WELCOME TO GREEK WINES

The ancient seafaring people of the Phoenicians, familiar to many from Asterix and Obelix, left behind quite a few treasures on their voyages across the Mediterranean (at Aliseda, for instance, and El Carambolo). This article, too, is about a mysterious good they carried with them - one that may recently have been raised from the depths by Vassilios Tsaktsarlis. A fascinating story of an oenological treasure ... I have already covered the background in the report on Ktima Bib

The Kotsifali variety is often regarded as the Cretan counterpart to French Merlot. Just as Merlot in Bordeaux gives Cabernet Sauvignon a softer polish, Kotsifali is meant, in a cuvée with Mandilaria, to offset the latter's excessively assertive tannins. Mandilaria certainly has plenty of those, while lacking alcohol and intense aromatics. All the more exciting, then, that the winery Silva Daskalaki goes entirely its own way! The "Enstikto" is made up of 70% Kotsifali and 30%

In the last post (in German), I talked about the possibility of brightening cold winter days with the exotic aromas of Greek Sauvignon Blanc. That strategy naturally doesn't work for Christmas itself, though – there you want something classic, something that fits the mood, more cosy than exciting, contemplative, sure, but please not a wine that demands a lot of brainwork, more delicious and suited to the whole family than totally out there. For this post, then, I went back th

There are two ways to meet the cold, damp fog front just before Christmas with wine. On the one hand, you could of course retreat by the fireplace, or with a crackling-fire playlist from Spotify in the background, with a cosy red. Instead, though, I want to warm myself up a little today by conjuring memories of warmer times. It was one of those glorious sunny days this September that spoiled us a little after a summer that had been thoroughly rained out. To celebrate, we open

Even the Merlot-dominated entry-level wine (in German) from the Biblia Chora estate isn't bad. The varietal Merlot with the modern label, inspired by the film Sideways and the diagonal move of the bishop in chess, plays in an entirely different league again, though. On the nose, a very fine cedar note shows itself, underlaid by ripe, still juicy plum that never drifts toward the jammy. On the palate, a likewise still very fresh cherry dominates, with darker fruit in the backg

The combination of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Agiorgitiko is a classic Greek take on the Bordeaux cuvée. Cabernet Sauvignon usually dominates there, to a greater or lesser degree (see for instance here and here (in German)). With the version from Ktima Biblia Chora, the red sibling of the well-known white (in German), by contrast, at 45% Merlot (40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Agiorgitiko) you're rather more on the right bank of the Gironde and Dordogne. On the nose, the frui