Avaton, Ktima Gerovassiliou 2022
JancisRobinson.com 89; Decanter World Wine Awards 86 points
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Why this wine
Avaton is built entirely from indigenous Greek varieties, each fermented separately in small oak casks and aged twelve months in French oak. Perfumed and polished rather than rustic, it is the clearest case in the range for what Greek red grapes can do in careful hands.
At a glance
- Grape
- Limnio 85%, Mavrotragano 10%, Mavroudi 5%
- Region
- Macedonia, Greece
- Alcohol
- 14.00%
- Body
- Medium
- Acidity
- Medium
- Tannins
- Medium
- Sweetness
- Dry
- Drink
- Short (3-5 yrs)
- Pairs with
- Red Meat, Cheese, Barbecue
How it tastes
Ripe dark fruit with raisin, coffee and cacao, a hint of spice, and sweet-and-sour black plum running through the palate. Medium-bodied, smooth and polished, the tannins supple, with real depth on the finish. Limnio 85%, Mavrotragano 10%, Mavroudi 5%.
The producer
Ktima Gerovassiliou is the work of Evangelos Gerovassiliou, who began the revival of his family's vineyard by planting the almost-extinct Malagousia in 1981. The single private vineyard on the slopes of Epanomi is given over to constant trial of Greek and international varieties, and grows in mainly sandy soils with a few clay substrates and calcareous rock, rich in sea fossils left by the deposits that formed these hills; the sea lies three kilometres away on three sides and tempers the Mediterranean summer. Each of the three indigenous varieties was fermented in small 50-hectolitre oak casks, went through malolactic conversion, and was then aged 12 months in French oak barrels.
Food and drinking
Serve at 16-18°C. Slow-cooked lamb shoulder, beef stifado, grilled aubergine with feta, or a mature hard cheese. Drinking now and over the next five to eight years; half an hour in a decanter opens it up. Sealed with DIAM. Suitable for vegetarians and vegans.