#84- Agiorgitiko

It was a beautiful September day and we were having an exceptionally warm month compared to let's say- our July. I love barbeques so I was intent on making the most of the nice days. I had already planned my dinner- a rack of baby back ribs (pork) with a side greek salad. Now all I needed was a wine to match.

Greek salad + Greek wine = perfection! Or that's what I was hoping for anyway when I chose a Greek wine for dinner. While the ribs were busy being barbequed to deliciousness on the grill, I went inside and popped open the bottle of red to let it breathe a bit before dinner.

Now I haven't had the greatest luck of late with my Greek wines (even though I love Adonis Greek looking boys, greek mythology and my dream is to go to Greece and explore their history- heck I even fake married a Greek boy this summer in Thailand...ahem..different story...digressing back....)

So it was with a little trepidation that I pulled out a 2007 Kouros Nemea wine. It is bottled by Kourtakis Wine Cellars.

In a word- fabulous! This is just excellent wine! I'm sitting here writing the blog sipping on the wine weeks after I originally opened it (yes I'm way behind on my blog writing) and it is still amazing in the mouth. I did keep it in the fridge but I thought for sure it would have gone bad.

Indeed it hasn't. In fact, it might be better than what I remember it to be when I paired it with the ribs and the greek salad (though I will say that I loved that meal- nearly finishing the bottle, all of the salad and a half rack of ribs to boot).

The wine is very aromatic and the fruit smacks you in the face long before you stick your nose to glass. beautiful ruby colour, the wine has been aged in oak barrels for 6 months (I love oaked red wine). It is moderatly rannic and 13% alcohol. It is buttery and voluptuous in the mouth. So many different flavours bounce in your mouth, a truly balanced and elegant wine. I very much love this wine and will be buying it again for sure. It appears oxidation of the wine doesn't affect it too much which is good to know if you don't finish a bottle right away.

The grape is the Agiorgitiko grape and it has been grown in Greece since forever (500 BC). It is low in acidity and is a moderate wine. The names means St. George in Greek. God bless St. George! It is a heat resistant wine therefore making it a great grape to grown in Greece (so I've heard- anyone want to pay me to go? Takers? Anyone? Hello!) It's grown in the Nemea region (the wine is from this region). It is a soft tannic wine and is quite dry.

I can't wait to finish the bottle. And I think I will unless Craig puts up a fuss. What's that Craig...silence...great! Let's down this baby!