Nico Lazaridi — Château Nico Lazaridi 2019

Château Nico Lazaridi is the most famous label of the house, a red from the PGI Drama, that northern Greek region in the interior that has, since the late seventies, developed into a kind of little Bordeaux with its Bordeaux varieties. Not to be confused with the estate of brother Kostas, likewise based in Drama, the Domaine Costa Lazaridi, for the two went their separate ways early on. The wine is a Bordeaux blend of 60 percent Cabernet Sauvignon and 30 percent Merlot, plus 10 percent Sangiovese, which lends it a somewhat Italian, red-fruited contour and which has disappeared in the younger vintages. 14 percent alcohol, and at around €17 an upmarket house wine that, on the strength of the name Château, dares quite a bit. It remains curious that the Château can be had in Germany for the same price as the much simpler black sheep, the Mavro Provato from Pangeon.

The 2019 vintage was no foregone conclusion in Drama. A cold winter and a good budbreak were followed, from June to mid-July, by almost daily rainfall and local hail, which pushed the harvest back and depressed the volumes. At the same time, the humidity kept the acidity high, and for the red varieties an excellent quality with rich tannin and phenolic potential was expected. On paper, then, a vintage with tension and structure.

In the glass this is now a wine like a Black Forest cherry cake. By virtue of its making, above all the délestage that rounds the tannins, it has been pounded so soft that it really cannot strike anyone as bothersome. Structure that might put up some resistance against the ravages of time is not something it brings along. Just like a Black Forest cherry cake, which should be eaten on the day it is made and not later.

And yet 2019 would certainly have provided the structure, but the soft style has leveled it out. From a wine that bears Château in its name and spent twelve months in oak, one might actually expect a bit more. This is now the seventh year after the harvest, and it has little reserve left; already the day after opening it is finished. Drink now, if you like such a thing, and in a pinch the whole bottle too. For me, though, a small glass suffices. For me, this is 87 points.

The label is almost ironic. The new label design of the house falls in that same year 2019, conceived by the artist Giorgos Taxidis, a native of Drama, and the red image depicts the planting, the birth, the beginning, along with moon and stars for the passage of time and a new start. A lovely symbol for a fresh departure, only on a wine that has no time ahead of it and is best drunk at once.