Estate Manolesakis – EXIS Red 2025

Moschomavro and Limnio, 60 to 40 – a red entry-level cuvée from two indigenous varieties. In the roughly nine-euro price bracket, Greek estates otherwise reach almost reflexively for Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot or Syrah, because these varieties reliably deliver colour, structure and recognisability. I have encountered Moschomavro only once before, as a small component in a rosé; this is my first red wine featuring the variety and the first in which it takes the lead.

In the glass, a very aromatic wine, plenty of fruit on the nose and a touch of violet. On the palate it is nicely rounded, with a considerable finish. The two varieties genuinely come together in harmony, as if they had never done anything but complement one another. With a combination I have not come across before, that is by no means a given; you would never guess this cuvée was an exploratory venture.

Admittedly, the wine is made for early drinking, and its complexity is limited. But it is exceedingly appealing, and it doesn't aim to be anything else. No wood, two months on the fine lees, a fresh tank wine. Harvesting is done at night, so that the grapes arrive cool in the cellar and can be chilled without heat shock – more effort than the price would lead you to expect.

The vintage helps it along. In Drama, 2025, at 8.0 out of 10, is the second-strongest year in my series since 2019, well above the two weak years of 2022 and 2023. Immediately afterwards I had the Gennima Psychis red 2022 in the glass, the estate's mid-range line, which I rated at 86 points. That the cheaper bottle came off better is partly explained from there.

The wine's finest twist, however, is of a legal nature. It carries no protected origin but runs as a simple wine without geographical indication, and the reason for this is its Greekness. Moschomavro was not provided for in the specification for red PGI Drama; only with the decision of 16 December 2025 was the variety approved, too late for this vintage. Here a wine is penalised for being more native than the rule written for it – and the rule has since moved.

Ex-cellar the wine costs around nine euros, and the estate recommends serving it at 12 to 14 degrees. For me it is 88 points, because for what it wants to be, it is excellent.