Panagiotopoulos Wines – Tomos I Cabernet Sauvignon 2013

The Tomos I is the organic Cabernet Sauvignon of the house of Panagiotopoulos, and thus the heir of the very vine with which Dimitris Panagiotopoulos first began in Pyrgos Trifilias in 1982. The line goes back to the first vintage in 2000; the name "Tomos I" – the first volume of a three-part organic series alongside Tomos II (Merlot) and Tomos III (Syrah) – has only been used since the 2013 vintage. Older vintages of the same wine, such as the 2010, which I have already tasted, simply went by "Cabernet Sauvignon Bio." The Tomos I should be distinguished from the conventionally produced house Cabernet Sauvignon, which is bottled in considerably greater quantities. The estate's quality hierarchy is not entirely transparent in all of this. It lists the Tomos III Syrah as merely "Premium," the Tomos I Cabernet as "Super Premium," and the rare cuvée "36" as outright "Ultra Premium." The logic of this gradation is not quite clear, for the organic Tomos II Merlot and the Tomos III Syrah come in at 8,200 and 8,500 bottles respectively yet land in different tiers, which seems more like a ranking of grape varieties than a measurable criterion.

In any case, what we have here, with the Tomos I, is a single-varietal Cabernet from a single, organically certified vineyard at 500 m altitude, aged for 24 months in 225-litre barrels of French oak, 13.5% vol., a mere 6,900 bottles. It retails for around €24.

The 2013 vintage is regarded as healthy and balanced for Greek red wines, a year with ripe but not overripe material; the Cabernet grapes came into the cellar on 20 September. Curious to see how such a wine would hold up after thirteen years, I have now tasted it.

On the nose, still plenty of blackcurrant, very true to type. On the palate a somewhat flat attack, and not exactly dense in colour either, yet really very drinkable – astonishingly drinkable for a thirteen-year-old wine. It has plenty of drive, is downright supple in the mouth, a light Cabernet, no heavyweight despite the oak ageing. The finish remains rather short, at least for a wine of this quality level.

For me it sits at 90 points, with a bit of goodwill perhaps 91; the 2010, as far as I'm concerned, is currently on the same level. That leaves the question touched on at the outset, namely whether the taste actually justifies the gradation among the Tomos wines. I had the Tomos III Syrah in the glass at the same time, which goes by "only" Premium and yet impressed me considerably more; so on the sensory side, the "Super Premium" logic does not hold up. I see no reason why the Tomos I shouldn't last another decade; but it is now at its peak, and anyone who has it can open it without hesitation.