ELLOINOS » Gerovassiliou

A decade of Gerovassiliou red

elloinos — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 17:29:52 +0000

If you ask Greeks for the name of the one winemaker they most adore and respect, the answer will very likely be “Vangelis Gerovassiliou“. He is admired by wine lovers and, maybe even more telling, by fellow winemakers. After his studies he specialised in Oenology, Viticulture, Wine Degustation and Technology at the University of Bordeaux, where he worked together with Emile Peynaud.

Vangelis worked for many years as an oenologist at Chateau Carras, where he revived the long forgotten Malagousia varietal. During his time there, he produced some of the most renowned wines in Greece. In 1981, he created Domaine Gerovassiliou and 20 years later he co-founded the Biblia Chora Estate. In his latest venture, together with 2 friends, he formed Escapade Winery at Stellenbosch, South Africa. These are quite a few achievements indeed!

The stunning HESTIA Vertical Tasting Series organised by Konstantinos Lazarakis MW and the team at WSPC would have been incomplete without securing a decade of wines from Gerovassiliou. The event took place last week, showcased was the “Ερυθρος”, a red blend of 85% Syrah, 10% Merlot and 5% Grenache. Vangelis decided to not simply show the last 10 vintages, he went back a whole decade in time and presented the vintages 1992 through 2001, most from large format bottles.

Vangelis was very engaging throughout the evening, two issues raised are still on my mind: There was a huge change in style for the three “youngest” wines, deeper coloured, higher in alcohol, and altogether much bigger wines. When asked about this, Vangelis shrugged his shoulders and replied that he was only human. The wine critics were demanding bigger wines, and he gave in to their demands. He then used four words: “It was a mistake”. I believe this is one of the reasons he is held in such high regards – he is humble, human, and downright honest.

The second matter concerns the motivation behind the move to create the Excapade winery in South Africa. Vangelis views this as a sideway to introduce his Greek wines to consumers. In his view, South Africa has become a major player in the export markets, and wine consumers are very open towards their wines. He gave a compelling example: At a recent tradeshow in Germany, he operated three trade fair stands. Biblia Chora was placed in the Greek, Gerovassiliou in the German, and Escapades in the South African section of the exhibition. Biblia Chora poured 40 samples (out of which 30 were tasted by Greeks), Gerovassiliou poured 140, and Escapades 350 samples. It will be very interesting to watch if Vangelis can succeed in receiving more interest from abroad for his Greek wines by making himself a name with Escapades.

My notes on the wines:

Ερυθρος 1992, Magnum, 12.5% alcohol: The vines were just 4 years old at this point in time. Medium red cherry colour with a nicely mature rim. Aromas of sweet prunes, cherries and red fruit. Great palate: medium bodied, ripe cherries, the acidity keeps this wine lively, it has a soft tannin structure. The finish is long and smooth with a lingering aftertaste. 17/20

Ερυθρος 1993, Magnum, 12.5% alcohol: 1993 was a very hot year. The wine is very similar coloured, just a touch deeper. But the nose is very different, spicy and smoky, with black berry aromas, also herbs and tealeaves. Medium bodied on the palate with explosive blackcurrant, soft and integrated tannin structure and a great acidity. Really strong finish with a long aftertaste. The acidity here is addictive. 18/20

Ερυθρος 1994, Magnum, 12.5% alcohol: Lighter coloured, a shiny raspberry, the rim lightens up and shows some orange tinges. This is less spicy, aromas of dark forest fruits, truffles, coffee and hints of toffee. This is again medium bodied, with a great extraction of the fruit. It has soft tannins, coupled with high acidity, lots of finesse. Very long with aftertaste of blackcurrants, the acidity dominates once more – pure elegance. 17+/20

Ερυθρος 1995, Magnum, 12.5% alcohol: A touch deeper coloured, bright raspberry with orange tinges. A different nose, red berries mixed with mushroom, forest floor. Medium bodied on the palate, smoky, red fruit, the soft tannins are once again paired with a marked acidity. It has a descent length, but fades away on the finish. 16/20

Ερυθρος 1996, Magnum, 12.5% alcohol: 1996 was another hot year. Deep black cherry colour, no maturity on the rim. This has a remarkably different colour to all the wines before. It exhibits sweet aromas of stewed prunes, black berries, also some truffles, very forthcoming. A bit fuller-bodied, the tannins are much more pronounced, the acidity is very good. A lot of fruit extraction, solid throughout with a strong mid-palate and a great finish, very long. The dark fruit and stewed prunes keep coming back. According to Vangelis, the darker colour and more pronounced tannins were simply the result of the age of the vines, now 8 years old. 18+/20

Ερυθρος 1997, Double Magnum, 12.5% alcohol: 1997 was a very successful vintage. Another deep black cherry colour, some raspberry tinges. This is again very spicy on the nose, also herbs, truffles, and black berries. Medium to full-bodied, noticeable presence of tannins, acidity good, but not as pronounced as in the 1996. The spicy character is there on the palate, quite mouth-coating, solid finish and length. 17/20

Ερυθρος 1998, Magnum, 12.5% alcohol: Medium deep red cherry with some maturity on the rim. Different nose, sweet and almost jam-like flavours, dark berries, spicy. Medium bodied, noticeable tannins, bit lower acidity again, lots of dark berries, but a bit “hot”. This does not seem quite as balanced, but certainly has more muscles. It finishes well, but is somewhat different in style. 16/20

Ερυθρος 1999, normal format, 13.5% alcohol: Deep ink, by far the deepest colour, some purple and blue tinges. Lots of blackcurrant aromas, also blue berries, multiple fruit layers. Great palate, extract of blue berries, good tannin structure and a matching acidity, some spiciness on the finish with a great length. It seems so young – there is no rush in drinking this. 18/20

Ερυθρος 2000, normal format, 13% alcohol: Deep purple colour. This is spicy on the nose, also wild herbs, black berries, and lots of black pepper. Full-bodied with a fistful of tannins, acidity could be a hair higher. This has a very dense structure, and the spiciness shows on the palate. Has a solid finish with good length. 17/20

Ερυθρος 2001, normal format, 13% alcohol: Again a very inky colour, nearly opaque. Spicy aromas, truffles and blackcurrant. Full bodied with a lively acidity, lots of fruit and spices, quite an animal. Blackcurrant is present throughout the finish, very good length. This is very masculine in style, it will keep for quite some time. 17+/20

The wines all showed very well, and it was an experience to see the evolution of style. The first 7 vintages were marked by pure and refined finesse, the last 3 were much more bold. In general, I prefer finesse over boldness anytime, but I felt that Vangelis had not gone too far with the change in style. These last three wines are more than a decade old, yet came across much younger. My personal favourite of the night was the 1996, which had all the elegance, yet benefitted from some extra bite.

Gerovassiliou, Epanomi

elloinos — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 09:40:00 +0000

2005 Domaine Gerovassiliou Evangelo, red – VdP Epanomi, Syrah, Viognier 17
Medium deep purple colour. Concentrated nose of black berries and earth. The palate also shows a deep earthiness and ripe black forest fruits. Very good finish. AVIN1968243302222

Greek wines – a busy start of the new year

elloinos — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 11:50:00 +0000

My first trip of the year (22.01.) took me to Nemea where I spent a couple of hours with the very generous Mr. George Palivos of the Palivou Estate. We tasted the full range of wines, starting with the basic Anemos white (Roditis), Anemos red (Agiorgitiko), and Vissino rose (Agiorgitiko/Syrah). Next came the Estate wines: the white Stone Hills (Chardonnay/Malagousia) and the red Nemea (Agiorgitiko). These were followed by the red premium wines from the Terra Leone range: Ammos reserve (Agiorgitiko), a Merlot, and a Cabernet Sauvignon. We finished with two dessert wines – Sun’s Art white (Muscat) and Sun’s Art red (Agiorgitiko). Mr. Palivos clearly is a gifted vintner, as the whole range of wines tasted was superb. The quality of the basic wines is already at a high standard, and every level up in price from there is more than matched with the improving quality. From there I drove through vineyards of Koutsi and enjoyed the breathtaking beauty of nature. I did not meet a car for quite some time, I finally flagged down the first I saw to ask for directions (it is quite easy to get lost in the mountains). The driver opened the trunk of his car instead and gave me an unlabelled bottle of wine. He said he was a hobby vintner and I should try his wine (Agiorgitiko/Syrah). He showed me his vineyard, and only after I returned home did I discover that his vineyard lies right next to Gaia’s! I look forward to opening the bottle soon. Thank god I still have his business card in case his wine is mindblowing, who knows, maybe I’ll source the next talented Nemea vintner At Ktima Driopi I found only a builder who worked on a new building. I remembered that Ktima Teselepos had just taken full control of the Driopi Estate, so I decided on the spot to drive to Tripolis. There I was able to meet the owner, Mr. Yiannis Tselepos. He was one of the pioneers of the 1980s, establishing his estate quickly as a top quality boutique winery. He is a larger than life character, and I enjoyed our discussions a lot. By now it was getting late, and I arrived back home in the evening after a 400 km daytrip.

Four days later I visited the VorOino at the Grande Bretagne Hotel in Athens. This event is organized by the Wine Producers Association of the Northern Greece Vineyards, and about 40 wineries showed their wines. The event was overcrowded and extremly busy. At Ktima Alpha, I had to stand in line to taste the wines. Luckily I was able to have chats with Angelos Iatridis, the winemaker of Ktima Alpha, Evangelos Gerovassiliou, the owner of Gerovassiliou Estate, and Thanassis Arvantidis, who together with his brother George owns the Arvantidi Vineyards.

On 29.01. I left at 6 am, as I was invited by Christos Kokkalis who came to fame with his Trilogia (Cabernet Sauvignon) wine. He is located in Illia, close to Pyrgos, and I was excited to meet him. Mr. Kokkalis lived and worked as a pharmacist in Germany for 40 years. His dream was to produce a world class Cabernet wine in Greece. He began to buy land and plant vines. For a few years, he continued to work in Germany while producing wines in Greece. He finally sold his pharmacy and became a full-term winemaker. His story is amazing, as he did not have any wine background, he is completely self-taught. I arrived at about 9:30 am, at which time he had just woken up, having spent the fornight drinking lots of good wines with his friends. We talked about wines, tasted barrel samples of 2007 and 2008 Syrah and 2008 Trilogia in his garage, where he stores the barrels and winemaking equipment. The quality of his wines is of the very highest standard, even his basic Nova (Agoirgitiko/Cabernet Sauvignon) is extremly well structured. It was freezing, and his two dogs were jumping up and down on me, while I admired the barrel samples. It was almost comical, me shivering, holding the glass in my hand and trying not to tumble while the dogs jumped on me. He then took me to his friend at Ktima Stavropoulos, where organic wines are being made. I tried the white Linon (Assyrtico), and Ilis (Merlot), the former was fresh and charming, the latter dominated by wood, but soft and elegant nevertheless. The three of us had lunch at a taverna, Mr. Kokkalis then intoduced me to Dimitris Skafidas, the winemaker at Ktima Mercouri. The Mercouri Estate in my eye offers a great range of niche wines, even for Greece. They had in the past strong connections with Italy, and planted quite a few Italian grape varieties. One finds blends like Refosco/Mavrodaphne, Mourvedre/Avgoustiatis, Tourkopoula/Ribolla Gialla among others. This estate is a true wine lovers paradise, there are so many interesting wines to try, and all are exceptionally well made. I was able to discuss the eight wines I tried with the Mr. Skafidas, who kindly took the time to taste with me. By now it was already afternoon, but I had another treat waiting! Mr. Kokkalis called his good friend Thanassis Parparoussis, who is located near Patras and said I was coming to taste his wines. Mr. Parparoussis came with his car to the Patras exit I took to meet me and show me the way to his estate. We toured the winery, then went to his home where he had prepared a table with bread, fresh cheeses, water, and of course the wines. He had even decanted a wine for me after he received Mr. Kokkalis’ call. We tasted together six of his wines, the quality is simpy outstanding. Amongst others, we tried a white (Athiri/Assyrtico), the red Reserve (Agiorgitiko), the red Taos (Mavrodaphne), the sweet white Muscat Rio Patras and the sweet red Mavrodaphne. I was deeply moved by the experience. At 6 pm, I started my journey home and arrived at 10 pm, having clocked up 720 km.

On 08.02. I visited the Oinotelia exhibition at the Megaro Mousikis in Athens around midday. About 40 wineries showed their wines. The exhibition was extremly well organised, and I tasted about 80 wines in four hours. I was glad to taste the new Escapades range, a Stellenbosch (South Africa) joint venture of Greek winemakers Gerovassiliou and Tsaktsarlis, as well as marketer Soldatos. Other highlights included Sclavos, Karipidis, Kikones, Panagiotopoulos, Ampeloeis, Tsilili, Oenogenesis, Fragou, Antonopoulos and others. I was most impressed with the range of wines from Ktima Argirou, all of which were fantastic.

Two days later, Mr. Kokkalis called me. When I visited him, I gave him two bottles of Daumas Gassac, 1995 and 1985. He drank them the night before his call, and wanted to thank me. He mentioned that he was in Athens the next day, and I invited him for dinner at my home. I picked him up from Kifissia tube station at 730 pm on the next evening. My wife had prepared dinner, and I served a magnum of Domaine Tempier 1990 (Bandol) with the main course, followed by a half bottle of Chateau Climens 1989 with desert. Both bottles came from my own wine cellar. We had a great evening, extremly enjoyable with lots of stories and laughter. Christos (he said good wine friends have to call each other by their first names) originally had planned to get home early, but it was midnight when he departed. It was simply one of these magical evenings, where everything fits and the time just goes by so fast. He offered me to come to his estate in summer, to show me how he makes the wine. This I will most certainly do, as he is like a great artist when it comes to making great wine!