Ktima Katsarou — Stella 2022

The Stella Chardonnay 2022 from Ktima Katsarou, a PGI Krania white from Thessaly made from 100% Chardonnay at 13.5% alcohol, was one of the wines I was most looking forward to tasting. The 2020 vintage had scored 96 points in a lineup alongside excellent wines from Burgundy and Germany — clearly the best Chardonnay I had encountered from Greece at that point. So expectations for the 2022 were sky high. I selected the bottle to accompany excellent starters at the Cap Voyage restaurant of Grecotel Riviera Olympia, and I have to admit what I cannot deny: I was quite disappointed. There were almost no aromas discernible in the nose, just a bit of lemongrass. On the palate, aromas were lacking too — just a hint of asparagus. Nothing like the explosion known from the Stella 2020. Structurally, the wine is marked by its laser-focused acidity and funky minerality. But there is not enough around that skeleton to make it work. I kept experimenting with it for days, trying different temperatures and more oxygen, but none of that helped its flavors to unfold. It was more as if the wine fell apart, developing a split personality, as if one were pouring two very different wines into one's mouth at the same time — and I don't understand either of those parts. It's not a bad wine. It's actually quite unique. But it doesn't deliver with respect to any specific style. I do love modern Burgundian electro shocks, but the voltage here is just too low. And it likewise fails with respect to the fruit-driven development in the mouth that the Stella 2020 vintage showed so brilliantly. The Stella is only produced in good vintages, so it should be exceptional — and I would have loved to write something different. At 91 points, it's a decent wine, but not enough for the 50€ price tag.