Ktima Erithrou Rodou – Malagousia 2024

The boutique winery Ktima Erithrou Rodou in Drama – the name means "winery of the red rose" and alludes at once to three things: the red earth of Kokkinogeia, the family name Triantafyllidis, and the wild roses of the site – has built its reputation precisely on Malagouzia. Giannis Triantafyllidis manages the vines, the cellar and the bottling, with Dr. Katerina Karampatea at his side, a PhD oenologist and chemist shaped by Burgundy. I tasted this 2024 in June 2026 alongside the same estate's Assyrtiko French Oak 2024, and the comparison between the two is really the crux of the matter: the earlier-harvested, barrel-fermented Assyrtiko came through this vintage noticeably better than the later-harvested Malagouzia.

As for how it is made: 100% Malagouzia from the single vineyard "Ammoudies" in Kokkinogeia, PGI Drama, at 200 metres in a microclimate that, thanks to Menikio, Falakro, the Aggitis and the afternoon breeze, sits two to five degrees cooler than the rest of the Drama zone. Free-run must only, pre-fermentative cold maceration, fermentation at controlled temperature in stainless steel, six months on the fine lees – and, this is what clearly sets it apart from the barrel-fermented Assyrtiko, entirely unoaked, no wood, no amphora. Fifteen-year-old vines planted in 2009, 0.85 hectares, 2,600 bottles, 13% alcohol.

As a vintage, 2024 was the hottest and driest year in the Greek record for Macedonia, with massive drought stress and the earliest harvest ever; the white wines were the losers of this year, because extreme heat burns off the aromatics and the acidity collapses. Freshness was the toughest exercise here, and the expectation was: ripe, powerful, dense – with a question mark over the tension.

And that is precisely where the wine surprises. Even its colour in the glass is incredibly dense for a Malagouzia. On the nose, though, it is markedly less floral than the earlier vintages I know – more like dried flowers. On the palate then a strikingly gripping acidity for a Malagouzia, incredibly dense, you can taste the quality; I could equally think of a white Bordeaux from a very warm year here, with a great deal of elegance. The finish is medium-length rather than long, but a second finish follows, and there with slight floral hints. You can sense how a difficult vintage was wrestled with here: what emerges is a very refined Malagouzia, a serious companion to upscale cuisine, but not an easy quaffing wine – and one that does not carry on from its floral predecessors.

And that is exactly the break with the house style. The estate's very first vintage, the Malagouzia 2020, I rated at 92 points in 2021 with a year in bottle – boldly at the utterly floral end of the variety, with crystal-clear elderflower fruit, lychee, wonderful acidity. The 2021 I even raised to 94 in 2022, likewise with a year on it: an entirely floral nose, heavier rose scents, rounder and more attractive than the 2020, with a very floral, long finish – that wine dominated my Malagouzia comparative tasting at the time. The 2024 does not take this path: less flower, more density, gripping acidity instead of sumptuous perfume, medium-length instead of long. For me it sits at the level of the 2020 and thus below the 2021 peak. But not below 2020 either, because it really is rare that you can taste the striving for quality so clearly. A wine that inspires respect, even if it does not thrill. This too is worth having tasted once if you like Malagouzia and/or appreciate Greek wines.

The external echo is muted for this vintage: the Thessaloniki Wine & Spirits Trophy 2026 gave the 2024 only bronze with 86 points, whereas in 2025 it had granted the 2023 one point more with bronze and 87. By way of comparison with the stronger predecessors: Peter Moser rated the 2021 at Falstaff with 92 (citrusy-tropical, mineral, fine acidity, a salty-lemony finish), and Simos Georgopoulos gave the 2020 7.5 out of 10 in the FNL Guide (rose-driven, yellow and exotic fruit, a spicy-saline finish). The weak competition signal tallies with my own assessment – for the Assyrtiko French Oak 2024 tasted alongside (93 for me) the estate took gold in Thessaloniki with 92, while the Malagouzia got only the bronze. At 18.90 to 20.95 euros this remains a very fairly priced, single-varietal single-vineyard white. 92 points.