Monemvasia 2022 "300" Greek White Blend

The Wine

It's always difficult to convey the nuance in the wines of Greece, one of the wine world's truly old/ancient production areas. I find their whites beguiling and fun to drink, with relatively low alcohol to boot. Here we have a dry white wine from an IGP known as Laconia. It's a 50/50 blend of two odd-sounding but delicious grapes - Kydonitsa and Assyrtiko.

In the glass the wine shows a yellow-green color, and aromatics feature quince, citrus, grapefruit and minerality, with a hint of yeasty notes from the 5+ months spent on the fine lees. Drink now through 2027. 

The Winery

Monemvasia Winery was founded in 1997 in Monemvasia in the region of Laconia by Yorgos (Giorgos) and Elli Tsimbidi (image below). Drawing inspiration from the myth of the long-lost Malvasia wine and driven by their love for their homeland and their faith in its potential, they took a big risk and decided to start a winery from scratch.

They were struck by the history of one of Greece's most famed white wines, Malvasia, which was the most prized wine in the world some 900 years ago. The grape was named for the port city of Monemvasia, where the tradition was to dry the grapes in the sun to concentrate flavors, making a sweet wine from the precious few drops of liquid that remained as the grapes were pressed just before reaching the raisin stage of dryness.

As their dedication to reviving this medieval Malvasia wine grew, it encouraged them to explore other native grape varieties and traditional vinification techniques. Their journey provided opportunities to stumble upon and experiment with such rare varieties as Monemvasia, Kydonitsa, Asproudi and Mavroudi - grapes they're helping to bring out of obscurity.