Inima Negoska 2017 from Katogi Averoff

Negoska from Katogi Averoff (see here for the report on the winery) is a variety you very rarely get to have alone in the glass. If anything, it's better known as a blending partner with Xinomavro in PDO Goumenissa, where it's supposed to make the wine turn out somewhat softer than in other areas where Xinomavro is grown. There's not a trace of that quality to be found in this wine, though, it has to be said right away.

That doesn't mean it's poorly made. Quite the opposite. On the nose, it initially shows itself almost exclusively with earthy notes. Over time, though, a fruit character does emerge, one you'd most readily associate with amarena cherry. This impression then grows softer and softer, conveying creaminess and leading you to expect sweetness. Malolactic fermentation and bâtonnage have clearly been put to very effective use here.

Take the first sip, though, and you're astonished to find you get nothing at all of a supposed Black Forest gateau in the mouth. It's first coated entirely by an extremely clinging tannin. Hunting for aromas then becomes a genuine challenge, with only split seconds available each time before the wine makes any lingering aftertaste impossible again. It's like biting into an anthill! With plenty of patience, you come across a touch of plum, a bit more orange zest. And then Christmas spices too, above all clove.

What's one to make of a wine like this? It's presumably a must for Nebbiolo fans – who'll have to make do with less colour and less alcohol (12.5%), though. It's a wine you can spend a lot of time with, if you bring a bit of resistance to frustration along. And left open longer, alongside rich food, like a pastitsio with a decent helping of béchamel sauce, it shows itself noticeably tamer, too. It's presumably a "very good" wine, deserving 16 points, but certainly not to everyone's taste.

Whether it grows more agreeable still with longer ageing has to remain an open question for now. Arguing against that is the fact that, compared with Peter Moser's tasting of the still very young wine for Falstaff, not much refinement seems to have taken place yet. Simos Georgopoulos of the FNL Guide is sceptical.

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More on the winery: see here.

How we rate: see here.

On partnerships: see here (in German).