Vintage 2001
Evenly warm · Nemea in front · the north in the damp
Nationwide 7.0 out of 10 · Confidence of rating: medium
Macedonia
Naoussa · PDO – Red 6.0 · White 5.5 (Confidence: medium)
Central Greece
Attika · PGI – Red 7.0 · White 6.5 (Confidence: medium)
Peloponnese
Nemea · PDO – Red 8.0 · White 7.0 (Confidence: medium)
Mantinia · PDO – Red 6.5 · White 7.0 (Confidence: medium)
Cyclades
Santorini · PDO – Red 6.5 · White 7.5 (Confidence: low)
Crete 7.0 · Peloponnese outside Nemea and Mantinia 7.0 (each as an overall value without separation by colour)
An evenly warm year without a national extreme event – no frost, no hail, no major fire, no reported heatwave. Even so, two points separate the strongest and the weakest region, and they lie between north and south.
Nemea – Red 8.0
The highest value on this page. The Peloponnese was warm and dry enough for Agiorgitiko to come in fully ripe and healthy; in the dry southeast, a later harvest was possible without risk of rain. What emerged from it is balanced, structured and suitable for ageing.
Naoussa – Red 6.0
Two points below, and the cause was in the air. The north started wet and hot, humidity stayed high, and the rains stretched into the ripening phase. The July rain did prevent drought stress, but the persistent moisture built up botrytis and downy mildew pressure – for the late-ripening, thin-skinned Xinomavro the most dangerous combination.
The potential was there: ripe tannins with acidity preserved, high alcohol, decent phenolics. Across the board it was pushed down by rot pressure, and often the only option left was an early emergency harvest with sharp selection. Kir-Yianni once again refrained from its top Naoussa bottling this year – the same signal as in 2006 and 2002.
Santorini – White 7.5
A normal hot-dry, windy island summer without documented heat spikes. The Assyrtiko came in early and with acidity preserved. The standout of this vintage is the Vinsanto: harvested late and overripe, then dried in the sun for six to eight days.
In the centre of the country, the hot, relatively dry August and September after the July rain helped towards a clean ripening; in Mantinia, the altitude kept the Moschofilero fresh.
Our Wines
A single wine: the Amethystos Cava from Domaine Costa Lazaridi in Drama with 94 points.
One bottle says nothing about a vintage, and from none of the regions that carry this page do we have anything in the cellar.
All tasting notes from 2001
· Domaine Costa Lazaridi Amethystos Cava · 94
Vintage 2000 · 2001 · Vintage 2002 | All vintages