When you think about basking on a sunny island beach, you might picture yourself with a pina colada in hand and requisite cocktail umbrella, of course! But take a moment to imagine instead the islands of the Mediterranean. Craggy rocks leading down to foamy surf in the turquoise water, the fisherman in colorful, old wooden boats bringing in the days catch for you to enjoy that evening, simply grilled with local lemon and olive oil. Sounds pretty good doesn’t it? Experience a journey through the glass to Sardinia and Greece. Both of these stunning Mediterranean islands have incredibly untapped wine resources, you are in for a special treat.
2006 Nasiakos Moschofilero, Mantinia, Greece $17/$15.30/$13.60
Leonidas Nasiakos knows moschofilero, in fact he is the sole consultant to the Greek Wine Federation for this unique varietal. He learned his craft from his father, who was also a winemaker and from the previous three generations of family grape growers. Moschofilero is actually a red grape that is vinified into a fresh, aromatic, peachy, citrusy, floral white that sings of springtime. This particular vineyard is located at 2000 ft above sea level in the Peleponesse, right in the heart of Mantinia (the region around the city of Tripoli in the prefecture of Arcadia). The high altitude allows the grapes to retain freshness, yet also to have a long growing season that gives excellent fruit ripeness and complexity. The entire estate makes only 6,000 cases and only produces moschofilero.
2004 Azienda Vinicola Attilio Contini, Tyrsos, Vermentino, Oristano, Sardegna $17/$15.30/$13.60
Founded in 1898 by Salvatore Contini this winery ranks among the oldest and most prestigious in Sardegna. The winery remains family owned and managed by Paolo Contini and Antonio Contini, who are passionately dedicated to the accurate selection of vineyards, grapes and wine-making in accordance with the most ancient local traditions. Vermentino if a varietal that loves coastal areas throughout the Mediterranean but achieves possibly its highest form in the northern sections of Sardegna around the town of Gallura. The Contini estate is truly a piece of history that reflects the tumultuous past of Sardegna to this day via its wines. Enologist Paolo Contini is proud of each of his wines but his legendary Vernaccia di Oristano stands alone. Made in a classic Solera system with the same Flor that creates the most distinguished of Sherries, this wine is living history. This vermentino is no different, an ode to classic island wines, the vines grow in alluvial, volcanic soils and benefit from the nearby sea. With age it has grown more complex!
2007 Santo Assyrtiko, Santorini, Greece $25/$22.50/$20
Let me start off by saying that I heart wines from volcanic soil. There is simply a natural affiliation between the two, that produces wines of amazing complexity and intrigue. This textural delight comes from the gorgeous Island of Santorini, where Matt will soon be spending part of his honeymooon! This modern winery was established in 1992 and is on the edge of Caldera (the volcanic creates depression) in the middle of the Santorini Vineyard. The assyrtiko grape is native to the Island and thrives in the volcanic soil. Amazingly no matter how ripe this grape is allowed to get it magically maintains its acidity! While this grape is often blended with savatiano to produce the much maligned retsina, you will not find any of those pine-y notes. I recently had this wine at Neptune Oyster Bar and it went beautifully with every dish! A must have for your summer seafood suppers.
2007 Lyrarakis Kotsifali, Crete, Greece $14/$12.60/$11.20
The entire Island of Crete worships the grapevine. All the family’s on the Island have been involved with wine at some time in their history. In 1996 the Lyrarakis family decided to take their famil’s passion from hobby to profession and founded their winery. The best local varities were the kotsifali, vilana and mandilaria and they were actually responsible for planting the first organized vilana Vineyard. The vines had just grown wild previously. The kotsifali Vineyard is planted on the mountain scope in the area known as Heraklion. This grape is often descrive as the under dog of Greek reds as it only shows well on the Island of Crete and is often ignored in favor of the flashier mainland varieties. We love rooting for the under dog though! We think this is a delightfully gulpable red that would be great with a bit of a chill for a summer sipper. The winery also produces higher-end Kotsifali that with age have reminded many wine professionsals of Bordeaux or even Barbaresco. Clearly this is a grape that demands a little more attention.
2008 Gaia, Notios, Agiorgitiko, Nemea, Greece $17/$15.30/$13.60
The Gaia winery was founded in 1994 through a partnership between agronomist Leon Karatsolas and one of Greece’s leading wine figures, Yiannis Paraskevopoulos, who happened to be here in The Wine Bottega yesterday! In my conversation with Yiannis I learned much about his revolutionary wines. Why revolutionary? Well Yiannis is arguably the country’s most prolific, well respected and influential winemakers and he is determined to solidify Greece as a terroir-driven wine region, something that hasn’t happened since the end of the Hellenistic Era! Hailing from the northern Peloponessos in the province of Carinthia, Nemea is known for its local agiorgitiko grape varietal which creates wines of great color and flavor in the sandy limestone hills. Notios, meaning “coming from the south” is made in a style that balances the fruit driven agiorgitiko in a “county wine meets urban standards” kind of way. Vinified completely in stainless steel the production is about 5000 cases per year and is perfect with the local roasted mutton!
2007 Cantina Santadi, Grotta Rosa, Carignano del Sulcis $16/$14.40/$12.80
There are two sides to Sardegna: the VIP sea resorts everybody knows, thick with Italy’s élite; and the Sardegna of Sardinians, an ancient civilization of farmers, fishermen and growers. The latter are grass-roots people, at home in Italy’s most unspoiled natural scenery; proud people in the best sense of the word, with a gut feeling for their heritage and terroir – add to that their proverbial tenacity, and you have the ideal character description for a quality winemaker. Cantina Santadi was established in 1960 and is located just outside of Cagliari in the south of the island. The old vines are trained in the classic albarello style and grow on native European rootstock thanks to the islands sandy soils where phylloxera cannot inhabit. Cantina Santadi is a quality driven co-op that has a philosophy united by its 40 growers to realize the potential of Sardegna as a great wine region as well as maintain the local traditions. This is a great and easy-to-enjoy expression of carignano made in cement tanks to preserve freshness. Perfect with local spit roasted lamb (in your back yard)!
2006 Cantina Mesa, Buio, Carignano del Sulcis, Sardegna, Italy $27/$24.30/$21.60
Cantina Mesa is a young Sardinian winery that was established in 2004 and had its first release of wines in 2006. The founding enologists at Mesa, Gavino Sanna, Giuseppe Mele, Emanuele Porcina and Daniele Pintus are visionaries in their own right and see a bright future for the island’s wine make culture. Located in the southern province of Cagliari they have dedicated themselves to native Sardinian cultivars most prominently Carignano del Sulcis. Culturally Sardegna has had an intriguing mix of influences over the course of history, including domination by the Arab world, the Moors, North Africans, Spain and finally as it is today, somewhat Italian. This has shaped language, customs and the ever important wine culture! Carignano or Carignan is thought to have been imported from the eastern coast of Spain (now know in wine circles as Montsant/Priorat) during the middle ages and has continued to be very prominent especially in the south of Sardegna. The Mesa cantina has 50 ha of land and is determined to make a mark on the wine world. Buio is 100% old vine carignano that grows in very minerally soils composed of limestone and silex. Low yelds, large diurnal shift in temperature and stainless steel aging make this wine a true powerhouse.
