Ktima Biblia Chora – Etos Semillon & Assyrtiko 2012

Etos is the exceptional range from Biblia Chora, produced only in great vintages and from the best parcels, aged for around ten years, and only then released to the market – this 2012, therefore, only in 2022. With the red Etos, the Cabernet and the Merlot, I'm accustomed to scores around 95, 96; here it is the white, from Semillon and Assyrtiko. It was made by two Bordeaux-trained oenologists, and Vassilis Tsaktsarlis, of all people, learned there under Denis Dubourdieu, the great master of white Bordeaux from Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc. For around seventy or eighty euros, this is a rare, deliberately aged white wine. For the Xinomavro in Naoussa, 2012 was a crisis year, but in Kavala on Pangeon it was a different story – the estate called the vintage excellent for both varieties.

In the glass it already appears dark, almost orange. The nose is mineral, with a touch of dried fruit, quince, honeydew melon, along with fresh, rather floral top notes and little in the way of exoticism, and, to be honest, it does leave one missing the Sauvignon Blanc from Bordeaux that Dubourdieu would have factored in here. On the palate there's good grip on the attack and then an incredible creaminess, a very long, peach-driven finish. You really must drink it cold; then the acidity works out nicely on the attack and a few citrus notes come through, otherwise it's a shade lacking. It isn't entirely in balance because of this, but in its style it is utterly unique, and with pasta and salmon or other rich pasta dishes it plays its creaminess to brilliant effect.

For me, this is 95 points. A truly fantastic wine, which, however, also comes at a price.