I was delighted to attend the above tasting on 20th January so thanks to Alexandra for the invitation. M&G work with 25 wineries and have an excellent selection of Greek (and now Cyprus) wines.
I didn’t have the stamina, or tastebuds, to try all 90 wines; however some highlights for me were:
Kokotos Estate (Attica) Barrel Fermented Savatiano 2022 – really nice flavour with subtle wood influence from acacia barrels. ABV 12.5%
Acheon Winery (Peloponnese) Laura Nobile Mavrodaphne 2019 – intense fruit, almost like a port, well balanced tannins, would be great with cheese. ABV 13.5%
Nikolaou Estate (Nemea) Mirage Agiorgitiko 2022 and PDO Nemea Agiorgitiko 2019 – both were well balanced with prominent fruit, the latter was slightly more tannic and “foodie”. ABV 13% and 13.5% respectively.
Domaine de Kalathas (Tinos) Sainte-Obeissance Aspro Potamisi Rozaki 2019 – 80% Aspro, 20% Potamisi, both new varieties to me. Gold with a tint of orange, moderate tannin, flavours of marmalade and peach tea. Won’t be to everybody’s taste but I enjoyed it and will be interesting in a tasting. ABV 13.5%
Nopera Winery (Samos) – Vintage Sweet Muscat 2017. Sweet, rich and slightly spicy, very enjoyable. ABV 13.5%
Douloufakis Winery (Crete) – Dafnios Liatiko 2021 – a pale red reminiscent of pinot noir or nebbiolo. Summer fruit pudding flavour, medium tannin with noticeable alcohol. Well balanced, great with lamb, will age. ABV 14%.
It must be nearly time to arrange another Greek tasting event.