Winemaker Notes
This white wine has a yellow bright color. On the nose, it is a typical expression of the varietal, with an intense aromatic bouquet of exotic fruits, melon and peach. In the mouth it's well balanced with fresh ripe fruit flavors, good acidity, and a long finish.
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
A meaty malagousia, this has a sink-your-teeth-into-it density and savor. It tastes of green olives and preserved lemon, honeycomb and earth, with powerful acidity. It grows in the loamy, sandy soils of Serres, in a windswept valley surrounded by mountains in northeast Greece, and it would be delicious with the giant ‘elephant’ beans of nearby Kato Nevrokopi, so valued that they have their own PGI, though any creamy white bean cooked with herbs and plenty of olive oil would do.
There are hundreds of white grape varieties grown throughout the world. Some are indigenous specialties capable of producing excellent single varietal wines. Each has its own distinct viticultural characteristics, as well as aroma and flavor profiles.
A picturesque Mediterranean nation with a rich wine culture dating back to ancient times, Greece has so much more to offer than just retsina. Between the mainland and the country’s many islands, a wealth of Greek wine styles exists, made mostly from Greece’s plentiful indigenous varieties. After centuries of adversity after Ottoman rule, the modern Greek wine industry took off in the late 20th century with an influx of newly trained winemakers and investments in winemaking technology.
The climate—generally hot Mediterranean—can vary a bit with latitude and elevation, and is mostly moderated by cool maritime breezes. Drought can be an issue for Greek wine during the long, dry summers, sometimes necessitating irrigation.
Over 300 indigenous grapes have been identified throughout Greece, and though not all of them are suitable for wine production, future decades will likely see a significant revival and refinement of many of these native Greek wine varieties. Assyrtiko, the crisp, saline Greek wine variety of the island of Santorini, is one of the most important and popular white wine varieties, alongside Roditis, Robola, Moschofilero, and Malagousia. Muscat is also widely grown for both sweet and dry wines. Prominent red wine varieties include full-bodied and fruity Agiorghitiko, native to Nemea; Macedonia’s savory, tannic Xinomavro; and Mavrodaphne, used commonly to produce a Port-like fortified wine in the Peloponnese.