BACCH & DY

…and after a wayyyyy too long break Bacch & Dy is back.

From the last post so much has happened. So much that it actually became impossible for me to keep up with the rhythm my life had taken. A Somm’s life is fun, but it is also a lot of very hard work and at times ridiculously long hours. The latter seemed to have been the greatest of challenges for me whilst I was last in Greece.

But now….. I am no longer in Greece…. Chef and Sommelier moved to London. We made the move at some point around Christmas. We have had more than our share of difficulties in working things out, but we are close to having settled in; finally.

Needless to say, the question begs: ..and what of the blog now?

The answer is shockingly simple.

DISCOVER THE WINES OF ENGLAND!

….welcome to the new chapter…..

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope……

~Charles Dickens~

The strange thing is, that my life is in actual fact perfectly described via this quote; at least at the moment. Although very much committed to finding as many interesting Greek wines as possible, throughout this year, the past week has been more than challenging in finding the time to do this.

There has been travelling involved, leaving a job, accepting a job offer, preparing for a very challenging advanced sommelier exam…….. all of which have led to me deciding that the the wisest move to make at the moment is to pause posts for the next few weeks and resume on June 21st, when I shall be introducing the Greek island wines, as scheduled! Do not fear though, the lost days will be covered!

However, before setting off on my little, very much needed break, I can’t help but be super excited over the wine I spotted in Selfridges a couple of days ago! Zafeirakis Malagousia. Not only a Greek wine, but from our vastly explored region of Thessaly!

Go out there and try it, and let me know what you think! Looking forward to the 21st June, with lots of exciting news and info on Greek wines.

What a day today was. Lots of running around, studying the Spanish vineyards, attending a gallery opening at Domus Art Gallery, (which was excellent), getting to work and then realising that I hadn’t picked the new wine of the day!

What was even more horrifying though, was the fact that I am literally starting to run out off Central Greece mainland options. Obviously, not quite there yet, but the threat is real.

Today I present you a lovely Rosé from Voiotia. It is 90% Sauvignon Blanc and 10% Mouhtaro. Mouhtaro is a very dark Greek grape variety which is responsible for to the salmon colour the wine has.

This wine has lots of butter character to it, making it very soft on the palate and softening the tannins that are present. Unless you are actually looking for them, you probably wouldn’t even notice that the tannins are there.

On the nose there is grapefruit, both flesh and zest, lots of stone fruit and ripe pear. There are also notes of strawberry and cherry and an ever so light hint of bitterness from the cherry. These elements all just add to making it a surprisingly complex wine. Although the alcohol is just at 13% it has a rather pronounced body and is very well structured.

I would enjoy this one at around 9-10⁰ C and would not shy from having shellfish with it. I probably would avoid having it on its own though, as the body truly is rather full.

Another great wine to add to your weekly buys, to enjoy on a daily basis!

From the day I tried this wine I could not wait to write about it. It is a game changer, especially if you have never tried an ungrafted wine.

The history behind phylloxera is immense. For those who do not know what it entails I will give a very brief account of it, as it is part of why Palies Rizes are such a wonderful wine.

To cut a long story short, the vines in Europe are of a species called Vitis Vinifera. This species had been responsible for winemaking for thousands of years. However, in 1863 the phylloxera louse, notoriously entered Europe from America. It had devastating effects on vines and as a result this echoed also socially and economically, as vines were unable to survive the wounds created by the lice to their roots. Any society that relied on the production of wine was struck down. There were many attempts and ideas offered to resolve this horrendous problem that had emerged. Yet it was not until 1869, that a truly plausible solution was put forward, by Leo Laliman who had taken Gaston Bazille’s proposal of grafting seriously. Thus, after a lot of research and work, it became apparent that if Vitis Vinifera is grafted with an American rootstock it can survive phylloxera. Today, apart from extremely few locations, all European vines are grafted.

Palies Rizes is ungrafted! How? It remains a mystery to a certain extent. The soil where the Agiorgitiko vines are living is stoney; and the vines are over 100 years old thus have deep, deep roots. Although the shorter roots have been attacked by this notorious louse, the vines are and have been surviving the unwanted threat.

The wine these vines have produced is without doubt worthy of being experienced if you ever get the chance. To be honest when you first smell the wine, yes, you get the wonderful notes of vanilla, tobacco, coffee, blackberry, cherries and other forrest fruit, but you do not realise what the palate will offer. It is a 2018, so it is still young and a bit aggressive (though on saying that probably a million times smoother than any midrange wine out there), for the potential it has. However, give it three years and this wine will be one of the few you will remember having drunk; even if you drink it now there is a strong possibility that will still be the case.

It is expensive, but if you do have the luck of coming across it, buy it! The aftertaste doesn’t just linger, it is there to keep you going until you decide it will stop. The strangest part is that you feel as though you are drinking juice. This is how people drank wine hundreds of years ago! Well done La Tour Melas.

Today I started off wanting to write about one wine, then as the day progressed I started to write about another, which when I opened proved to have passed its peak and thus I thought it fair not to write about it, and finally decided I would write about Mavrokoudoura; a bottle I have had in the cellar since our visit to the Avantis winery in Evoia.

Mavrokoudoura is a clone of the Madilaria grape variety; both Greek grapes. It is not found easily and originates from the island of Evoia. A black grape, that in this case has produced a red wine that can easily be paired with many tomato sauce dishes, that are common in the Mediterranean regions.

It has a deep ruby colour which has started to show flecks of garnet. On the nose red cherries and red currants are the first aromas you get. Next, there is the oak influence, which is recognised by its ever so gentle presence of vanilla but also a prominent note of tobacco. For me some tomato leaf is also present but not strong enough to be clearly identified. There is a bit of spice, probably due to the small amount of Syrah that has been added to the blend. In terms of acidity it is quite high, giving a body that is quite light, although the tannins ,though fine, are still quite rough.

It is not as articulate a wine as I enjoy them, yet I believe it could drink quite nicely against a Spicy Tomato Butter Bean oven dish (Gigandes – translating to “Giants”), or perhaps a Parmigiana.

On a Sunday the restaurant opens early and we welcome people for lunch as well as for an early dinner. As I was going through the wines I was thinking of proposing to our clients this Sunday, a lovely family walked in for lunch. Who was it? None other than Mr Mylonas! The owner and winemaker of the first ever Greek winery I visited here in Greece!

As a result, and since summer is starting to close in on us, I there and then decided that today I was going to write about his Assysrtiko.

Assyrtiko is probably one of the most famous Greek grape varieties, that produces top quality white wine and has its origins on the island of Santorini. The following month, when I visit Santorini you will probably be overwhelmed by the amount of Assyrtiko wines that I shall be writing about. They age well and have high acidity, which makes them great for blending with Malagousia, Sauvignon Blanc or even Semillon and quite a few other greek varieties; we shall see these at a later stage though.

Mylonas’ Assyrtiko shows the variety’s strong mineral notes and its high levels of acidity. It is medium yellow in colour with flecks of green through it. Aromas of lemon and lime are the first to indicate that there is high acidity to the wine. There is also a very delicate note of blossom which adds to the complexity. On the palate there is a gentle creaminess to the wine, which is the result of it having rested on its lees for 3 months. The mineral character of the wine is once again very strong.

Overall it is an elegant wine that will most easily pair with seafood, as well as any buttery or creamy dish. I can’t help but think that I would like to try this with one of Manuel’s amazing Cacio e Pepe Pasta dishes!

Last night I was quite impresses by the Limniona wine by the Arlekinon Chora Winery and thus decided I must try one of their whites as well. I picked up a bottle of The King’s Court once the restaurant had closed, let it chill for a while when I got home and started digging into a bit of background knowledge on the wine.

It is a blend of Assyrtiko and Batiki; both of which are indigenous Greek grape varieties, the latter grown mainly in Thessaly, Macedonia and Thrace. In other words this is as Greek as you can get.

On the nose this wine is anything but shy. It is beyond pronounced showing heaps of blossom, citrus fruit both lime and orange, pear and apple, stone fruit mostly apricot, toasted pineapple, a surprisingly strong mineral presence and lots of butter, vanilla and a light note of smoke. When I moved onto the palate I still got all these notes, but I was surprised on the low acidity the wine brought. Another element you need to be aware of is the alcohol! it is at 14.5%, making it a rather strong wine, with an equally full body.

Fthia was an important Kingdom in Ancient Greece, which is mentioned by Homer in the Illiad and is home to Achilles!

This is one of the wines that is probably going to stay with me, now that I have tried it!