Wine: 'How long before a sommelier brings Assyrtiko North?'

Published on Saturday 10 July 2010 18:51

A difficult customer for any wine merchant is the chap with a deep tan, a label carefully removed from a bottle and a question about where he can get this holiday wine. For Greek wine, that can be a huge problem because there are few entry point products, and little sign of that changing.

When wine production in Chile, for example, surged 25 years ago it was on the back of cheap labour, cheap land with massive scope for mechanisation and economies of scale. None of those conditions apply to Greece. Since the mountains rule out cultivation altogether on 75 per cent of the land, prices are high for the rest. Similarly, the tradition of small-scale and widely spread land holdings rules out economies of scale while the steep hillsides rule out automation.

But, even without a trading-up platform of inexpensive bottles, Greece still has some very talented and committed producers who make brilliant wine. Some focus on the so-called international grape varieties such as chardonnay, sauvignon blanc and the very adaptable syrah (or shiraz to the Southern Hemisphere). Often, those varieties are blended with local grapes to produce something a little more unusual.

The most impressive results of all, however, come when something uniquely Greek is made entirely from those indigenous vines. Given the country's altitude, white wine grabs most of the headlines but a couple of reds demand attention. Agiorgitiko is a versatile grape a bit like grenache and, at its best, produces a soft, juicy wine with flavours somewhere between black cherry and plum. Xinomavro, with a name that translates into acid (or sour) black, has been likened to the nebbiolo and barolo. It is certainly a complex, spicy wine that responds especially well to ageing.

Among the whites, Assyrtiko is often acclaimed as the origin of some of the best wine in the Mediterranean. It has delicacy, minerality and high levels of acidity like "volcanic chablis on steroids" — as one major player describes it. A rising star is vilana, producing nice lime and mineral-based flavours reminiscent of macon. Look out, too, for malagousia which delivers a perfumed peach-style wine.

The big problem is how to gain access to these terrific varieties. The US has a reasonably well-developed market partly because the 10-15 price bracket does not faze them and partly through sommeliers in their restaurants. Interestingly, that is starting to happen in the UK as restaurateurs realise the exceptional quality of Greek wines, though it is largely confined to London and to Michelin-star restaurants. How long before a sommelier brings Assyrtiko north?

Retail access can also be tricky. Probably the most influential UK importer is Steve Daniel of Novum Wines, whose Alpha Estate red and barrel-fermented Semillon Assyrtiko blend are to-die-for wines. Novum has teamed up with Hallgarten Druitt (01582 722538), which makes distribution to Scotland much easier. Alternatively, Wildflower Wines in Linlithgow (01506 844220) handles some Novum wines.

Predictably, price and the small scale of production exclude Greek wines from supermarket lists but Waitrose sells three or four — all priced between 7.50 and 10. Indeed, one — the smooth, spicy Mediterra Syrah Kotsifali — was on promotion during May with its price reduced by 20 per cent to 5.59. Bibendum has developed a brand called Silenus which is available to the public via its website. The red is a blend of the local grape kotsifali with a dollop of syrah. The white adds a touch (5 per cent) sauvignon blanc to vilana to produce a crisp wine that balances lemon-based acidity with pineapple and melon. Both retail around 7.50 a bottle. Nearer to home, Cornelius Wines in Easter Road, Edinburgh has — as a bin end — a rather appealing Boutari Xinomavro for around 9.50.