Alpha Estate — Syrah 2017

The Syrah 2017 from Alpha Estate (PGI Florina) was tasted as part of an extensive tasting of Greek Syrah reds. The very same vintage had been in my glass a year earlier, and back then it had still come across as somewhat jammy — ultimately not superior to the Axia 2017, even though this wine is made exclusively from the 'Turtles' vineyard, and of course as a single varietal. Now, nothing felt over-extracted anymore. On the attack, a good acidity is genuinely refreshing. Flavor-wise, the first tertiary notes are beginning to emerge. If you enjoy reds precisely at this stage of development, this is a wonderful wine. That said, it did have a slightly harder time standing up against the only marginally younger but noticeably fresher wines in the tasting. Still, the result was an excellent 91 points.