Avaton 2017 from Ktima Gerovassiliou

When it comes to autochthonous varieties, Evangelos Gerovassiliou (in German) naturally focuses, for white wine, on the Malagousia (in German) he revived. As a red variety, he's dedicated himself to Limnio (pronounced "Limnió"). Quite interesting: just recently I saw a video on YouTube (the conclusion from 2:10) in which, after tasting a varietal Limnio and Mavroudi, the spontaneous thought came up that you might be able to combine the two into a whole blend. A good idea Gerovassiliou also had back in the mid-1990s, when he began experimenting with this cuvée, later adding Mavrotragano too (since 2017, in a ratio of 60%, 20%, 20%). The vines date back to that period too; the first bottles came to market in 2002, and the fine-tuning has continued ever since. Whereas with autochthonous white varieties a single variety (in German) takes centre stage, with native red varieties it's a cuvée.

The 2017 Avaton shows itself with wonderfully clear red fruit on the nose, underlaid by subtle sage notes. On the palate, distinct nougat joins in. The tasting experience is embedded in wonderfully fine tannins that drift neither into excessive silkiness nor into mushiness. A wine that drinks fantastically and pairs superbly with food. It's only on the finish that the alcohol (14.5%) dominates a touch too much, though.

How should a wine like this be scored? What's clear is that with this cuvée, Evangelos Gerovassiliou has pulled off the trick of blending a variety already known in ancient Greece together with even more obscure Greek varieties into a wine that comes across as thoroughly international. The ruby red alone sends you straight to Tuscany – and every sip then zigzags through the old world all over again. The question is whether and how one wants to honour that. Some, including at our tasting, feel this loses the wine's own distinctiveness and would have liked a clearer, genuinely Greek profile. On the other hand, though, the wine consistently outperformed other wines from various origins that comfortably clear the 90-point mark. And so, in the end, we consider the rating of "magnificent" and 18 out of 20 points to be entirely appropriate.

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How we rate: see here.

On partnerships: see here (in German).