Ktima Biblia Chora Sole Pinot Noir 2024
£26.25
The wine
Delicate aromas of summer fruits, black cherry and mulberry are complemented by vanilla and spicy nuances. Silky, with characteristic lightness and juicy freshness on the palate, this Pinot Noir offers a deliciously moreish finish.
Pinot Noir in northern Greece is a considerable gamble, since the variety is thin-skinned and unforgiving of heat. It works here because of altitude and the north-east-facing slopes, which together give a long, slow ripening season. Sole means sun, and the wine is made in a light, red-fruited register rather than an ambitious one.
The producer
Ktima Biblia Chora
View all Ktima Biblia Chora winesKtima Biblia Chora is the joint project of Vassilis Tsaktsarlis and Vangelis Gerovassiliou, two of the most influential winemakers in modern Greece, who planted the estate in 1998 on the slopes of Mount Pangeon near Kavala in Macedonia.
The name means land of the sacred vine, and the hill has a long history: Pangeon's gold mines financed Philip of Macedon, and the surrounding country has grown vines since antiquity. The vineyards sit at around 350 metres on granite and limestone, facing north-east, which is unusual in a hot country and deliberate. That exposure and altitude keep the ripening slow and the acidity intact, which is why the whites here have the tension they do.
The estate has been farmed organically since planting. Assyrtiko is the signature, sometimes alone and sometimes with Sauvignon Blanc or Semillon, and the reds run from Agiorgitiko to Cabernet Sauvignon and an unexpected Pinot Noir. Ovilos and Areti are the wines that made the reputation.
