Meeting with Joanna Locke, MW, at the Wine Society UK

On the 26th of May I had the great pleasure of presenting some Greek wines to Joanna Locke, Master of Wine, at the Wine Society in Stevenage, UK. I woke up at 04:30 am and made my way to the Athens airport. I arrived in London Stansted at 09:30 am local time, boarded the Stansted Express into London Liverpool Street, took the tube to London's King Cross and from there the train to Stevenage. I met Jo at 1 pm and presented three wines each from two estates: From Parparoussis (1) Nemea Reserve 2003 (100% Agiorgitiko), (2) Taos 2004 (100% Mavrodaphne), (3) Muscat of Rio 2003 (sweet white from 100% Muscat of Rio of Patras). I also showed the Kokkalis range: (1) Mova 2006 (Agiorgitiko, Cabernet Sauvignon), (2) Syrah 2006 (100% Syrah), Trilogia 2006 (100% Cabernet Sauvignon). All wines showed very well. Interestingly enough, the styles of the wines from the two winemakers come from opposite spectrums: Parparoussis produces very elegant, feminin wines that focus on the pure fruits, Kokkalis wines are powerful, concentrated and masculine. However, all wines were very seductive. The bottles were opened there, so the wines really did not have time to settle and breathe properly. Luckily Jo told me that she likes to evaluate wines over a minimum 24-hour period, revisting them several times to see how they evolve. I find this to be a very honest process of evaluating wines, rather than just having a quick swirl and sip.

Jo is a very charming and warm person with about two decades of wine experience - I believe she became a MW in 1990, and also chaired the Institute of Masters of Wine in 2008. It is so nice to see that one is still able to find professional wine-buyers that are very much down to earth and who simply love the work they are doing, especially in today's market environment. I am glad that she took the time to see me, and found our discussions very helpful.

After our meeting, I visited the wine shop of the Wine Society (this is the only shop in the UK, a second one operates in France), where only members can make purchases. I made my way back to the airport (via the same route I came in) and arrived back home in Athens at 02:30 am. Quite a long day, but very much worth the effort.

Invitation at Ktima Tselepos

Yiannis Tselepos invited me for talk and food to his estate in Rizes, very close to Tripoli, on the 19th of May. It was a hot, but extremly windy day, I could not go faster than 120 km/h on the motorway. After I arrived at the winery, Yiannis took more than an hour to show me his vineyards. The altitude is about 800 m, and there are a total of 50 ha, plus another 30 ha of forest. On the photo on the left the city of Tripoli can be seen in the background. I turned around in any direction, and all I could see was the vast territory of the Tselepos estate. It it an amazing sight! Up to 25 employees work in the vineyards, and all work is done by hand. For example, weed is pulled out by hand only - quite a task for such a large area. Grape varieties are Moschofilero, Gewurztraminer, Chardonnay, newly planted Riesling, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. The soil consists of schist. Tselepos also owns 8.5 ha of the Driopi Estate in Nemea, where Agiorgitiko is planted. Included in the vineyards in Rizes is a beautifully built private church with hand-painted pictures of wine related biblical themes. In addition, a mill from 1780 was restored, this is yet another showpiece. Yiannis told me that he wanted to show me everything so that I get a feeling for the man behind the label, he does not usually show people around. I was very impressed, the love for even the smallest detail cannot be missed. He lives and breathes wine and certainly is extremly passionate. We then drove to Tripoli and had a light lunch in the oldest taverna in town (1933). Food was perfect, oven baked anchovies, beet and wild mountain herbs. We drove back to his estate and had coffee there. He is also currently building a new winery plus cellar from scratch. Work should be completed this year. As a summary, this is a very serious estate where the passion for wine is matched by the meticulous work in the vineyards.

Visit at Christos Kokkalis

On the 15th May I made my way to Skafidia to pay another visit to Christos Kokkalis. It is always such a pleasure to spend some time with him! The car journey was very pleasant. May is such a nice month, as everything is in full bloom, the landscapes are beautiful to look at. After the 3 1/2 hour journey, I arrived around midday. Christos's sister and niece had stayed with him for the last days and we drove them to Pyrgos where they wanted to catch the bus to Athens. Afterwards we made our way to the sea and had a nice lunch at a fish taverna, which was followed by a relaxing siesta at Christos's house. Late afternoon we drove to his vineyard, the one where I planted vines in March. They had already grown nicely, most were about 20 to 30 cm in height. Christos showed me how to thin out the vinebranches and leaves from the Syrah vines that were growing vigorously (they were planted 7 years ago). I love learning about the work in the vineyards, and I feel very privileged having such a great teacher! At about 10 pm we went to a restaurant where some friends of Christos were waiting for us. It was a great evening, I had brought along a bottle of Kuehling-Gillot Kreuz Spaetburgunder 2006, which Christos really liked. He brought a bottle of his Trilogia 2006 - what a wine! The nose was full of cassis and coffee, it is extremly rich on the palate with bags of tannins. This is the best Trilogia to date, we were all struck by its density. Christos also brought a bottle of Volnay Marie Mairgnot Les Chenes Premier Cru 1997. It had a bit of a rough time as we served it after the Trilogia, nevertheless it was a good wine that it is still going. I stayed overnight at Christos's house and we went to bed about 1:30 am. In the morning we had breakfast and coffee, some more discussions about Greek wines, and I left at 09:30 am and made my way back home.

Visit from Kostis Dalamara

This morning I was visited at my home by Kostis Dalamara from the Dalamara Estate in Naoussa. The Dalamara Estate has been handed down from generation to generation since the 1840s. Kostis is the 22-year old son of Yiannis and Katerina. He is currently living in Beaune, he studied oinology for two years in France and is now completing a further year of work there. 80% of the grapes grown at the 3 ha Dalamara Estate are Xinomavro, with further plantings of Assyrtico, Malagousia, Roditis, Merlot, Cinsault and Negoska. The work is fully biological. Kostis is driven by a desire to learn, it was his own choice to go to France and study there. He spent 6 months in the country to learn the language, before starting university. He is a great example of the next generation of vintners who will stop at nothing to further improve the quality of the wines produced. He kindly brought a bottle of 100% Negoska 2007, that was just bottled 6 weeks ago. Only about 600 bottles of this wine are produced, and all of them are sold to the US. We had a very good discussion about Greek wines and I am really glad that he made the effort to visit me.

Articles by Mark Squires

Mark Squires, who among other countries covers Greece for Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, kindly gave me permission to link two articles he published and that are well worth reading.
Greece's North: Xinomavro
Santorini: Not just for the panoramas....go for the wine!
Thank you very much Mark!

Visit at Ktima Palivou in Nemea

I just returned from Nemea, where I once again visited Ktima Palivou. I spend about two hours with Georgos Palivos, and time just flew by. He took me to his vineyards that start at about 320 m above sealevel and go all the way up to 520 m. The soil is extremly stony and rocky, the vines certainly struggle to dig their roots deep down. Georgos told me that they had to split lots of large rocks with heavy machinery before any vines could be planted. One can see the terroir and the different coloured soil structures just by looking down the slopes. These are the perfect soil conditions for Agiorgitiko. The top part of the plot is used only for the premium wine. Georgos has also used a small plot at the lower end to create a "vine museum". He has planted up to 60 extremly rare vine varieties, including the white Xinisteri. After we went back to his estate, he presented me with a barrel sample of an experimental wine - only 3 barrels exist. It is two thirds Agiorgitiko, blended with Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. The nose was very open and bursting with fruit aromas, spices and vanilla. It was full bodied and dense, the finish went on and on - a great wine in the making. He also let me presented me with another barrel sample - again only 3 barrels produced - of a 1999 sweet red wine. 10 years and still in barrel! This was even more complex, with a very open nose of red fruits and raisins, great on the palate, again full bodied, but also with a very elegant signature. The finish was extremly long and it was hard resisting to empty the glass (but it was just midday). Two great wines!

Lunch with Kokkalis at the Codice Blu in Kolonaki

On the 1st May I met Christos Kokkalis for a late afternoon lunch at the Codice Blu Restaurant in the trendy Kolonaki area in Athens. Christos was still in town, and we decided to get together for some more discussions about Greek wines. One of his two lucky agents who distribute tiny quantities of his wines in Greece, Kostas Boutopoulos, also joined us. It was a nice sunny afternoon, and we sat outside. We enjoyed some pizzas and two bottles of Mova. It was a very relaxing atmosphere and we spend three hours at the restaurant. Afterwards me in Christos went to have some coffee. Christos is such an entertaining character, it always a great pleasure to spend some time with him. We had some more fruitful discussions, and I deeply appreciate his insights and thoughts.