On the Road with the Grape Guy

Cyprus 2024 - Day 2

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Category: On the Road with the Grape Guy

Day 2 started much like day one, in a bus going to a winery. After day one, I realized that Cyprus wine principals prefer to talk about the whole of Cyprus and not just about their contribution to this piece of the wine world. It seems like every winery principal we meet picks up a storyline and adds another nugget of information. Today we started in the hills. 

Tsiakkas Winery 

Here we learn much about Cyprus's phylloxera free status, as quoted by a winery principle here, "We do not have phylloxera. Not because we are smart, we just got lucky."

Today, there are quarantine laws, but previously, as Cyprus was reshaping their wine landscape, there were none - making it the wild west of vine importation. 

Cyprus has four PGIs and five AOCs. 

This winery started with Riesling, then the father visited Germany, came back and ripped out all the Riesling confessing: "what we make is a disgrace to Riesling." The winery was established in 1988 and their first vintage was the same; they started with international varieties, but it was the second generation that brought about the shift to indigenous varieties: it took 12 years. Today, 25 hectares spread over four vineyards with mainly sandy, and volcanic soils - all with very low nutrients. Their highest vineyard site is at 1480 m and is populated by Sauvignon Blanc and Xinesteri - their furthest vineyard from the winery is 40 minutes away. 

In the wine making process, they use a 90% French / 10% American oak regime - with a goal to dial back on new oak to less than 20%: "Fruit evolves, spice does not; if a wine smells and tastes like fruit, it will age."

The Wines ... 

Tsiakkas 2021 Vamvakada
(grape: Vamvakada / aka: Maratheftiko)
A fruit forward wine loaded with sweet cherries and red plum, floral, elegant, and really pretty – there is also a really good tannin structure.  (****+)

Tsiakkas 2021 Yiannoudin
(grape: Yiannoudi)
Blackberry, black raspberry, and subtle spices, combine with notes of leather. Tasty and tantalizing with good tannins structure that eventually mellows out: heftier wine than expected, but those tannins silken with time in glass making it very appealing.  (****+)

Tsiakkas 2023 Xynisteri
(grapes: Xynisteri 98% / Malaga 2%)
Two months on lees gives this wine a nice texture and flavour: floral and citrus, with gentle acidity and a touch of salinity.  (*** ½+)

Kyperounda

Established in 1998, their first vintage appeared 4 years later in 2002. Vineyards range in height from 500 m to 1500 m, some of the highest in Europe. Their production is about 300,000 bottles annually with 50% of that being their flagship wine: Petritus.

Minas Mina, GM and winemaker, covered the climate aspect of Cyprus wine making and what climate change has meant to the island's wine industry: less snowfall, no change in temperature, but more storms occur during harvest – bottom line: Cyprus has become very erratic. 

The highest vineyard they farm is located at 1535 m above sea level and contains Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, it's a mineral-rich soil but at that elevation irrigation is a must; though across the island 90% of all vineyards do not have irrigation. Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Chardonnay all grow well at 1400 m. 

Red varieties face the South; while whites face North and East. 

Interesting to note that Cyprus seems reticent to go screwcap; Kyperounda is the second winery that poo-poos screw caps when asked about it. Not sure what to make of that - it would seem to me that some of the whites and those fresh reds would benefit from this closure. 

The Wines ... 

Kyperounda 2022 Petritis
(grape: Xynisteri)
20% of this wine sees oak maturation; but all starts with stainless steel fermentation and resting on lees 6 months. Citrus notes with good acidity, some grapefruit rind slips in and so does some subtle floral notes.  (*** ½)

Kyperounda 2022 Epos White (high altitude)
(grape: Chardonnay)
With 9-month ageing in bottle and two years in 300L barrels there is surprisingly still a brightness to this young wine.  (*** ½)

Kyperounda 2021 Epos Red (high altitude)
(grapes: Syrah / Cabernet Sauvignon 50% each)
To preserve the fruitiness and juiciness of this wine it spends 12 months in barrique and 6 more months in 600L barrels: fresh fruit shows through, with a juicy, spicy, white pepper, blackberry, cassis, and even some graphite. It has a freshness with really good acidity.  (****)

Cyprus 2024 – Day 1

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Category: On the Road with the Grape Guy

The history of Cyprus and wine dates way back and, for the most part, is a history of bulk wine, sweet wines, and large companies exporting these wines around the world and into Europe to help makes things more … palateable.

But the current status on Cyprus is much different. Less vineyards, quality wines and small wineries make up the lion's share of what is being produced ... This started approximately 30 years ago, when the European Union stepped in to lay the law down. This created a lot of rip up and land to lay fallow. But all was not lost. An intrepid group stepped into the void … Now "We are at the dawn of a new era for Cyprus wines." These are some of those stories.

Dafermou

This Winery was established in 2012 ... Interestingly, the winery started out as an event space; and it is through these events they raised money to invest in the vineyards. In 2016, they began planting their vines. Today they have 10 hectares planted and grow at 1.5 hectares per year - they will reach maximum planting at 25 hectares.

Cyprus wineries boast about their phylloxera-free status, thus they plant their own cuttings from their own vines, Dafermou is no different. The survival rate of these clippings is about 90%. When most wineries started in this new era, little was known or respected about indigenous varieties, they were indiscriminately ripped out and there was a movement towards international grapes like Shiraz, Sauvignon Blanc, and Cabernet Sauvignon were planted. Today there is a movement afoot to learn about, plant and make wine from those indigenous grapes that remain.

Top three wines

Dafermou 2023 Selection
(grape: Assyrtiko)
Nice mouth-feel with moments of saltiness and a rich texture in the mouth; lemon zest helps contribute to the lengthy finish.  (*** ½+)

Dafermou 2021 Selection
(grape: Yiannoudi)
Grapes taken from high altitude vineyards (1100m). The wine spends 12 months in 300L French oak and is also fermented in wood: soft and elegant, pretty with nice dark fruit character, subtly-smoky, cassis and black cherry along with notes of vanilla and graphite.  (****)

Dafermou 2022 Selection
(grapes: Syrah 70% / Malbec 30%)
Smoky and soft with an easiness about it; pepper and dark fruit mix, keep everything interesting and together.  (*** ½+)

Zambartas

This winery was a wealth of knowledge about Cyprus and its history. For starters, the man who started the winery with his sons, was the first University trained winemaker of Cyprus - he studied at Montpellier. The winery was then established in 2008. Having already learned about the bulk wine history of Cyprus, we got to see the historical evidence in the form of pictures of tankers in the port receiving bulk wine in the hold; imagine an oil tanker today and shipping documentation. The wines in question were a Sherry-style sweet wine.

Here we learn more about the rip up. Subsidies were paid to rip up vineyards due to overproduction, and over the last 30 years, 80 to 90% of Cyprus' grapes have been pulled, leaving vast wastelands of terraced former vineyards in its path.

In those early days, four wineries ruled the island - today, only one survives.

Cyprus’ transformation is on: from bulk and large producers to smaller wine companies making minute quantities of quality wine. There are also only 14 indigenous grape varieties left - that they know of - being grown on the island, though not all commercially. There are also approximately 50 wineries on Cyprus (or so) - but not all are operating and producing regularly.

Zambartas owns eight hectares and rents another 12 - their vine elevation range is 575m to 1050m above sea level.

Top three wines

Zambartas 2022 Promara
(grape: Promara)
There's a softness and juiciness to this wine, the acidity seems quite pleasant and not too harsh. It is a grape/wine that requires some doctoring in the acid department; usually needing from .5 to 1.0g; in addition to what it creates naturally. It is a rarely made wine on its own.  (*** ½)

Zambartas 2021 Margelina - Single Vineyard
(grape: Field Blend - 80% Mavro / Xynesteri (w) / Kanella (w) / Marathetiko / Yianoudi / Ofthalmo)
Bright with acidity and plenty of cherry notes. Light in both colour and body. Very fresh. Good display of tannins.  (****)

Zambartas 2022 Maratheftiko
(grape: Maratheftiko)
Name of this grape means "trickster" and it resides in (maybe) 2-3% of vineyards: Big, ripe cherry, smoky-vanilla, and even has a little heft, yet it still comes across fresh. Another grape I want to see more from.  (****)