TAKE THREE GREEK GRAPES

> ASSYRTIKO

The tasting kicked off with the great white Greek grape Assyrtiko, a grape variety that originated in ancient Assyria, and which has become strongly associated with the volcanic terroir of the island of Santorini. As Moutsou says, however, the variety, while still only accounting for around 10% of total Greek plantings, has been spreading throughout Greece, producing very different wines wherever it is planted.

Karadimos Neottia Assyrtiko 2022

From central mainland Greece, very close to the coast, on limestone soil, and at 330m altitude: a “beautiful terroir”, says Moutsou, and “a breezy vineyard”. The wine spends some time on lees.

“It’s very expressive of Assyrtiko,” she adds. “A citrus core, but then white fruit like nectarine, and even some floral qualities. Elegant and powerful at the same time.”

Markogianni Vorias and Helios

Assyrtiko Orange 2021

From the lands of ancient Olympia, in the Peloponnese, an example of how well Assyrtiko can work with extended skin contact, in this case 10 days. The fruit comes from a vineyard at 150m, but again with plenty of cooling breezes.

“The relatively low alcohol is counterbalanced with a lot of phenolic presence, a lot of taste, a lot of colour from the skins,” says Moutsou. “It’s a balanced wine, but more trendy – something to have in a wine bar or with tapas.”

> XINOMAVRO

The grape behind many of modern Greece’s best red wines hails from the north of the country, and is spread across four protected PDOs. Often compared to Pinot Noir and Nebbiolo, thanks to its “thin skins, powerful linear tannins and high acidity”, it produces wines that are “very pale in colour but very rich in taste”, Moutsou says.

Domaine

Tatsis Xiropotamos Blanc de Noir 2018

Biodynamic, organic and with very little sulphur, this white Xinomavro is made by two brothers from grapes grown at 750m in “a proper mountainous” terrain and “proper continental climate”, says Moutsou.

“Here we do not have the skin effect to give us all that breadth of flavours, but still there is a lot of uniqueness of flavours and power,” she explains. “The low-intervention approach showcases even better the grape here as a blanc de noir.”

Karadimos Family Vissa Xinomavro 2016

From the same producers as the Neottia Assyrtiko, this red is Greece’s southernmost Xinomavro and, according

In our online tasting with Greece specialist Southern Wine Roads, we explore very different interpretations of Assyrtiko, Xinomavro and Mavrodaphne to Moutsou, the location brings “more richness and higher alcohol than found in the more northerly examples”.

“For those who know Xinomavro already, it’s interesting because the fruit is red rather than black. It has the classic vegetal tones but they are not over-pronounced. The herbal notes are well absorbed, and there’s chocolate, too, but it’s warmer and rounder than northern examples.”

> MAVRODAPHNE

Mavrodaphne, which has its “motherland” in the Peloponnese, is still best known for the port-like sweet fortified red wines that were popular throughout much of Europe in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Today, many producers are making high-quality dry wines from a grape that Moutsou compares to Touriga Nacional, although “outdated” local legislation means only the sweet wine producers are allowed to put Mavrodaphne on the label.