Greek food
With most of the world’s wine regions churning out identikit Merlots and Chardonnays, Greece offers a lexicon of unfamiliar wines from exotically named places. Xynomavro from Goumenissa, Moschofilero from Mantinia; these are evocative words – and flavours – to roll around the mouth and savour.
As your roving wine reporter, I spent a whole day at the London International Wine Fair tasting my way through the Peloponnese, the Cyclades, Aegean Islands and elsewhere on your behalf. But even here, where the vast majority of Greek wines are still without UK distributors, many of the labels were presented in the Greek alphabet.
Understandably, many Greek winemakers feel the best way to wean us on to their unique indigenous grapes is to blend them with international varieties – hence Kotsifali with Syrah or Mandilaria with Merlot, However, a vocal lobby believes Greece’s native grapes are its trump card, and so the strong national character should not be diluted with anything. I tasted a ripe, oaky, full-bodied Chardonnay from Pangeon that was so bursting with vanilla and tropical fruit that it could have been Australian; utterly delicious but what’s the point?
The reds mostly offered soft, round, easy drinking with flavours on the plummy/damson/prune spectrum. But, as is fairly common with wines grown in very hot climates, many of them struggled to achieve much acidity. This is why Greek winemakers prize the cooler growing conditions of high-altitude, north-facing slopes.
Many of the whites, however, dazzled with their freshness and the undoubted star of the show was wine from the Assyrtiko grape on the volcanic island of Santorini. It last erupted around 1614BC and its soil is a mixture of pumice, ash and lava, which gives the wines a minerally, slightly salty tang. They’re also bursting with lemon and lime flavours.
The other jewel in Santorini’s crown is its golden-amber Vinsanto made from sun-dried grapes to achieve a knife-edge balance between honeyed sweetness and piercing acidity.
Relatively small-scale production means Greek wines are seldom cheap. And even with the biggest brands, like Boutari, you often need to ferret around specialist independent wine merchants to unearth any treasures, which is a crying shame considering the “new” flavours they bring – ironic for a country that’s been making wines for some 4,000 years.
Going Greek
Boutari Santorini Assyrtiko 2008 Palest gold with fresh aromas of lemon, peach and melon with a hint of salty minerals. Medium-bodied with sprightly acidity and a dry finish. Perfect with grilled white fish or calamari.
Boutari Naoussa Xynomavro 2006 Made from Xynomavro grapes from the northern region of Naoussa. Garnet red with a prune and damson nose and a touch of cinnamon. Medium-bodied with pleasantly chewy tannins and a dry finish. Magic with moussaka.
Mirambelo Dry Red 2007 A blend of Kotsifali and Mandiliria grapes from Peza in Crete. Deep garnet red with a warm, spicy nose and hints of vanilla from a year in oak barrels. Medium-bodied with ripe blackcurrant on the palate, firm acidity, soft tannins and a long dry finish. Ideal with spicy lamb kleftiko.
Hatzidakis Santorini Assyrtiko 2008 Lemony Assyrtiko grapes blended with Athiri and Aidani varieties. Great with grilled fish.
Vilana White Mediterra 2008 A lime-laden dry white from Crete. Full-on floral aromas. Drink with dolmades or Greek salad.
Tsantali Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 Medium-bodied red from the French Cabernet Sauvignon grape. Try it with lamb or moussaka.
This article was first published in the August 2009 edition of Saga Magazine.