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More wines available from Gaia Estate
750ml
Bottle:
$20.80
The AGIORGITIKO series is completed with the creation of AGIORGITIKO by GAIA. Rich and structured, it is balanced...
750ml
Bottle:
$49.94
GAIA ESTATE has a deep red-black color, complex and high intense aromatic profile with sides elements of fruit, wood,...
750ml
Bottle:
$15.83
Rosé wines are back! Some lighter and fresher, some darker and richer. The AGIORGITIKO 4-6h was created to complete...
750ml
Bottle:
$34.86
$35.99
Gaia Estate is one of the pioneers of the modern Greek wine revolution, founded on the Aegean island of Santorini in...
750ml
Bottle:
$38.90
Reveals baked melon, Marcona almond, pastry cream and lime blossom flavors that exude a toasty edge -- a rich profile...
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Winery
Gaia Estate
Vintage: 2012
2012 has, so far been a positive year for wineries around the world. While it may be a little too early to speak of the wines being made in the northern hemisphere, European and North American wineries have already begun reporting that their harvesting season has been generally very good, and are predicting to continue with the kind of successes they saw in 2011. However, 2012 has been something of a late year for France, due to unpredictable weather throughout the summer, and the grapes were ripening considerably later than they did in 2011 (which was, admittedly, an exceptionally early year). French wineries are claiming, though, that this could well turn out to be advantageous, as the slow ripening will allow the resulting wines to express more flavour and features of the terroir they are grown in.
The southern hemisphere has seen ideal climatic conditions in most of the key wine producing countries, and Australia and New Zealand particularly had a superb year, in particular with the Bordeaux varietal grapes that grow there and which love the humidity these countries received plenty of. Also enjoying a fantastic year for weather were wineries across Argentina and Chile, with the Mendoza region claiming that 2012 will be one of their best vintages of the past decade. Similar claims are being made across the Chilean wine regions, where Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon had an especially good year. These two grape varietals also produced characterful wines on the coastal regions of South Africa this year.
Varietal: Agiorgitiko
For many thousands of years, the Agiorgitiko grape varietal has thrived in the arid mountainsides of the Peloponnese, where it is prized for its hardiness and high resistance to high temperatures. Typically, wineries in Greece cultivate Agiorgitiko grapes to have low yields with concentrated flavors, in an attempt to get the strongest characteristics from these flavorful grapes. Typically, Agiorgitiko grapes have beautiful plum flavors, with notes of other dark fruits and a spicy character, although they are notable for the fact that they respond very well to a range of wine making techniques. As such, there are many different styles of wine made from the Agiorgitiko grape, ranging from tannic and astringent to very soft and rounded. They are also popular with wineries due to the fact that they grow in often very infertile land, and improve the quality of the soil in which they are cultivated.
Country: Greece
Thanks to thousands of years of viticulture, and a dedication to quality and experimentation, Greek wines remain in a league of their own and continue to surprise and delight wine lovers around the world. From the refined and delicious Agiorghitiko wines, with their deep ruby red color and intense fruit flavors, to the unusual and highly aromatic fortified wines made with the black Mavrodaphne grapes, Greek wine is renowned for its variety and consistent excellence. It seems the blazing Mediterranean sunshine allows wineries to make the most of the late harvests and all the intensity of flavor this brings, resulting in wines which are bursting with fruit-forward character and unusual aromas.