Domaine Costa Lazaridi — Amethystos Red 2018

The red Amethystos from Domaine Costa Lazaridi is one of the most popular Bordeaux-style blends in Greece. The composition: 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, and 10% Agiorgitiko. The estate is now consulting with Michel Rolland.

On the nose, the 2018 vintage still shows enormous fruit, above all blackberry. On top of that comes a very strong vanilla note, which can feel downright intrusive if this style isn't your thing. On the palate, the tannins dominate, immediately coating the front of the mouth. The 14.5% alcohol is also clearly noticeable.

This is very much a wine that bears the hallmarks typical of Michel Rolland. It's worth noting that at the highly prestigious 50 Great Greek Wines tasting, not a single Bordeaux-style wine made it into the top 50. Terry Kandylis has suggested over-extraction as a possible reason.

This wine has so much fruit and vanilla that you really need to let it sit for at least a day before you dare approach it. That said, this obviously only applies to those wine drinkers who aren't specifically seeking out such intense wines. Once you pair it with food, though, it becomes far less jammy, and at that point it's well worth a very good 89 points.