Oenops, Drama, northern Greece, and a project whose name says it all. Oenops means “wine face,” and the face behind it is Nikos Karatzas, a Bordeaux-trained winemaker who ran things as chief winemaker at Pavlidis at a ridiculously young age before going out on his own in 2015. Not a bad résumé, and the freedom he’s chasing shows in every bottle.
The model is what gets me. No vineyards owned. Karatzas works as a micro-négociant, finding growers across Greece who farm old vines and cool-climate sites, and then vinifies every plot separately, each one at least its own lot. Indigenous grapes only, Assyrtiko, Malagousia, Vidiano, Roditis, Xinomavro, Limniona, Mavroudi, Kidonitsa, a roll call of the stuff that makes Greek wine so thrilling right now.
Nothing’s dogmatic in the cellar. Stainless steel, concrete, a few old open-top barrels, no rigid protocols, just tasting and adapting to each lot. His stated aim is to become invisible in the wine, letting the grape and the place come through, and that’s exactly what you taste. Fresh, fruit-forward, elegant, never overdone.
Kidonitsa, the Peloponnese’s rising star, is crisp and medium-bodied with lively acidity and modest alcohol. Limniona is the one to hunt down if you haven’t tried it, with crazy potential. The Apla blends, white and red, are brilliant value emissaries for Greece in general, and Jancis Robinson and The Guardian have both rated Oenops highly, with The Guardian calling it a perfect introduction to Greek wine.
Great fruit, careful hands, honest prices. Greek wine at its most accessible and exciting.
Oenops, Drama, northern Greece, and a project whose name says it all. Oenops means “wine face,” and the face behind it is Nikos Karatzas, a Bordeaux-trained winemaker who ran things as chief winemaker at Pavlidis at a ridiculously young age before going out on his own in 2015. Not a bad résumé, and the freedom he’s chasing shows in every bottle.
The model is what gets me. No vineyards owned. Karatzas works as a micro-négociant, finding growers across Greece who farm old vines and cool-climate sites, and then vinifies every plot separately, each one at least its own lot. Indigenous grapes only, Assyrtiko, Malagousia, Vidiano, Roditis, Xinomavro, Limniona, Mavroudi, Kidonitsa, a roll call of the stuff that makes Greek wine so thrilling right now.
Nothing’s dogmatic in the cellar. Stainless steel, concrete, a few old open-top barrels, no rigid protocols, just tasting and adapting to each lot. His stated aim is to become invisible in the wine, letting the grape and the place come through, and that’s exactly what you taste. Fresh, fruit-forward, elegant, never overdone.
Kidonitsa, the Peloponnese’s rising star, is crisp and medium-bodied with lively acidity and modest alcohol. Limniona is the one to hunt down if you haven’t tried it, with crazy potential. The Apla blends, white and red, are brilliant value emissaries for Greece in general, and Jancis Robinson and The Guardian have both rated Oenops highly, with The Guardian calling it a perfect introduction to Greek wine.
Great fruit, careful hands, honest prices. Greek wine at its most accessible and exciting.
