Mantinia Moschofilero 2008 - Tselepos Estate

Vassilis Papadopoulos was born on December 18, 1978 in U.S.A. and currently lives in Athens – Greece. He is a sommelier & wine consultant, working freelance with restaurants, wineries, magazines and websites. He is a co-owner of the “Kazakos Drink Bank” (wine and spirits stores in Athens) administrating more than 1.700 different worldwide wine labels and thousands bottles which lie in the cellars of the stores. Also he is the president of the “KWC”, a Greek wine club which has more than 400 active members and organizes wine tastings, wine dinners, wine trips and more. You can contact him on: vaspa78@hotmail.com

Brand: Mantinia Tselepos

Winery: Tselepos Estate

Vintage: 2008

Appellation: Mantinia AOC (Greece – Peloponnesus)

Varietal: Moschofilero

Winemaker: Yiannis Tselepos

Oak: No Oak

Type: Dry White Wine

Alcohol: 12%

Vineyard: Selected vineyards from the communities of Lithovounia, Agiorgitika and Zevgolatio.

Wine Making: Modern technological winemaking with the method of skin contact at 10^oC for 8 hours. The fermentation is carried out at low temperatures of 12^oC.

Production: 200.000 bottles

Average Price: 9€

Category: Party + Authentic! Reasonably priced and high quality crowd pleaser. Also a wine that strongly express terroir.

Rating: 4,3 (on a 1 - 5 scale)

Tasting Notes:

Made from the noble Moschofilero Greek grape comes the white Mantinia Tselepos AOC wine. Light yellow color with some gray hues. The nose is very floral, white flowers and rose. Also citrus, lime, minerals and mint. In the mouth medium intensity aromas but elegant with a fresh lemon acidity. Medium finish. It will be best to drink it fresh and young, but may hold a bit longer. Best served at 10^o - 12^o C.

Food Pairing Suggestions: Salads, soups and seafood

Winery Notes:

Founded in 1989, with its first vintage in 1995, Tselepos Estate today releases about 300,000 bottles a year. French trained owner Yiannis Tselepos received his oenology degree in Dijon and worked in Burgundy. He does great work with local grapes, but also makes good international wines like Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Gewurztraminer. The Estate's vineyards are situated at altitudes higher than 750m, at the foothills of Mt. Parnon and are part of a distinctive ecosystem with very cold winters and mild summers. They cover 25 hectares planted with 5 different varietals. The Estate's winery austere and functional at the same time, it is, above all, a working winery where the No 1 objective is the creation of good wine. Visitors have a chance to follow closely how wine is made in a state-of-the-art Greek winery. The winery is equipped with pneumonic presses, cooling installations, stainless steel tanks, underground ageing cellars, French oak barriques and an iso-barometric bottling line, operating in an air-vacuum.

Vintage Overview (2007):

The zone of Moscofilero has noticeably suffered from the drought because it is a region where usually we have sufficient rain falls. The production was at the level of 50 %, while the quality of grapes was excellent. The price increases have followed the general rule, the most at the level of 40-45%.