Parparoussis Epilegmenos Reserva 2016

Parparoussis, founded in 1974 near Patras, makes this Reserva from Agiorgitiko grown in PDO Nemea in the northern Peloponnese, Greece. The vines sit on gravelly soils at around 600 metres, where altitude brings cool nights and a wide day-to-night temperature swing. That diurnal range slows ripening and locks in acidity and colour while the warm Mediterranean days build ripe fruit, giving Agiorgitiko its depth and balance. The wine spends twenty-four months in French oak barrels, a long élevage during which steady oxygen passing through the wood softens the tannins, fixes the colour and adds spice, vanilla and a savoury, cedary frame. Agiorgitiko is naturally deep and supple, and this extended ageing builds a structured, cellar-worthy wine. The colour is a deep, dark red. The nose shows ripe plum and red fruit with violet, vanilla, clove and tobacco. The palate is full and firm, with ripe but substantial tannins, fresh acidity and a long, spiced finish carrying leather and a peppery edge. Serve at around 17 to 18 degrees Celsius, and decant a young bottle. It suits roast and grilled red meats.