, I'll share my notes on each wine.
#GreekWine #Merlot #Pomerol

Tuscany for the best steak of the year. Why not Greece?

I had great wines in stock. And great things have been happening in Greece over the last five years or so. But it’s often about individual achievements. Sometimes, Italy simply earns my respect.

Not Amarone. Not Barolo.
But having the guts to show France how it’s done for around €100.

Two wines.
100% Merlot from @petrolowinery (Galatrona!) and a Bordeaux blend with a slight advantage for Cabernet Sauvignon from @fattorialepupille__official (Saffredi!).

I had the former earlier this year, alongside some of the best Greek Merlots of the year (@lacules_estate, @domainehatzimichalis, @jima.winery). You might have read about that tasting here. The Greek wines did really well. But Galatrona 2021 stole my heart.

I had it again today with the best steak in the world (prepared by my mother-in-law — and yes, I really mean it). For me, almost the perfect wine.

Buuuut … then came Saffredi.

I had double-decanted both wines — the blend three hours in advance, the “mellow” Merlot 1.5 hours before the meat was served. A mistake? Perhaps.

I served the Galatrona first. So much fruit. So much power. So much tannin, too. Mouth-coating fullness, wonderful bloody aftertaste.

Still.

Saffredi was just there. Unwavering. Asking: Why didn’t you trust me?
I should have.

Having had the @domainedechevalier 2016 just two days ago (with almost exactly the same grape ratio), I somehow thought the blend needed more air. Never doubt a Super Tuscan!

What a wine.
Galatrona is FANTASTIC. 97++ points. Might reach 99.

But Saffredi is 98+.

To get a wine from Bordeaux with this prospect, you’d have to pay twice as much.

#bordeauxwine with duck? Sure. But is 2016 still too young? I didn't want to take a risk with Médoc and went to Graves. Still, I was a bit nervous when deciding to open this @domainedechevalier bottle. To be honest, yes, the youth is still quite apparent on the palate. More complexity will develop there. But it is not closed anymore. And on the nose it is just perfect. What a wonderful wine. 96+ points (and others at the table were more generous, insisted in 98).

Last week I had a bit of fun: I put @estates_costa_lazaridi “Cava Amethystos” on the table blind - 2001 vs 2020 -and watched everyone try to place them.

Nobody would have guessed that the 2001 was 19 years older. It has held up beautifully and tasted at least a decade younger: dried black cherry and cassis, cedar and cigar box, a hint of leather/forest floor, and those silky, fully resolved tannins that only come with real bottle time - but with a fresh spine still very much intact.

Now for the cheeky part. Back in 2006, WINE ENTHUSIAST gave the 2001 85 points, talked about “barnyard” aromas, and basically said “drink up.” None of that showed up in my glass - and the “drink up” call feels plainly wrong. If this bottle is any indication, it can cruise for another 10–20 years in great shape. Definitely still deserves 94 points.

And that’s the broader problem with some older international ratings of Greek wines: years later, the real-life “comparison set” often isn’t even on the market anymore, so sweeping judgments become surprisingly hard to test.

The 2020 is a different chapter entirely. Sometime in the late 2000s the estate pivoted away from Cabernet Sauvignon and committed to Cabernet Franc for Cava - a deliberate stylistic shift (and, yes, part of that “international polish” era of Greek fine wine). In the glass it makes sense: violet and blackcurrant, minty lift, graphite, new-oak framing, firm structure and a long, cool finish - powerful, but not heavy. Really salty aftertaste. 94+ points.

Cabernet Franc is, for me, the unsung hero of international varieties in Greece. When it’s done seriously - here, and also in wines like @domainehatzimichalis “Opous ib’” - it delivers that rare mix of perfume, freshness, and authority. I’ll admit: a small part of me is nostalgic for the old, single-minded Cabernet Sauvignon Cava (it may have been one of the most ageworthy Greek “Cab” bottlings). But after tasting these side by side, I’m also convinced the Cabernet Franc bet is the right one - Greece can be brilliant with it.

#greekwine #amethystos #costalazaridi #cabernetfranc #cabernetsauvignon

The 2017 Assyrtiko “Fi” from @domaine.economou comes from old, organically farmed vines in the high-altitude vineyards of Ziros, Katsidoni and Etia in eastern Crete. Fermentation is spontaneous with indigenous yeasts, and, true to the estate’s minimalist philosophy, there’s no fining or filtration. The wine is matured in large, neutral oak barrels with a deliberately oxidative approach.

If you're familiar with Economou’s regular Assyrtiko, the oxidative style here won't come as a surprise. Still, the nose offers something quite different. None of the usual dried fruits lifted by quince. Instead, it’s a freakshow for lovers of petrol aromas, something you’d typically expect only from aged Riesling. Those who aren’t into that will need to let it breathe. Then, more honey emerges. On the palate, you’ll find beeswax, apricot and a range of herbs. But what really sets the wine apart is its elegant, almost austere structure. The finish is fine, yet long. Personally, I’ve never been a fan of the saline blockbusters from Santorini. If you want an Assyrtiko that asks for your attention, this is a fantastic choice. And at €74.99 (via @winenadnature), it is fairly priced. Still, I prefer Assyrtiko with a bit more fruit ... fresh or dried. 93+ points.

The 2024 vintage of @papargyriouwinery 's Cuvée Hélène Goustolidi made it onto the “50 Great Greek Wines” (@yianniskarakasismw ) list this year- so I finally had to give it a try (I got the 2023).

This single-variety white wine is made from 100 % rare Goustolidi grapes grown on about 1,500 ungrafted vines at 700 m elevation near Sofiana in Corinthia. The grapes are hand-picked in early September, spontaneously fermented with native yeasts in 500 L French oak barrels, then aged on the fine lees for three months. With minimal sulfur additions and a gentle oak influence, the wine gains subtle wood complexity while remaining fresh and pure.

On the nose: lime blossom meets a spicy mineral edge. On the palate: a strikingly vivid acidity that fills the mouth without overpowering the fruit. Quite elegant. But not my favorite white wine from the winery, lacks a little bit of character compared to the others in my opinion. In any case, the wine needs plenty of oxygen and time to open up, revealing mint and lime notes. The finish is long - you’d swear you’d just emptied a Caipirinha.

A beautiful addition to the summer white-wine lineup of greek varieties, especially given its clear aging potential. I’m at 90 points today, and I’d be surprised if it doesn’t hit 92+ after 2–3 more years in bottle.

Available from wineandnature in Germany.

Le Roi Des Montagnes Assyrtiko from @papargyriouwinery is a special wine, one that is different from all other Assyrtikos you'll find. From vineyards ar 850m - and still it has 14,5% alc. That already teils you it's late harvest. And it's barrel aged. But make no mistake, this is no Nykteri, as you might know it from Santorini. It has so much body ... if you drink it from black glasses, you might think it's a red wine. Even though it does have aromas of peach and pear. But there are also darker aromas of berries and nuts. And on the palate too, there is so much grip ... the tannins are firm, there is a lot of really balanced sweetness. Just a couple of days of skin contact. So this is great even for all people who despise full-fledged orange wines. The 2022 vintahe is at 93+ points at the moment. It is fully enjoyable already but it also has a alot of potential for the coming years. In Germany, you can get it from wineandnature .

I am a big fan of this label from @domainehatzimichalis , which is one of the few Greek Merlots that really leans into a dense character with lots of red fruit.

Finding this bottle online and finally opening it was incredibly special for me. The first bottling of this wine was in 1989, only a couple of years after the label was introduced, and back then it didn’t yet mention the vineyard, since single-vineyard bottlings weren’t a thing in Greece at the time. As @leochatz told me, it’s an important wine for him— it was the first Greek wine ever included on the IWC list of the 100 best wines of the world.

What struck me immediately on the nose was how much it reminded me of the 2004 vintage: the same intensely dense raspberry aromas woven into tertiary notes of mushroom and earth. On the palate, the tannins have softened significantly yet still retain a noticeable grip—you can definitely feel them on the tongue. Despite its 12% alcohol, the wine isn’t thin or lacking in structure. A lively, mouthwatering acidity keeps it fresh and, even at this age, extremely juicy.

On the palate, the wine is dominated by a very pristine varietal expression: typical black-olive aromas woven with really tasty nougat. The aftertaste is quite long.

It’s not the most complex wine of that age that I’ve had, but it’s no exaggeration to say it’s one of the most pleasing wines of that period I’ve tasted. But I managed to keep a bit for the next day ... and it was still lovely. So, I think it might remain at this quality until around 2030 if stored properly. I would rate it at 93 points at the moment.

That’s impressive in itself, but even more so when you consider that early vintages of this wine received scores of just 88 or 89 points from international critics. BS! Show me any 88-point wine of that age that still drinks well and has even developed so beautifully!

Indeed, that’s the main lesson for me from tasting this wine. Look at the cork: it’s from a time when Greek viticulture wasn’t yet taken seriously on an international level, but the winemakers already knew they were producing a fantastic product—and they trusted it to endure. How right they were—what a vindication!

Miss De Bina 2021 taught me that Debina can dance like silk: whisper-fine, quietly elegant.
But @jima.winery didn’t stand still. In 2022 the estate retired Miss De Bina and rolled out Super Girl—same grape, but a rush of freshness.
Fast-forward to the wines in my glass today:

🦸‍♀️ Super Girl “Day 29” 2024

Late-August hand-picking, spontaneous ferment split between stainless and amphora; five months on the fine lees (12.6 % vol • RS 1.1 g/L • TA 6.1 g/L).
Nose Exotic blossom, grapefruit zest, green apple.
Palate Laser-bright acidity, salty minerality, a thread of fresh herbs; the finish is crystalline and refreshing.
91 pts – best 2024-26.

🌞 Plein Soleil “Day 22” 2023

Debina’s other pole. 50 % skin-fermented in amphora; eight-month élevage: 30 % neutral barrique, 20 % stainless; all lots kept on lees with gentle bâtonnage (12.0 % vol • RS 1.8 g/L • TA 7.2 g/L).
Nose Maritime breeze, crystalline quince, citrus, green apple.
Palate Brisk acidity, saline depth, high extract; vanilla is still a touch forward, yet the wine is thrillingly textured.
92 + pts today – 93/94 likely as the parts knit (drink now-2033).

Two extremes—⚡ freshness vs. 🏺 skin-contact power—both excellent expressions of this underrated variety ... and yet I must admit that I miss the effortless poise of Miss De Bina 2021. Elegance, it seems to me, remains the benchmark...

In Germany, you can get both wines from @wineandnature .

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