Wine & Spirits - August 2019 - 70

YEAR'S BEST GREEK WINES
five-hectoliter oak barrels. It's nutty at first,
needing several hours of air to show a completely different side, the beeswax flavors
and broad texture of vidiano detailed with
notes of pink grapefruit, violets and thyme.
It's pretty, with a hint of grape-skin tannins
that could take on white-meat dishes. § Athenee Importers & Distributors, Hempstead, NY
272293

90 | Alpha Estate

$33

2017 Florina Ecosystem Kaliva Vineyard
Fumé Sauvignon Blanc ^ This shouts sauvignon blanc, from its green scents and sweet
passion-fruit flavors. It might be too much
if it weren't for the wine's driving acidity,
a sense of stone riding under the variety's
smooth facade that keeps it balanced. § Diamond Importers, Chicago, IL
272035

90 | Biblia Chora

$27

2017 Pangeon Estate ^ Here's the wine to
pour for Sancerre drinkers looking to shake
up their routine. It takes sauvignon blanc's
grassy guava flavors and dresses them up
with the herbal notes of mainland assyrtiko.
It's sleek and fresh, a sophisticated crowdpleaser. § Cava Spiliadis, NY
272147

90 | Ktima Gerovassiliou

$45

2017 Epanomi Chardonnay ^ This chardonnay captures the feel of Gerovassiliou's
impeccably manicured vineyards, the vines
marching neatly across softly undulating
hillsides toward the sea. The wine is smooth
and warm, with sunny pineapple flavors
refreshed by a sea-breeze minerality, the
notes of fruit, mineral and wood spice in
equilibrium. § Cava Spiliadis, NY
272040

90 | Ktima Gerovassiliou

$25

87 | Thymiopoulos

$17

2017 Epanomi ^ This plays malagousia's
smooth stone-fruit flavors off the herbal
savor of mainland assyrtiko, the combination summery and fresh. § Cava Spiliadis, NY
271916

It's more herbal than floral, with lime-leaf
notes in place of the usual rose, and notes of
guava and lime filling in the wine's density.
It's all framed in an intense salinity that gives
the wine a delicate crispness, and encourages
another sip. § Diamond Importers, Chicago, IL
271593

blend is clean, light and limey, with just a delicate suggestion of herbs and roses. § Diamond
Importers, Chicago, IL

92 | Domaine Skouras

$18

91 | Troupis Winery

$23

2018 Achaia Petite Fleur (Best Buy) ^ Athanassios Parparoussis has championed sideritis since he founded his estate in the 1970s.
He grows this rare, ruddy-skinned variety
just a few miles from the coast in Patras,
but there's nothing beachy about the wine.
Instead, it's restrained and elegant, a pale
copper rosé that clads its quiet pear juiciness
in sea-mist saltiness and mineral drive. The
wine lasts for days after opening; serve it one
night as an aperitif; on another, with roast
fish or grilled vegetables, so you can watch it
unfold. § Cava Spiliadis, NY
271888

2018 Arcadia Moscofilero ^ This is a smooth,
elegant moschofilero, the variety's floral
notes channeled along a satin flow of limey
fruit flavor. It lasts, a little spicy, a little
herbal, but mostly all of one seamless piece,
ready to elevate a grilled fish. § Diamond
Importers, Chicago, IL
272091
2018 Arcadia Hoof & Lur Moschofilero ^
Fermented on its skins with ambient yeasts,
this shows a little of moschofilero's orangepink color, and a whole lot of its spice
and floral character. It's exotic, couching
that extravagance in its dense texture and
orange-peel flavors. Skin tannins underline
the wine's savory side, as well as its firmness.
It's a moschofilero you can sink your teeth
into, especially with some grilled octopus
alongside. § Dionysi Grevenitis Selections/DNS
Wines, San Francisco, CA
272026

90 | Tselepos

$18

87 | Greek Wine Cellars

$13

87 | Monemvasia

$16

2017 Mantinia Moschofilero (Best Buy) ^
This is floral and creamy, with notes of roses
and lemon curd, and yet it feels fresh with
bright, zippy acidity. It's exuberant and terrifically easy to drink, especially with an herbfilled spinach pie. § Cava Spiliadis, NY
271233

$21

2017 Peloponnese Salto Moscofilero ^ Skouras makes a range of moschofileros from his
winery in Arcadia, the homeland of the variety. He ferments Salto with ambient yeasts,
lending it more texture and depth than most.

2018 Peloponnese Zoe (Best Buy) ^ A master of moschofilero, George Skouras uses
the floral grape to add personality to roditis
in Zoe, his line for everyday drinking. The

PELOPONNESE
271594

92 | Domaine Skouras

70

WINE & SPIRITS

AUGUST 2019

272151

94 | Parparoussis

$19

92 | Oenops

$20

2018 Greece Apla Rosé ^ A pale pink blend
of xinomavro, limniona and cabernet sauvignon, this is savory and steadfast, a rosé
designed for the table instead of the beach.
Fermented in stainless-steel and cement
tanks, with six months on the lees, it stresses
texture and stony savor over fruit, with an
orange-zest acidity driving it forward. Play
up its musky herbal notes with a roasted
fish drizzled with lemon and fresh chopped
oregano. § Athenee Importers & Distributors,
Hempstead, NY

2017 Patras Kouros Rhoditis (Best Buy) ^
Light and fresh, with some chalky minerality balancing the sweet pear flavors, this is a
clean, easy white. § Nestor Imports, NY
272290
2017 Laconia Asyrtiko (Best Buy) ^ Grown
in the far southeastern reaches of the Peloponnese and bottled under the variety's
alternative spelling, this is a soft, bold assyrtiko. While the flavors run toward the oxidative-baked apple, quince and almond-
they're balanced by the wine's vibrant, chalky
acidity. It's a compelling mainland assyrtiko,
especially with scallops in brown butter. § Flying Olive Farms, Raleigh, NC
271576

2017 Macedonia Atma Assyrtiko (Best
Buy) ^ A blend of fruit from Naoussa and
Amyndeon, this contrasts its rich, creamy
mouthfeel with chalky, lemony fruit, needing time in the cellar to come together. § Athenee Importers & Distributors, Hempstead, NY

ROSÉ

87 | Domaine Skouras

$14

272353

92 | Ktima Voyatzi

$15

91 | Estate Argyros

$24

2018 Velvento Rosé (Best Buy) ^ Yiannis
Voyatzis blends a little tsapournakos (cabernet franc) into his xinomavro for this meaty,
savory rosé, with forest-green scents adding
briskness to xinomavro's dark fruit. It's firm
and chewy, a rosé made for grilled meats and
hearty summer foods. § Celina Imports, Old
Bethpage, NY
272185
2018 Cyclades Atlantis Rosé ^ This assyrtiko
gets its pale pink hue and hint of watermelon
http://www.ktimavoyatzi.gr/wines/rose
Wine & Spirits - August 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - August 2019
