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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:
$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...
750ml
Bottle:
$14.94
$15.83
For the creation of NOTIOS RED two perfectly complementary varieties of the Southern Mediterranean were combined,...
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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
The Agiorgitiko grape varietal has been grown in the Nemea region of the Peloponnese mountains for thousands of years, and is now one of the flagship grape varietals of the Greek wine industry. It is most commonly associated with strongly fruit-forward red wines, full of spicy notes and plummy, dark fruit flavors However, its low acidity often means it is blended with grape varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon, to produce wines more suited to modern palates. One of the main features which makes Agiorgitiko grapes so popular with wine makers is the fact it grows in very arid and infertile land, and responds very well indeed to winery techniques and viticultural methods. As such, there are a wide range of wines made from the Agiorgitiko grape, including soft and rounded bottles, and also dry and tannic wines which are enjoyed in many countries around the world.
Country: Greece
As one of the oldest wine producing countries in the world, Greece has millenia of experience and expertise when it comes to viticulture, and has developed a set of flavors and characteristics which are found nowhere else on earth. The ancient Greeks revered and deified wine, and were the first true innovators in the history of wine, adding everything from seawater to honey and spices in order to find exciting new taste combinations and aromas. Today, Greek wines are just as varied, although far more refined and sophisticated than their ancient counterparts. The practice of enhancing Greek wines with aromatic substances never left the country, though, as can be seen in the popular Retsina wines, which use pine resin to provide their unique taste and aroma combinations. There is far more to Greek wine than merely Retsina, however, and the vast variety on offer is a testament to the expertise of Greek wineries making the most of the wonderful climate, terrain and grape varietals they work with.