Greek wines / wineries

Will be spending 1 week in Marathon (near Athens), and then doing a 1 week Greek Isles cruise. Looking for suggestions on any good Greek wines (prefer big reds) to bring home, or wineries to visit.

I recently saw a wine show where a Greek winery aged its wine in the sea (underwater) for 5 years. That may be interesting.

I was largely disappointed with Greek reds in the islands. One producer who really stuck out is Economou, in Crete (Sitia), which reminds me of a burgundy/barolo hybrid. Otherwise, I thought the whites were pretty good, e.g. on Santorini, but I am not a whites guy. That said, I did not find a store to purchase much of anything on my travels (Crete or Santorini) - so definitely do your research in advance! It can be quite hot as well on your travels to store any purchases, so plan well!

You could give xinomavro a try if can find a good retailer (with good cellar conditions).

Kir-Yianni’s Ramnista or Alpha Estates’ Reserve vieilles vignes are good choices. The latter might be a bit more accessible initially, with favorable cellar development for complexity and tannins/acidity to mellow down a notch or two.

I like the Kir-Yianni Ramnista quite a bit and Alpha Estates had a Syrah-blend that was good. Douloufakis from Crete makes a charming, lighter-styled red; “Dafinos Liatko”. Seriously, I think my favorite thing right now from Greece are the dry rosés’.

Hey Kevin,

Greek reds for me still have a long way to go, but there are some exceptions.

Near Marathon, there are some vineyards but they’re pretty much known for their whites. Papagiannakos is a good one, you can set up a visit here: Βιοκλιματικό οινοποιείο Παπαγιαννάκος

As for wine, what I usually do is I buy online from www.houseofwine.gr and have it delivered to my hotel in or around Athens. The rest I buy straight from the winery, but most of the time the winemakers are so damn generous they end up gifting you bottles upon bottles of wine.

Xinomavro is great but it’s an acquired taste to some… it comes from the north and there are 2 areas that are known for this in Macedonia, Naoussa and Amnyedeon. As some have mentioned here Alpha Estate is good, as is Kir-Yianni’s Raminista (watch out for their wine bar in the Athens airport). Other great producers are Foundi (for me it’s like the Lopez de Heredia of Naoussa), Dalamara, Diamantakos (I represent him in Panama), Chrisohoou.

A smaller area near both Naoussa and Amnyedon is Goumenissa, they blend in some Negoska with their Xinomavro. If you’re into “natural” wines with little to no sulphites then search out Domaine Tatsis, they make a killer Xino/Negoska blend and some great orange wines from Roditis and Malagousia.

Another name to look out for from the north is Bibilia Chora, they’re basically a big operation that makes wines all over Greece. They’ve got some great big reds like Ovilos, but try getting a side brand they administer called Christos Kokkalis Trilogia from the Peloponnese which is a 100% Cab… if you can buy any Trilogia pre 2012 which is the original stuff not changed by Biblia Chora.

Tsantali is another one of the big commercial wine brands from Greece, but they make a wine in the north within the limits of a Orthodox monastery. It’s called Abaton, mostly Cabernet with some Liminio, which is also the oficial wine of the Kremlin… if you’re lucky you can find some Kormilitsa which is Putin’s wine.

Central Greece is a bit of a hit or miss, but there’s some great cabs made by Katsaros but they can be a bit pricey. Another one is Latour Melas which kinda has a cult like status and they sell everything in Premieur, a like a Bordelais right bank blend.

A bit more in the south in Nemea I would highly recommend Aivalis, his Tessera is amazing made from Agiorghitiko… also try the wines from Palivos Estate, they’ve got a multi-vintage blend called NOIMA which is really really good. Another big red thats great is from Parparoussis called Taos, made from Mavrodaphne, it’s got a nice minty edge to it that pairs well with lamb.

Santorini is best known for their whites, if you can I would really really encourage you to try some… the best for me are Hatzidakis, Venetsanos, Sigalas, and Argyros sweet Vinsanto. They also make a red on the island from Mavrotragano, I personally don’t like it but you could try it.

Crete, as someone mentioned above is Economou. It’s not a full bodied red, its nuanced and has a slightly savory pinot noir-esque profile.

From the island of Tinos I would reccomend you try Clos Stegasta, T-Oinos, and Domaine de Kalathas run by a Frenchman whose making crazy stuff there with naitive grapes and some Syrah.

Hope this helps!

To resuscitate this thread, I had a 2019 Skouras Salto Wild Yeast Moscofilero last night with dinner, and thought it was great.

Grapefruit and other citrus with a jasmine note. Medium-bodied with plenty of acidity.

Fortunately some of our local restaurants have pretty extensive Greek wine lists, so I’m looking forward to trying some more Greek white wines this summer.

We had lots of fun in Athens and Santorini a few years ago, although I can’t say that I loved all of the Assyrtiko that we had. Perhaps I’ll need to revisit with a bottle or two.

I saw your note on that wine on CT. I was having a great day when I had it, as the mood of my note might imply. But I stand by it. Awesome, unique wine.

2019 Skouras Moschofilero Salto - Greece, Peloponnisos, Nemea (4/24/2021)
This is my first moschofilero and I am a convert. This wine transported me to Greece. A nose of briny lemon and with some flowers, like having margaritas in a garden by the beach. And a pleasant tarty saltiness on the mouth, as if the grapes had been watered directly from the Ionian sea, with acidic hints of lime and passion fruit. It would be perfect if it had a bit more complexity. The finish is so long and salty, it’s almost sexual. A revelation. (94 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

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