Andreou Winery – Pithos Retsina NV

The Pithos Retsina from Andreou Winery in Attika is no ordinary Retsina. Made from Savatiano – the grape variety almost synonymous with Retsina – this wine goes far beyond the stereotype of cheap wine masked by pine resin. What sets it apart is the additional soaking of the barrels in a tea made from 42 mountain herbs, which elevates it to a different level entirely. The complexity here is amazing – layered, deep, and endlessly interesting. There is even a note of overripe strawberry lurking in there, adding an unexpected sweetness to the aromatic profile. In a tasting that included several Retsinas ranging from the decent but simple Lidl bottling to the intense pine-driven Retsina from Nestor Winery, the more subtle Mylonas Winery Retsina, and the boldly unconventional Assyrtiko-based Retsinalism from Patistis Wines, the Andreou Pithos stood in a class of its own. A magnificent wine that earns 93 points.