Alpha Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2016
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Sauvignon Blanc is unoaked and comes in at 13% alcohol. Whenever I tease winemaker and co-owner Angelos Latridis about making so many wines from French grapes, he has several easy answers and one really great one, even if he is too polite to give it. Namely, Sauvignon Blanc. Angelos, Amyndeon and Sauvignon go very well together. It just works. On a regular basis, this (and the oaked version) may be the best Sauvignon in Greece. This vintage may not be their greatest effort, but it is a very good one and it certainly shows their skill with the grape. Refined, classic, understated and far less funky than the Sauvignon-Assyrtiko blend reviewed this issue, this gentle but irresistible Sauvignon is a complete pleasure to drink. It is easily identifiable as Sauvignon, but everything is in perfect balance. Nothing hits you over the head. As unassuming as it seems to be at times, it lingers beautifully and never fades. Drink it young. I have my doubts as to whether this will stay at peak for all of its useful life, but while it is at peak, it will be another nice bargain from Alpha Estate.
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Wine & Spirits
Angelos Iatridis worked with the late Bordelais sauvignon-blanc master Denis Dubourdieu, whose influence shows in this satiny, ripe sauvignon with more lees character than green notes. It's a sleek, creamy white offering stone fruit and citrus richness checked by notes of sage and stone.
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Alpha Estate is a winery located in the depths of Amyndeon's finest pastures. Alpha represents the "new beginning", the "birth" of a new era in the world of Greek wine. Makis Mavridis, a third generation skilled grapegrower, and Angelos Iatridis, the winemaker, educated in Bordeaux, trained in France, Italy and Greece and ''good father'' to many international well known Greek wines, planted a 65ha vineyard in the Amyndeon region in the late 1990's.
The creation of a privately owned estate vineyard was an enormous and pioneering investment at the time, which signalled the birth of pilot-structured vinicultural exploitation. Our on-going mission is to make wines that bring out the true characteristics of the region they originate from, wines that can reveal the characteristics of the soil, the climate and the typicity of the grape varieties they are made from.
Contribution of the human factor is indispensable to achieve our final goal, which is the production of grapes of the highest quality potential. The wines produced from such grapes are powerful and complex, displaying an intense fruity flavour and excellent balance. The company devotes a tremendous effort in improving the quality of its wines, through carefully planed investments and research programs, in collaboration with many research institutes. The success of these programs allows the company to evaluate permanently the quality and the character of its wine from one "vintage" to the next.
Awarded Wine & Spirits Top 100 Wineries of 2021.
Capable of a vast array of styles, Sauvignon Blanc is a crisp, refreshing variety that equally reflects both terroir and varietal character. Though it can vary depending on where it is grown, a couple of commonalities always exist—namely, zesty acidity and intense aromatics. This variety is of French provenance. Somm Secret—Along with Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc is a proud parent of Cabernet Sauvignon. That green bell pepper aroma that all three varieties share is no coincidence—it comes from a high concentration of pyrazines (herbaceous aromatic compounds) inherent to each member of the family.
A picturesque Mediterranean nation with a rich wine culture dating back to ancient times, Greece has so much more to offer than just retsina. Between the mainland and the country’s many islands, a wealth of Greek wine styles exists, made mostly from Greece’s plentiful indigenous varieties. After centuries of adversity after Ottoman rule, the modern Greek wine industry took off in the late 20th century with an influx of newly trained winemakers and investments in winemaking technology.
The climate—generally hot Mediterranean—can vary a bit with latitude and elevation, and is mostly moderated by cool maritime breezes. Drought can be an issue for Greek wine during the long, dry summers, sometimes necessitating irrigation.
Over 300 indigenous grapes have been identified throughout Greece, and though not all of them are suitable for wine production, future decades will likely see a significant revival and refinement of many of these native Greek wine varieties. Assyrtiko, the crisp, saline Greek wine variety of the island of Santorini, is one of the most important and popular white wine varieties, alongside Roditis, Robola, Moschofilero, and Malagousia. Muscat is also widely grown for both sweet and dry wines. Prominent red wine varieties include full-bodied and fruity Agiorghitiko, native to Nemea; Macedonia’s savory, tannic Xinomavro; and Mavrodaphne, used commonly to produce a Port-like fortified wine in the Peloponnese.