Assyrtiko as a Team Player

The Assyrtiko grape is regarded as the queen among Greek white wine varieties. Only recently we tasted (in German) a broad range of Assyrtiko wines from the Greek mainland. A larger tasting devoted to the more aromatic and lower-acid Malagousia is to follow before long. As a bridge between the two, we thought it would be rather interesting to taste some blends that make use of both varieties, Assyrtiko as well as Malagousia.

The basics on the grape – taste, Santorini versus the mainland, food pairings – can be found in our big Assyrtiko guide.

That also gives us the opportunity to publish a few more tasting notes we already have ready on another blend in which Assyrtiko plays a part. It is a combination of Assyrtiko and Sauvignon Blanc that is very popular in PGI Drama in particular, with the grapes of the former variety contributing freshness and those of the latter providing fruity aromas. One classic is the Thema white from Ktima Pavlidis, a wine we have already discussed here (in German). But this mix is popular in other regions as well. A very well-known example from PGI Pangeon, also in northern Greece, would be the Ktima Biblia Chora white from the estate of the same name, which we have likewise already tasted (in German). Another internationally known example from PGI Drama would be the **Amethystos white from the Domaine Costa Lazaridi **(here (in German) you will find details on the estate), which lends itself well to comparison with the two wines just mentioned.

Here the French component dominates with 80%. Even so, there is a very respectable amount of acidity in the 2020 vintage we tasted. It has to be pointed out, though, that it can come across as very sharp if the food it is served with is not chosen to match. The citrus aromatics, carried through here with complete consistency, do suit it, however. The green notes of the Sauvignon Blanc are entirely at the service of a lemon fruit that completely dominates the finish. And the finish is indeed enormously long, especially for an entry-level wine (which can be bought (in German) in the current 2021 vintage from our partner shop for 12.50€). In our tasting, however, some found this clear profile of the wine too insistent. That is why the wine gets a very good 15.5 points from us – though with the additional note that friends of the yellow lemon may well go into raptures here.

We have one more blend of Assyrtiko and Sauvignon Blanc up our sleeve. The estates Ktima Pavlidis, Domaine Costa Lazaridi and Ktima Biblia Chora lie along a north-south axis. The Passas Winery is situated somewhat further east, halfway between the towns of Drama and Xanthi. Outside any PGI, one nevertheless feels rather closely connected to PGI Drama here, as the **Mavra Nera 2020 **shows, which reveals some quite interesting facets precisely in a comparative tasting with the wine from Ktima Pavlidis.

It is not as exotic in its fruit and generally not as expressive either. But it is marked by a lovely yellow fruit. On the palate the Sauvignon Blanc shows itself here with green, racy notes for once. That introduces a certain tension into the wine which can be judged in different ways. In any case it is interesting that the grapes of this variety were apparently harvested riper here, which makes for an interesting change compared with the other wines mentioned. Structurally, the wine's appealing interplay stands out. Overall, however, a little extract is missing. The wine is very fresh, but it is not as round as the Ktima Pavlidis. That is also down to no more than 12.5% alcohol. In any case a fascinating comparison, one that is worth an excellent 16.5 points to us.

But now to the recent tasting of several blends of Assyrtiko and Malagousia.

The classic here is of course the **white entry-level wine from Ktima Gerovassiliou **(PGI Epanomi, so now heading west), which is named after the estate. Evangelos Gerovassiliou is regarded as the saviour of the Malagousia grape, and his single-variety wine rightly counts as the standard against which other Malagousias have to be measured. (Here (in German) we discussed the 2020 and put together some background on the variety. Here (in German) you can learn more about the estate.) Malagousia is often used to make wines with a floral bouquet. Ktima Gerovassiliou, by contrast, relies on an earlier harvest and a fruitier aromatic spectrum. A perfectly clear peach fruit in particular is characteristic here. It is also very clearly dominant in this wine. The wine is thus a genuine alternative to the marriage of international Sauvignon Blanc and indigenous Assyrtiko – especially for people who value fruity aromas in wine but find the Assyrtiko and Sauvignon Blanc blend either too tannic or else too far adrift in the exotic (kitschy?) end of the spectrum. A wine that nobody in a summer gathering will find fault with! In the wine tasted here, the Assyrtiko contributes a crisp acidity. This entry-level wine is of course not quite as full-bodied and complex as the single-variety Malagousia. The reverberation is nonetheless considerable. The wine deserves a great 17.5 points. It is available in the 2019 vintage from our partner shop for 13.69€.

(POSTSCRIPT: In comparison with the estate's single-variety Malagousia, which we tasted shortly afterwards and discussed here, it becomes clear how ingenious the combination of the Malagousia variety with Assyrtiko is. For in the 2021 vintage the well-known single-variety wine from Ktima Gerovassiliou lacks the typical expressive peach notes entirely. The culprit: an early harvest because of an approaching heatwave. There was no waiting any longer if acidity and other parameters were to be kept within bounds. Here, by contrast, that played no part, because the Assyrtiko grape contributes the acidity. Whatever Malagousia was harvested here does not have to sustain the structure of the wine, but only to deliver aromatics.)

Very interesting by comparison is the **Idea white 2021 **from the Barafakas Winery. Here we are now in PDO Nemea and have in front of us a wine bearing the designation of origin PGI Peloponnese on the label. This wine is a fine complement to the classic from Ktima Gerovassiliou, since the floral potential of the Malagousia grape comes to the fore more strongly here. (For a textbook example of a single-variety Malagousia wine to be placed at this end of the aroma spectrum, see here (in German).) On top of that, the acidity makes itself felt a shade more strongly here. What is lovely about the wine, consequently, is that both blending partners appear on equal terms and true to type. That deserves an excellent 16.5 points.

As is well known, in wine the Malagousia grape can provide not only floral and fruity aromas but can also serve the herbal spectrum, as the single-variety wine from Giannikos Winery, likewise from the Peloponnese, demonstrates (see here (in German)). Anyone who likes that should also take pleasure in the **Roggia white **from the small organic estate Liappas Winery. For at times one has the impression of sniffing at Greek mountain tea. With the Liappas Winery we now find ourselves, finally, in central Greece, in PGI Karditsa, that is roughly halfway between the northern Greek estates and the Barafakas Winery. The blend consists of 80% Assyrtiko and only 10% Malagousia as well as 10% of the fairly similar Batiki grape. On the palate the Assyrtiko then comes through with interesting fruit. The combination with slightly lactic notes brings tinned mandarins to mind. A certain sweetness suits that as well. The 2019 vintage is slowly drawing towards the end of its drinking window, as the estate itself has been stressing for some time to us, who had long put off tasting this blend. A very good 16 points.

Geographically we now return once more to the Peloponnese, to PGI Ilia on the west coast. The jump is necessary because the **Ekecheiria 2020 **from the Olympia Land Estate cannot be placed quite so neatly, in aromatic terms, within the spectrum of Malagousia familiar to us. At the moment the nose still strikes us as somewhat closed. The 13.5% alcohol – the highest among the Assyrtiko-Malagousia blends tasted here, which otherwise lie at 12.5% or 13% – also makes the wine a little coating on the palate. Aromatically, honey dominates there. The wine is by no means as oxidatively matured as the Chardonnay of the same vintage, though (see the tasting note here (in German)). We tasted the Assyrtiko of the same vintage only recently (see here (in German)). (In that tasting the wine was still doing excellently, even if it did not leave quite as fantastic an impression as the 2019 vintage had the year before, see here.) Accordingly one is particularly tempted here to taste out the contribution of the Malagousia grape. All the more so as both Greek grapes (as in the Idea white) are represented at 50% each. We shall probably have to come back to this tasting note again in a few weeks – once we have also tasted the estate's single-variety Malagousia and can look back on this wine with a freer mind. For the moment one can at least speculate on a fairly herbal orientation of the Malagousia wine. For alongside pear as the fruity component there are very restrained and slightly sweetish herbal aromas. Very positively, one notices that the wine does not fade even after several days, indeed develops further and becomes rounder. The alcohol in particular then seems better integrated. On the assumption that this reflects an ageing potential, we award an excellent 16.5 points and will try to taste the same wine again next year. Until then we shall set a link here to the Malagousia tasting as soon as we have carried it out and written about it. Anyone who would like to form their own impression can buy the wine here for 11.90€, as well as the separately bottled single-variety Assyrtiko and Malagousia. (POSTSCRIPT: Whether the said tasting of the Malagousia then brought the great illumination can be read here.)