Decanter Awards for Greek wines

Being part of the judging team for Greece and also for Cyprus and Turkey I can say I feel wonderful having tasted some of the best wines these countries have to offer. Moreover I had also the opportunity to witness the progression path by all three. 

For Greece, and while I wait for the Decanter report that will be published by Nico Manessis who is the panel chair, I would like to say very briefly that there is a lot of positive motion especially for the whites yet some things could have been avoided like bad samples for example. This would have saved both time and money. Vintage did also play a major part by favouring some regions that were exposed to optimum growing conditions; on the other hand wines from mediocre vintages showed a lighter and less complex touch. 

Reds are always tough and still present the biggest challenge as one might expect and although results were not disappointing they clearly show that more things are needed to get it absolutely right. 

I would like also to emphasize on the very strict scores a wine should earn to be awarded a medal. For instance for a Gold medal a 95 out of 100 is required when a minimum 90 points is required for a Silver! By the way in most other competitions a 90 points wine can easily be considered as a Gold medal winner.   

It is clear that the entire procedure is very stringent and detailed and I guess the winners deserve a justified recognition.

Τhe medals follow:

Platinum

Argyros, Vinsanto 20 Years Barrel Aged, Santorini, Aegean Islands, Greece, 1992 96/100 

Avantis Estate & Winery, Agios Xronos, Evia, Central Greece, Greece, 2011 95/100

Gold 

Argyros, Vinsanto 12 Years Barrel Aged, Santorini, Aegean Islands, Greece, 2000 95/100

Silver 

Alpha Estate, Hedgehog Vineyard Xinomavro, Amyndeon, Macedonia, Greece, 2012 92/100

Argyros, Vinsanto 4 Years Barrel Aged, Santorini, Aegean Islands, Greece, 2008 91/100 

Avantis Winery, Afoura, Santorini, Aegean Islands, Greece, 2013 94/100

Diamantakis, Diamantopetra Syrah-Mandilari, Crete, Crete, Greece, 2013 91/100

Domaine D. Migas, Chardonnay, Tyrnavos, Thessaly, Greece, 2014 90/100

Domaine Glinavos, Syrah, Zitsa, Epirus & Ionian Islands, Greece, 2012 90/100 

Domaine Papagiannakos, Sabbatiano, Attiki, Central Greece, Greece, 2012 90/100 

Domaine Zafeirakis, Limniona, Tyrnavos, Thessaly, Greece, 2013 91/100 

Estate Argyros, French Oak Fermented Assyrtiko, Santorini, Aegean Islands, Greece, 2014 91/100

Gaia, Vinsanto, Santorini, Aegean Islands, Greece, 2005 91/100 

Gavalas, Vinsanto, Santorini, Aegean Islands, Greece, 2009 92/100

Idaia, Liatiko, Dafnes, Crete, Greece, 2007 90/100

Idaia, Ocean Thrapsathiri, Crete, Crete, Greece, 2015 90/100

Karanika, Cuvee Special Xinomavro Brut, Not Applicable, Not Applicable, Greece, NV 90/100

Kechri, The Tear of The Pine Retsina, Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece, 2015 91/100

Kechris, The Fourth Dimension Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot-Xinomavro, Macedonia, Macedonia, Greece, 2013 91/100

Kir-Yianni, Ramnista Xinomavro, Naoussa, Macedonia, Greece, 2012 91/100 

Kir-Yianni S.A, Kali Riza Xinomavro, Amyndeon, Macedonia, Greece, 2014 90/100

Ktima Biblia Chora White, Pangeon, Macedonia, Greece, 2015 90/100

Ktima Biblia Chora Red, Kavala, Macedonia, Greece, 2013 92/100

Ktima Biblia Chora, Areti, Pangeon, Macedonia, Greece, 2015 91/100

Ktima Biblia Chora, Ovilos White, Pangeon, Macedonia, Greece, 2015 92/100

Ktima Gerovassiliou White, Epanomi, Macedonia, Greece, 2015 92/100 

Ktima Gerovassiliou Red, Epanomi, Macedonia, Greece, 2014 91/100

Ktima Gerovassiliou, Avaton, Epanomi, Macedonia, Greece, 2012 90/100

Ktima Gerovassiliou, Chardonnay, Epanomi, Macedonia, Greece, 2015 91/100

Ktima Gerovassiliou, Malagousia, Epanomi, Macedonia, Greece, 2015 92/100

Ktima Gerovassiliou, Sauvignon Blanc, Epanomi, Macedonia, Greece, 2015 90/100

Ktima Gerovassiliou, Syrah, Epanomi, Macedonia, Greece, 2013 90/100

Ktima Pavlidis, Thema Red, Drama, Macedonia, Greece, 2013 91/100

Lykos, Malagousia, Evia, Central Greece, Greece, 2015 90/100

Lyrarakis, Malvasia of Crete, Crete, Crete, Greece, NV 92/100

Lyrarakis, Plakoura Vineyard Mandilari, Crete, Crete, Greece, 2013 90/100

Samos, Anthemis, Samos, Aegean Islands, Greece, 2010 90/100

Samos, Muscat Grand Cru, Samos, Aegean Islands, Greece, 2015 90/100

Santo Wines, Santorini Assyrtiko, Santorini, Aegean Islands, Greece, 2015 92/100

Wine Art Estate, Idisma Drios Assyrtiko, Drama, Macedonia, Greece, 2015 90/100

Zoinos Winery, Epiloges, Zitsa, Epirus & Ionian Islands, Greece, 2015 91/100

Check also the rest 105 Bronze medals here