Greek wines at Kyma

Last week I had the opportunity to attend a tasting featuring many of the best wines being made in Greece today. I was expecting a few good wines and some average drinkable ones as well, but was instead surprised by the overall high quality of what I tasted. What follows is a quick recap of a fantastic evening.

I kept brief notes, and not in order of tasting, so these will be alphabetical by winery, as they are in the guide we were given. Alpha Estate was one of the properties I was not familiar with, but I came away very impressed. I tried three different reds, the 2006 Xinomavro, the 2006 Alpha Estate, and the 2006 Axia. The Alpha Estate was a blend of 60% Syrah, 20% Xinomavro, and 20% Merlot, and was quite good. The Axia was 60% Xinomavro and 40% Merlot, good, but not quite as nice as the Estate.

From Boutari, we had the 2006 Naoussa, which is decent, but nothing special. It's a nice inexpensive quaffer. Cair is an estate from Rhodes that actually makes a red, and the 2006 Orama isn't bad. Like the Boutari, it's a nice easy drinker.

Gaia was a winery I've heard of but not tried anything. The Gaia S 2007 is a blend of 70% Agioritiko and 30% Syrah made in a lighter style. It's not bad, but the star is the 2006 Gaia Estate, a 100% Agioritiko. It was one of the stars of the night, silky smooth and full-bodied.

Domaine Gerovassiliou makes some great reds and whites. the 2008 Malagousia remains my favorite Greek white wine, very aromatic with floral notes. Their 2008 Viogner was also quite good, restrained and elegant. The lone red we had was the 2005 Avaton, a blend of three indigenous grapes - Limnio, Mavroudi, and Maavrotagano. It is very good, and a great example of what some of these unknown varietals can produce with a great winemaker.

Katogi is another winery I'm familiar with, and their 2005 Xinomavro was among the best of the night as well, full of spice. Also made of Xinomavro, but with a touch of Merlot, is the Kir-Yanni 2006 Estate. This is another very good wine from one of the better producers in Greece.

One of my favorite producers in Greece is Domaine Mercouri, and they had two good red wines on offer. The 2005 Domaine Mercouri is nice and soft, an everyday wine, while the 2004 Cava is more elegant and fuller. Both wines are mainly Refosco, with some Mavrodaphne.

Quite possibly the star of the night (and a real treat as I did not expect them to be represented) was Papaioannou. We had one of their wines on my last trip to Greece that I thought was the best Greek wine I had tasted, so I was excited to see them. The wines on offer did not disappoint - both the 2003 Old Vines Nemea and 2001 Mikroclima Nemea were excellent. Both are 100% Agioritiko, and they are truly world-class. I can't recommend this winery enough, as I think anyone who tastes these would realize Greece can produce true top-quality wines.

Ktima Pavlidis was another new estate for me, but unfortunately a bit disappointing. Their 2006 Thema White was ok, and while the 2008 Thema Rose (made from Tempranillo) was interesting it didn't wow me. The 2006 Thema Red was unfortunately what many Greek wines have been in the past - a bit thin (especially for a wine that is 60% Syrah) and lacking any real character.

Domaine Tsantali is well-known, and their 2005 Rapsani Riserva was a bit rustic and tannic, though it did open up slowly. It may turn out to be ok, but for now wasn't among the tops of the night.

Finally, I will close with Domaine Skouras, another favorite of mine. We had three different reds, beginning with the 2007 St. George (Agioritiko). This is a lighter Agioritiko, but a great food wine, and one that I have had in prior vintages. The 2006 Megas Oenos, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Agioritiko, is a big step up, but I did not find this vintage quite as compelling as prior years I've tasted. Many feel that this has been Greece's top wine recently, but this vintage did not quite measure up on this night. It was still good, but not quite to the level of some others I had. Finally, Skouras had a new wine on offer, the 2006 Synoro, which is a blend of Cab Franc, Merlot, and Agioritiko. This wine is still a little young and tannic with the Cab Franc really dominating, but I feel that it has the potential to be very, very good.

Overall, this was an amazing night. After tasting all off these wines, I really feel that Greece is moving ever closer to a real breakout with its wine industry. There is a great variety of indigenous grapes, as well as some wonderful wine being produced with international varietals. I can only hope that this trend continues and people give these wines a chance, because the improvements just in the last 5-6 years are really something. I also look forward to getting over to Greece at the end of the summer and seeing what new wines I might discover there, as there are bound to be more producers continuing to rise to the challenge. For anyone here in the US, I'd urge you to seek out some of these top wines, especially if you are visiting a Greek restaurant (such as Kyma here in Atlanta, one of the best restaurants of any kind we have in this city).