I need to clarify that my pick of the year comes from all the wines tasted, but not necessarily released, in 2010. My choice for the Greek red wine of 2010 is guided by both, objective judgement and emotion. It is not implying that this is THE finest and best Greek wine, although it certainly is stunning.

Antonopoulos Vineyards are located close to Patras in the prefecture of Achaia, in the north-western part of the Peloponnese. The estate was started in 1987 by the visionary winemaker Kontantinos Antonopoulos, who died in a tragic car accident in 1994. His work was continued by Yiannis and Nikos Halikias. A total of 75 ha are controlled, of which roughly 25 ha are privately owned.

The one wine that really caught my attention last year is their Gerontoklima 100% Vertzami 2003 (13.5 % alcohol). The grapes are sourced from vineyards in Lefkada, where the soil consists of sand, clay and lime, at an altitude of 300 metres (1000 feet). The wine has an eye-catching colour, very dark, nearly bordering on black, inky with a purple rim. On the nose it shows intense aromas of cassis, black berries, tealeaves and truffles. Bold and rich on the palate, with dense but gentle tannins that are perfectly coupled with a mouth-watering acidity. Still quite tumultuous with an ambitious structure. It finishes very long with some bitterness that does not come across in a negative way. This will most certainly benefit from further cellaring. It should be accompanied by rich and heavy food. Although it is a rich wine, it comes across as very elegant and its harmony is breathtaking.

This wine is a very fine example of what can be achieved with grape varieties that are literally unknown outside Greece. The wine brings up emotions – take one sniff, one sip and you are enchanted.
For some geeky background on the variety, take a look at this article I posted last year.

I tasted a 100% Vertzami by Antonopoulos – the first thing that struck me was its deep and intense colour, bordering on black. As the last years have seen a lot of research on the association of antioxidants with suppressed rates of degenerative diseases, I investigated the grape further. Vertzami actually contains appreciable amounts of non-coloured phenols. In a study of 20 different grape varieties, Vertzami was the richest variety in total anthocyanin content (TA), followed by Cabernet Sauvignon. The TA found Vertzami was more than 3 times higher than the average*!

Area grown: Western Peloponnese, Western Central Greece, Ionian Islands, noteably on the Island of Lefkada

History: Vertzami is thought to be a distinct member of the Marzemino/Barzemino/Balsamina cultivar family, which had their origin in Italy and was introduced by the Venetians during their dominion of the Ionian Islands.

Grapes: The vines are vigorous and resistant to many diseases. The grapes are deeply coloured with thick skins, high tannin levels and moderate to high acidity. They ripen late in the last September weeks and are best cultivated at a low altitude. Vertzami is often used as a blend to add colour.

Nose/Bouquet: My notes on this particular wine can be found here.

*The following excerpt is reprinted from Food Chemistry 99 (2006) page 789 – Principal phenolic compounds in Greek red wines by S. Kallithraka, E. Tsoutsouras, E. Tzouro, P. Lanaridis, with permission from Elsevier.

Regarding total anthocyanin content (TA) (Table 2), it varied from 19 (No. 5) to 1012, (No. 10)* the average being 308 mg l_1 in agreement with the results obtained by Harvalia and Bena-Tzourou (1982). Vertzami was the richest variety in TA, followed by Cabernet Sauvignon and Augoustiati. Mandilaria and Agiorgitiko were also rich in TA, in agreement with the results of Kallithraka et al. (2001) and Makris et al. (2002). *In this table, No. 10 was Vertzami.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/03088146