Torosidis – Limnio Syrah 2024

The Torosidis winery has no cellar of its own. The grapes grow on a vineyard that the estate itself describes as exceptionally small. It lies near Peteinos, about five kilometres from the town of Xanthi, in the municipality of Avdira. Vinification takes place with a partner in the region, the Anatolikos Winery. The location has family roots. The estate explicitly describes it as a counterpoint to the "safe" options of elevation or proximity to the sea, and as a terroir that differs from the established vineyards of Avdira. Pilot plantings and experiments from 2003 were followed by the first vine in 2013. Between 2017 and 2019, Limnio and Syrah, among others, were added. The first wine to be bottled was a Malagouzia Chardonnay 2020, and in 2023 the organic certification was completed.

Peteinos lies outside the zone that qualifies for PGI status. For this reason, this wine goes out as a varietal wine without protected origin, labelled on the front as "Organic Varietal Rosé Dry Wine". Its name is simply the sum of its two varieties. According to Wines of Greece, Limnio is among the earliest mentioned Greek grape varieties, with references in Homer and Hesiod, joined here by Syrah. There is no fixed recipe. Limnio and Syrah are vinified together in the tank, and the ratio is decided at harvest according to the character of the grapes. In 2024 it was 55 % Limnio and 45 % Syrah. Fermentation took place at low temperatures in stainless steel, after which the wine spent six months on its fine lees, likewise in a stainless steel tank. Torosidis uses no wood for any of his wines. The rosé is dry and has 13.5 % alcohol. There are deliberately no technical data sheets. He is in a phase of experimentation and constant trials, Stathis Torosidis wrote to me.

I tasted the Limnio Syrah in August 2026, almost two years after the harvest, in a line-up with further samples from the estate. First came the two whites, the Malagouzia Vidiano Chardonnay 2024 and the Viticulturist Malagouzia 2025. Then followed the red Syrah Vidiano 2023 and then the two rosés, this one and the off-dry Limnio Malagouzia 2023. The series closed in October with the Vidiano 2025.

The nose is lovely, with plenty of strawberry, also green notes, also notes of green pepper. On the palate the Limnio Syrah is as slick as an eel. Then comes a lovely smoky note on the finish, and this in a wine that has never seen a barrel. It is in fact so good that it even lifts the wine from 88 to 89 points for me.

Interesting, but not quite impressive, that is my verdict on both rosés in this tasting. The Limnio Malagouzia 2023 was the bold but not very convincing one of the two. It reached 88 points, with plenty of upward potential. The Limnio Syrah, by contrast, is the rather dull well-behaved one. That Torosidis is my discovery of the year comes down to other wines, above all the Syrah Vidiano 2023, which I had in my glass immediately before the rosés and rated 94 points. The Limnio Syrah costs around 8 euros in Greece. For me, that is 89 points.