A Sampler of Greek Wines – excellent bottles from the Aegean

It's really cold in Colorado tonight, so the Voyager feels the need to do a post on some sun-splashed wines, just to remind us all that eventually, warmer weather will return.  And if you want a splash of sun, where better to go than to the wines of the Aegean Sea?

So many countries in Europe have undergone vinous revolutions in the last 20-30 years – Italy, southern France, dry German wines, Spain – that sometimes Greece has been ignored.  Greek wines don’t often make their way onto the shelves of wine merchants here in the Rocky Mountains, but based on the evidence presented by those wines I could find, Greece deserves more recognition.  The Voyager looked at three wines; one white from Santorini, and two reds – one from Naoussa, and one from Nemea.  Two of the three were truly excellent, and the third was a well-made wine that simply didn’t fit my palate.  If you can find these wines, do yourself a favor; take home a bottle and pop the cork, preferably with some Greek food. 

A white that could take the world by storm

2013 Domaine Sigalas Santorini Assyrtiko (Santorini, Greece):  Medium yellow-gold.  New-mown hay and a salt-water breeze on the nose, with a bit of melon as well.  There is a seamless quality to the palate that makes it hard to break down into its individual components; suffice it to say that there are delicate citrus flavors, combined with a taste of pure sunshine that is simply delicious.  Underneath all that sun, however, there are also hints of minerality, both in terms of aroma and flavor.  Still deeper, there’s the faintest wisp of smokiness.  Excellent with roast chicken, but I’ll bet this would pair well with seafood or vegetable dishes as well.  Lovely purity and balance.  Hugh Johnson, the noted English wine critic, says that Assyrtiko “could conquer the world…”  If a wine two-thirds as good as this could be made on a larger scale, there’s no doubt that Johnson would be on target.  Of course, like many great varietals, Assyrtiko thrives under particular conditions – in this case, volcanic soil, with a combination of heat and strong ocean winds, and low-lying, bush-trained vineyards.  I’ll confess that part of me hopes that Assyrtiko will remain a treasure known only to the cognoscenti.  I’ve always wanted to visit Santorini; this wine makes me feel as if I’ve already been there.  Gorgeous!  **** ½

a fruit-forward red from the Nemea region

2011 Skouras Saint George (Nemea, Greece):  Medium garnet.  Blueberry, plum and beefy aromas.  Redcurrant scents as the wine airs, which carry over to the palate – sweet fruits emerge as it opened out.  Still later, there was a steely trace on the nose; although that’s a word one sees more frequently in reference to white wines, it nonetheless applies here.  Pleasant enough, but a bit jammy for my taste.  American palates attuned to fruit-forward wines from California and Australia will like this.  Nothing wrong here at all, just not a style that suits my taste.  **1/2 - ***

Is Xinomavro the most elegant red grape in Greece?  This wine provides some sound evidence...

2009 Boutari Naoussa (Naoussa, Greece):  Pale ruby, with a mature brown rim.  Fascinating on the nose, with scents of roses, violets, sour cherries, nuttiness, and an intriguing aroma of pine needles on the forest floor; leather and milk chocolate emerge later.  Nice texture, with sour cherries most prominent on the palate.  Made from the Xinomavro grape, indigenous to Greece, this is a distinctive wine that some critics compare to Nebbiolo, and others to Pinot Noir.  Both comparisons are valid, but there’s also something unique here – that pine needle quality that I’ve only encountered a few times, plus a tiny hint of basil way underneath.  Long on elegance, this wine definitely merits greater attention from those who value grace and complexity.  ***1/2 - ****

In short, keep an eye out for Greek wines; there may be another vinous revolution afoot.

Nebbiolo and Barbera: Northern Italy's Great Gift to the World of Wine

The story of Italian wine is somewhat like the tales you might remember from high school – the Prom Queen vs. the somewhat shy and bookish wallflower.  In this case, it’s exuberant Tuscany vs. the more austere wines of Northern Italy’s Piedmont.

Everyone loves wines from Tuscany; they are, in most cases, warm and friendly.  Chianti went from being a vinous joke in the 1960’s to a complete turnaround in the 80’s – suddenly, the world was in love with Chianti Classico.  Then Tuscan winemakers started to experiment, planting French varietals, including Cabernet, Merlot and Syrah, and began mixing these with native grapes, especially Sangiovese.  These so-called Super-Tuscan blends won over a whole generation of wine lovers, and a phenomenon was born.  The Voyager loves these generous wines.  However…

Wines from the Piedmont are, for the most part, an entirely different story.  The superstar grape, Nebbiolo, is unlike anything most novice wine-drinkers have tried.   It has characteristics that, at first glance, don’t sound as inviting as the olfactory and gustatory profiles for other red wines.  Nebbiolos have scents of violets and leather; so far, so good.  Another part of the nose of a great Nebbiolo is tar.  Yes, the same tar that covers your roads in most parts of the civilized world.  Doesn’t sound especially inviting, does it?  And yet, when you combine it with those floral and leather aromas, it ends up being something unique and wonderful.  On the palate, there is often a nuttiness, combined with a smooth texture.  Often these wines go beyond what most of us consider “dry,” and move into something best described as “arid,” as if they’re sucking all the moisture from your mouth.  But don’t let this deter you, as this extreme dryness can make the wines an excellent companion for food.

Nebbiolo reaches it highest expressions in wines from two regions: Barolo and Barbaresco.  These can be magnificent – but they tend to be costly.  Value hunters must look to wines bottled as Nebbiolo from the Langhe region – the large-scale geographic area that includes Barolo and Barbaresco as sub-zones.  Here, at around $20, you can pick up wines that will give you a clear idea of why Nebbiolo is revered among wine connoisseurs.

The first Wine Face-Off for this post brings two such Nebbiolos into confrontation – although that’s probably a bad characterization, since really good Nebbiolos are more lovers than fighters.  Of course, they also have enough complexity to qualify as fairly cerebral wines, so maybe this is another Face-Off that we should categorize as more of a debate than a brawl. 

The test dish was stuffed peppers with beef.  I can imagine that these bottles might also be a fine match with lamb, and could also serve as a very nice counterpart for a ravioli stuffed with mushrooms in a cream sauce. 

a fine introduction to Nebbiolo

2011 Rivetto Nebbiolo (Langhe – Piedmont, Italy):  Pale ruby, already some brown on the rim.  Absolutely typical aromas of roses, tar and violets, with steely earthiness underneath and a hint of orange peel.  Red fruits on the palate, with a long finish filled with dark mineral flavors.  Well-balanced and thoroughly enjoyable; a very sound introduction to Nebbiolo.  ***1/2

the Ca Veja from Paitin is subtle and superb

 2010 Paitin Ca Veja Nebbiolo d’Alba (Piedmont, Italy):  Medium ruby, with brown on the rim.  The usual Nebbiolo suspects – roses, tar and violets – are all there on the nose, but here they’re overshadowed by vanilla and a scent that I can only compare with walking through an evergreen forest in the mountains during the early morning, when the sun is just starting to warm the earth, the pine needles, and the wildflowers beside the trail.  Sorry, but Nebbiolo can bring out the poet in even the most prosaic soul.  This has the texture of satin, and the subtlety of a morning sunrise (there goes my inner poet again!).  Unusually, the tiniest hint of sweet fruit comes through on the mid-palate after this wine has had some air.  Ethereal, graceful and delicious.  ****

So we have a winner, but this is yet another Face-Off that wound up with the Voyager having to make a choice between two excellent wines.  Here’s an instance where the amount you pay does make a difference.  The Rivetto, at $17.99, is a nice value – but much better at the case price of $14.39.  The Paitin Ca Veja is $24.99 at retail, but $19.99 when purchased as part of a mixed case at my local retailer.  Both are good value, especially when compared with most Barolos and Barbarescos.  But, if I had to choose between the two, I’d plump down the extra cash for the Paitin Ca Veja; it has as much elegance as almost any red I’ve encountered at this price point. 

And here’s another excellent Nebbiolo that The Voyager tasted on its own…

The Garibaldi Accerto: a lovely Nebbiolo

2011 Garibaldi Nebbiolo d’Alba Accerto (Alba, Piedmont): Fairly deep garnet – a little darker than most Nebbiolos you’ll see on the market.  Big violets aromas, with orange peel, leather and beef scents, as well as a blueberry tone underneath.  Later, the bouquet is informed by sour cherries, cranberry, menthol, spices and a deeper leather perfume.  A slightly off-beat feature: after the wine had been decanted for several hours, a note of soft, spiced vanilla began to emerge – odd because vanilla, often a by-product of oak aging, typically comes out right after a wine has been poured.  A lovely nutty quality on the palate, with nice balance and the dryness one expects from this grape.  I sampled this with chicken accompanied by herb gravy, which proved to be a nice match.  I suspect that this would also be a good wine with lamb, beef stew, and perhaps even a good steak.  Excellent value at $14.98.  ****

In his superb book A Moveable Feast, Ernest Hemingway famously wrote “there is no end to Paris.”  For the Voyager, the same could easily be said of Nebbiolo.  It has a poetry that, for me, is matched by only a few wines on the planet.  And here’s my confession: if I was on my deathbed, and was offered a choice between a fine Pinot Noir and a quality wine made from Nebbiolo – well, suffice it to say that perhaps my soul will ultimately find its rest in northern Italy. 

The second Wine Face-Off from our Piedmont tasting pairs two Barberas.  Barbera is the second-tier grape of the Piedmont, but in this case, second-tier certainly does not mean second-rate.  The very best areas of the Piedmont are all planted with Nebbiolo, which gets international plaudits and higher prices.  Barbera, however, has a very different character.  Typically, it’s accessible at an earlier age than the great Nebbiolos.  However, it shares a key characteristic with Nebbiolo; Barbera has the advantage of being extremely food-friendly.

This Face-Off pits wines from different vintages; I tried to compensate by decanting the younger wine (the 2013 Mauro Molino), while pouring the Montebruna into a glass at the same time.  It seems likely to me that there is a real difference between the vintages, as the older wine was not simply more mature, but had intrinsic qualities that the Mauro Molino lacked. 

A worthy introductory Barbera

2013 Viticolore Mauro Molino Barbera d’Alba (Piedmont, Italy): Medium garnet.  Cherries, roses, wildflowers, spicy herbs, vanilla, and even a note of café au lait on the nose.  Gentle vanilla and red fruits on the palate.  Soft; perhaps could use a touch more acid to make this as much of a food wine as Barbera can be.  Moderate finish.  Still, very nice overall, and a good match with pasta in a tomato and garlic sauce.  (Note: not much change in this wine after three days saved under Private Preserve inert gas; usually, being under gas for that long reveals an extra dimension or two.  In this case, what you see is what you get.)  ***

This Barbera makes a statement...

2012 Montebruna Barbera d’Asti (Piedmont, Italy): Medium-dark garnet.  Spices and pepper come through most prominently in a lovely bouquet that also contains vanilla and herbal scents.  Sour cherry and blackberry aromas as it opens out, with a distinctive espresso note.  Nicely balanced, with what wine writers sometimes call typicity (see below).  After being saved for three days using Private Preserve inert gas, the blackberry aromas came to the fore, along with mulberry and dark licorice.  A fine Barbera, delicious with food, and a reminder of why northern Italy is such a special place for fine wine.  ****

So this Wine Face-Off results in a clear winner; the Montebruna is richer, with more grip, and is simply more of what a Barbera is supposed to be.  The Mauro Molino is fine, but it’s thinner than the Montebruna, lacks the depth that the older wine from Asti is showing now, and has a shorter finish.  Still, if you find that your local merchant has only the Mauro Molino, don’t despair, as it will still give you a good sense of what Barbera can do.  If you’re serving pasta or pizza – and you’re willing to go beyond basic wines from California – Barbera will be a revelation.  For Italian cuisine, these wines are hard to beat.

Wine Word of the Week –Typicity: if you taste several Cabernets together – or several Chardonnays together – or several Sangioveses together…in short, if you taste enough of any particular grape, and remember what each one tasted like (wherever it might be grown) eventually you will come to some conclusions about what that category of wine should taste like. We triangulate our tastes; we try several different types of wine made from the same grape (even if they’re from distinct areas), and ultimately we begin to understand the essence of that grape. 

Similarly, if we’re tasting wines made from one grape – or a mix of grapes -- from a particular area, we begin to comprehend what the soils in that particular area have to offer.  For example, Cabernets from the Napa Valley in California are not the same as wines from the Left Bank of Bordeaux, where Cabernet is also the dominant varietal.  Cabernets grown in Australia, Italy, Chile or Argentina all have slight differences that, over time, experienced tasters can discern.  Pinot Noir is now grown all over the world, but it yields particular aromas and tastes in Burgundy, as opposed to Oregon, California or New Zealand. 

Typicity, therefore, is a sense of what either a particular grape or growing region is at its heart.  This is one of those wine terms that one can only understand when you investigate a grape -- or an area -- in detail, and allow your sensory memory to come into play.  Gaining this kind of knowledge over time is lots of fun, and deeply satisfying.