Vintage 2004

cool · low sunlight · late harvest

Nationwide 6.0 out of 10 · Confidence of rating: medium

Macedonia

Naoussa · PDO – Red 7.5 · White 6.5 (Confidence: medium)

Central Greece

Attika · PGI – Red 6.5 · White 6.5 (Confidence: medium)

Peloponnese

Nemea · PDO – Red 6.5 (Confidence: low)

Mantinia · PDO – White 7.0 (Confidence: low)

Cyclades

Santorini · PDO – Red 6.0 · White 7.5 (Confidence: low)

Crete 6.5 · Peloponnese outside Nemea and Mantinia 6.0 (each as an overall value without separation by color)

A cool, damp and, above all, sun-starved year. The problem was not the temperature but the sun: its duration fluctuated so unusually that flowering, veraison and ripening stalled one after another. The vines started the year as if heading for an early vintage and were far behind by summer.

The finale saved it. August and September brought moderate temperatures, little rain and finally more sun – a slow, drawn-out ripening and a late harvest.

Naoussa – Red 7.5

The highest value on this page, one and a half points above the national figure. What at first looked like a risk for the late-ripening varieties became an opportunity thanks to the dry autumn: Xinomavro got the long hang time it needs and reached an unusually high phenolic concentration.

The result is a fresh, classic, acid-driven and long-lived vintage style – the kind of build that lasts twenty years. The condition was a late harvest in a dry window; in the cooler sites, green tannins and incomplete ripeness were a threat.

Santorini – White 7.5

The island had no documented extremes: hot, dry, windy as usual, an early harvest in August, no rain and no rot. The Assyrtiko turned out fine and precise.

Coolness as an Advantage for the Whites

On Santorini and on Crete, the whites stand above the reds this year, in Attika both are level, and in Naoussa it is exactly the other way around. Where the whites lead, the reason is the same one that put the reds under pressure: a cool growing season preserves acidity and freshness, and that is exactly what aromatic white varieties live on. The Moschofilero of Mantinia came in aromatic and with good acidity, the Savatiano of Attika with more freshness than hot years allow.

On the Peloponnese, Agiorgitiko remained balanced and, from the best producers, structured. On Crete, the cool, late pattern stretched out the ripening – a gain in the higher-altitude sites, a borderline risk in the lower ones.

Our Wines

We have tasted four Greek wines from 2004, all red, with a median of 96 points. As with all old vintages, this number describes our cellar, not the year.

At the top, twice, stands the Antigone from Domaine Economou from Sitia on Crete, with 98 and 97 points. It is no chance find: this year's slow, drawn-out ripening favored Liatiko in the high-altitude sites of Crete, and this wine has since been regarded as the proof of that.

Behind it, two wines from Domaine Hatzimichalis from Central Greece with 95 each: the Merlot Alargino from Atalanti and the Opus IB from Opountias Lokridos.

All Tasting Notes from 2004

· Domaine Economou Antigone · 97

· Domaine Economou Antigone · 98

· Domaine Hatzimichalis Merlot Alargino · 95

· Domaine Hatzimichalis Opus IB · 95

Vintage 2003 · 2004 · Vintage 2005 | All vintages