My personal highlights included:

Avantis Estate (Island of Euboea)

Apostolis Mountrichas is best known for his work on the Syrah variety. I tasted the Syrah/Viognier 2007, which is full of spices, red fruits and forest aromas. It is an elegant wine with soft tannins and earthy elements. The rare Syrah Collection 2006 spent 24 months in barrel and matured for an additional 18 months in bottle. It has an essence of cassis, is full bodied and explosive on the palate. The whites also impressed me, they were all from the new 2009 vintage: The Malagousia is very aromatic and dominated by lychees, the Gewürztraminer rich and fresh with spices and exotic fruits, the Sauvignon Blanc super ripe. They all have very appealing acidity levels.

Gaia Estate (Santorini and Nemea)

The Gaia Estate seems to be going from strength to strength. The vintage of 2009 was truly stunning for Assyrtiko in Santorini, look out for these wines! One of my favourite Assyrtiko wines from the Island has always been the Gaia Thalassitis, and the 2009 must be the best I have yet encountered. It is an explosive wine with concentrated, exotic fruits and a stunning finish. Also impressive was the 2008 Assyrtiko Wild Fermented, which is dense and truly expressive of its terroir.

Karadimou (Fthiotida in the north of Greece)

This is a small producer who started in 2001. The 2007 Vissa is made from 100% Xinomavro. It has lots of soft yet concentrated raspberry flavours and some typical vegetable character. The wine has a fistful of tannins and certainly has a lot of bite. I think this will improve a lot of the next decade.

Mega Spilaio (Aigio, Peloponnese)

This estate is on the top of my “up and coming” list! The oenologist Stelios Tsiris certainly knows his work well. I tasted a tank sample of the 2009 Assyrtiko Laghori that grabbed my attention. It has very expressive exotic fruits, but this is the only hint that this wine is produced in Greece. The vineyards have an altitude of 800 to 900 meters, and the cooler climate expresses itself in the wine. The Syrah Rosé 2009 must be one of my favourite Greek rosé wines. The real gems are the three reds: A Mavrodaphne/Kalavryta blend, a 100% Syrah and a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. I was able to taste the 2004, 2005 and 2006 vintages of the former and the latter, plus the 2005 and 2006 of the Syrah. There was a distinctive variation in the vintages, 2005 being a very hot year, 2006 a year with unusual wet weather conditions. However, the quality of the wines was not effected, all wines were top notch and simply expressed the vintages in different ways.

A few days before, my mother-in-law had given me some almonds covered in dark chocolate that were left over from an event she had hosted. I helped myself to one and went back to my working desk. I took a small bite and enjoyed. A few minutes earlier, I had poured myself a glass of white wine, and I took a sip.

A fruit explosion hit my taste buds immediately. The wine cut right through the dark chocolate and somehow the bitterness of the almonds maximised the exotic fruit aromas of the wine. The dark chocolate also fitted in perfectly, and the combined result was an extremely fruity and fresh raisin sensation. In my opinion, the high acidity level of the wine and the low sugar content of the dark chocolate worked perfectly in sync.

The wine in question is the Gaia Notios, a good “value wine” that retails between 6 and 7 Euros. It is a blend of Moschofilero and Roditis. Moschofilero results in highly aromatic, crisp wines. Roditis has high fruit levels and intense aromas. In blending these two varieties, the high acidity levels of the Moschofilero make the resulting wine quite vibrant. It is dominated by melon and citrus flavours.

I usually do not write about wine and food pairings, as there are so many great sources available that already do a great job, a good example being Fiona Beckett. But when I find something unusual and off the beaten track, I might just do that. I always thought of red wines to go with chocolate, now I will keep looking out for whites.