Ktima Biblia Chora — Areti Red 2016

The Areti Red 2016 from Ktima Biblia Chora (PGI Pangeon, 100% Agiorgitiko, organic, 14%) is actually one of my favourite Agiorgitikos from outside Nemea. The estate was founded by Vassilis Tsaktsarlis and Vangelis Gerovassiliou, both Bordeaux-trained oenologists — Gerovassiliou is also the key figure in the revival of the Malagousia grape variety. The vineyards sit at around 380 metres in the hills of the Pangeon range near Kavala, on gravelly, calcareous-clay soils, buffered by Aegean breezes. According to Biblia Chora, the Areti is the first wine made from Agiorgitiko ever produced outside its traditional home region of Nemea — a deliberate pioneering project. The wine undergoes cold maceration at 6 °C, is vinified in a classical manner, and aged for 12 months in French oak. Production stands at 10,000 bottles. We had enthusiastically awarded the 2013 vintage 94 points back in 2021 — a simply magnificent wine with beautifully fresh fruit aromas, a slightly sanguine minerality, soft tannins, and the effortless drinkability typical of the variety, which in that case did not come at the expense of a long finish. We gave the 2016 vintage 94 points as well, five years after harvest, also in 2021. I was all the more curious to see how it would perform eight years after harvest. The answer: this vintage disappointed me just a little. On the nose, a great deal of juniper. On the palate, likewise much juniper, but also slightly green notes that are somewhat disconcerting. One gets the impression of tasting the lowest common denominator of the oak across all of Biblia Chora's red wines. A smoky aftertaste that fails to inspire. This sounds very negative, but mainly because I have already had significantly better vintages from this estate in my glass. In the secondary finish it rallies. The wine will certainly hold at this level for another five years. Without question, a very good wine. 91 points.