Monday, April 25, 2005

It's All Greek to Me

Ok. So, I think I am obsessed with Zaytinya . My second visit in so many weeks was this evening for a few drinks with my friends Shaun and Nick. We bellied up the bar and the next thing I know, I'm swirling around a glass of red wine from Greece. I about fell off the bar stool. Who knew Greek wine could be so aromatic and lush! The bartender, Kent, kept pouring me tastings of various wines. Little did he know that I would become so enraptured with the wines and post a little blurb about them. Here are some notes on my 3 favorites:

2001 Palivou Agiorghitiko, Namea, Greece: My favourite of the bunch with notes of spice, earth, cherries and strawberries. Silky in the mouth with soft tannins and a developed structure. A++++

2000 Papantonis Agiorghitiko, Namea, Greece: More developed than the Palivou, with rich, complex notes of earth, cherry, cedar. Velvetly in the mouth with relatively smooth tannins. A

2003 Kir-Yianni Xinomavro "Akakies": This rosé caught me by surprise. When Kent poured me a sample, I thought, "Ugh, a boring, tasteless rosé from Greece." Quite the contrary--this wine was bursting with strawberry notes and fresh fruit. Crisp clean acid on the finish. It was served a bit too chilled, but definitely a keeper. A

Now the test is finding these wines so that I can add them to my cellar. I have not had much luck using my favourite wine search engines like Wine Access or Wine Zap . If someone knows where I can purchase these wines, please advise!

No comments: