Panagiotopoulos Wines — Tomos III Syrah 2013

The Tomos range is the premium organic line from the house of Panagiotopoulos, bringing together three single-varietal reds from the great French grapes: Tomos I from Cabernet Sauvignon, Tomos II from Merlot and Tomos III from Syrah, all from organically certified sites in the PGI Trifilia and aged at length in wood. The first Syrah vintage appeared in 2006. How the estate ranks these three wines internally, however, is hard to follow. It lists the Cabernet and Merlot as "Super Premium," but the Syrah only as "Premium," and the highest tier, "Ultra Premium," doesn't even go to a Tomos wine but to the separate Cabernet cuvée "36."

And yet the Tomos III is built no more simply, technically speaking, than its siblings. It is a single-varietal Syrah from an organically certified site at 500 metres' altitude, hand-harvested, aged for 24 months in 225-litre barrels of French oak, 13.5% vol., a good 8,500 bottles. It retails for around €40 to €60.

The 2013 vintage is regarded in Greece as a very good to excellent red wine year, with early, healthy ripeness, mild summer temperatures and preserved acidity, good conditions precisely for a Syrah that is meant to retain its spice and fruit. The grapes came into the cellar on 25 September. Three Tomos wines stood side by side in my glass, the Cabernet 2013, the Merlot 2014 and this Syrah 2013 – and I was curious to see whether the official ranking would hold up in the glass.

Very fruity on the nose, still plenty of blueberry, plus a little dark chocolate and a touch of balsamico. On the palate, unlike the Cabernet with its grippier, even longer-lived tannins, it has more fruit throughout, and at the finish an enlivening, fruity acidity returns once more. Of the three Tomos wines, this Syrah is by far the best; it has no reason whatsoever to hide behind its more highly classified siblings. Only the second wave of the finish could be a touch better.

A truly outstanding wine that deserves 93+ points. It should only reach its peak in about five years, and I'd credit it with a good fifteen years of ageing potential. Which finally turns the official hierarchy completely on its head, for the lowest-ranked of the three was the most convincing in the glass.