Wine & Spirits - August 2018 - 63

YEAR'S BEST GREEK WINES
90 | Domaine Zafeirakis

$26

2015 Tyrnavos Limniona ^ Whether it's the
grape or the winemaker's Italian training,
this wine evoked comparisons to northern
Italian reds by our tasting panel. It's something about the tart fruit and the bitter spice;
the way the volatile acidity lifts the wine, and
the cedar fragrance. It's pretty and elegant,
and makes you hungry. § Dionysi Grevenitis
Selections/DNS Wines, San Francisco, CA
230832

88 | Tsantali

$13

2015 Rapsani (Best Buy) ^ This is simple and
rustic, with generous cherry-berry flavor and
just enough earthy, herbal detail to place it in
Rapsani. § Fantis Imports, Carlstadt, NJ

MACEDONIA
229901

92 | Ktima Voyatzi

$27

2014 Velvento Xinomavro ^ Grown near
Lake Polifitou, in a warm region about an
hour south of Naoussa, this is a spicy, generous xinomavro, with a cool, foresty freshness to contrast the darker, meatier tones.
The tannins feel fat and firm, ready to take
on grilled lamb sausages. § Nestor Imports, NY
229896

92 | Ktima Voyatzi

$27

2016 Velvento Tsapournakos ^ Tsapournakos is a local clone of cabernet franc, and this
tastes like franc grown on the shores of a lake
in northern Greece. It's lusher than its Loire
counterparts, richer in foresty cherry flavor,
but it's also firm and earthy, with franc's characteristic herbal notes to bring it freshness
and shape. § Nestor Imports, NY
230424

90 | Alpha Estate

$22

2015 Amyndeon Hedgehog Vineyard
Xinomavro (Best Buy) ^ In an easy, inviting
style, this plays up the sun and the breezes of
the high, cool Amyndeon plateau, presenting
a wine that's plump with cherry fruit whisked
along with brisk acidity. Some mineral tones
keep it firm and savory; for lamb souvlaki. §
Diamond Importers, Chicago, IL
230852

90 | Tsantali

$22

86 | Amalagos

$14

2015 Mt. Athos Agioritiko Abaton Xinomavro-Grenache-Limnio ^ This feels wild
and untamed, the juicy red fruit so herbal
that the wine tastes nearly resinated. A chocolate richness creeps up from behind, filling
out the wine and giving it the body for wild
boar chops. § Fantis Imports, Carlstadt, NJ
229899
2015 Drama Ploés Cabernet Sauvignon-
Merlot (Best Buy) ^ This offers the mellow
pleasures of an older red at a low price. It's

rustic and earthy, with tangy red fruit and a
touch of rose fragrance. § Nestor Imports, NY

NAOUSSA
231349

95 | Boutari

$32

2011 Naoussa Grande Reserve ^ "This is
like old-school '90s hip-hop," said Dimitrios
Manousakis of Greca in NYC. "It's classic-
and shows why classics last." Tangy, earthy,
spicy and smoky, the wine is filled with flavor yet carries itself with grace and lightness.
From a long, even-keeled vintage, it feels
fresh and fine, its vivid cherry flavors given
dimension by notes of cherry pit and leaf,
its truffle notes propelled toward freshness
by vibrant acidity. The wine lasts on firm,
ferrous tannins, the flavors fading slowly
towards caramel and roasted nuts, salty and
appealing. § Terlato Wines Int'l, Lake Bluff, IL
230739

94 | Kir-Yianni

$25

93 | Boutari

$23

2015 Naoussa Ramnista Xinomavro ^ This
broadcasts its freshness and youth in its
cherry-red color and berry scents. But don't
be seduced into drinking this now: Pulled
from the oldest vines in Yiannakohori, the
Boutari family's estate vineyards in Naoussa,
it's concentrated and firm. There's an iron
filigree of tannins defending the fruit, and
vivacious acidity underlining its intention to
preserve the wine for many more years. Forget about this in the cellar for at least five
years; then draw it out for a crown roast of
pork. § Diamond Importers, Chicago, IL
231345
2016 Naoussa ^ Boutari's basic Naoussa is
a bargain in 2016, a vintage that started
off hot and fast but mellowed by September. It's lean and elegant, with tangy, spicy
plum-skin flavors and notes of fresh earth
adding breadth. The tannins feel long and
buffed, firm enough to allow this to age well
for another five to ten years in the cellar, but
fine enough to enjoy the wine now, with roast
leg of lamb. § Terlato Wines Int'l, Lake Bluff, IL
231652

93 | Dalamára

$23

2015 Naoussa ^ This is the sort of Naoussa
that inspires people to compare xinomavro to
nebbiolo. Vinified without inputs and raised
in old oak barrels, it's a complex mesh of fruit
and earth flavor, light on its feet yet firm in
its tannins, with notes of fresh red cherries
tangling with smoke, leather and forest floor.
It feels complete and slightly wild, with an
animale note that brings to mind matches
with wild boar. § V.O.S. Selections, NY
230837

90 | Tsantali

$17

88 | Thymiopoulos

$18

2014 Naoussa Reserve (Best Buy) ^ This is a
light and pretty Naoussa from a challenging,
wet vintage. The focus is on sour cherry and
pomegranate fruit, garnet-hued and cedarscented, with fine-grained tannins and lemony acidity keeping it lifted. § Fantis Imports,
Carlstadt, NJ
230754
2016 Naoussa Young Vines Xinomavro
(Best Buy) ^ Fresh and clean, this wine's
hints of leather and cinnamon on sweet fruit
point to Apostoles Thymiopoulos's natural
approach. Give it a light chill and pack it
along to a picnic. § Athenee Importers & Distributors, Hempstead, NY

PELOPONNESE
231689

94 | Bairaktaris

$20

2014 Nemea Old Monolithos Agiorgitiko
(Best Buy) ^ Longtime growers in Nemea, the
Bairaktaris family started bottling their own
wines in 2005. When it came to 2014, they
faced one of the most difficult vintages in
memory, with heavy rains that brought yields
down 30 percent. With careful selection,
winemaker Thanos Fakorelis turned out an
evocative Nemea, carrying the scent of cool
pine forests and warm scrub, the wine filled
with earthy, spicy, savory flavor. Plush tannins give it a sense of depth as well as direction, while a salty minerality leads you back
for another sip. § Eklektikon, Wilmington, DE

231587

93 | Domain Mega Spileo

$29

2011 Achaia Grand Cave Cabernet Sauvignon ^ "I could take this to the restaurant and
sell it for dinner tonight," remarked James
Conley, who runs the wine program at Keens
Steakhouse in NYC. It's quintessential cabernet, with soft scents of mint and tobacco
on the black-currant fruit, and earthy, gravelly tannins giving it depth. It's still youthful,
holding a core of fresh, sweet berry flavor,
but age has taken off all the edges, so it feels
sleek and giving. Mega Spileo is the reserve
range of wines for Cavino, pulled from the
vines the local monastery planted some 20
years ago in a canyon at 2,625 feet in altitude. §
Greek Boys Choice Foods, Tarpon Springs, FL
WINE & SPIRITS

AUGUST 2018

63
https://www.gbcfoods.com/wineries
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - August 2018
