Achaia Clauss Chateau Clauss (Πύργος Clauss) 2003

This is one of those fun wines that you can open up for a meal and let its flavors come out as breathes while you eat and drink. It's a little funkier than other Greek wines I've tasted mostly due to its herby nose. This herbiness (and the importer's site)leads me to believe that the blend is Cabernet Sauvignon and Agiorgitiko (the label says its Cabernet/Mavrodaphne).

The pour gives you a lively, deep purple color, and your tongue grabs onto the soft tannins which provide balance between the mineral herbiness and the touch of red fruit. This wine has spent some time in oak so the 2003 is still good to drink. Unfortunately, I haven't seen a more recent vintage anywhere. I've got a few bottles still aging (I bought it on sale for $10...regular price should be about $12-still a good value), but will likely uncork most of them in 2010.

For pairings, the obvious are red meat and super-sharp cheeses. I think it would work well with a hearty red pasta sauce as well. Bottom line, if you can find it, give it a shot.

2005 Lafkioti Rodamo Red

This wine has moved near the top of my list by providing very good quality at an affordable price. It balances the Greek varietal Agiorgitiko, which thrives in the Peloponnesian Nemea appelation, with the famed French Cabernet.

The wine is labeled as Local Korinthian red wine by its producers, Lafkiotis winery in ancient Kleoni whose marketing heavily reminds of us the history and geography embedded in Greek wines.

They age the Rodamo for about 10 months in French oak to give it the balanced taste that appealed to me so much. Nice fruit notes come out with an amount of earthiness and an edge on the tannins. Since it's part Cabernet, that left me wondering what this 2005 vintage might be like in another year or two. Hopefully, Robert at Asadur's has procured a few more cases of this because I'd like to grab a few more bottles to enjoy in 2010 and perhaps '11.

Try it as soon as you can find it. Maybe with a rich red sauce and pasta.

It cost me $10.75...that's hard to beat

2003 Achaia Clauss Nemea Agiorgitiko

Hailing from the northeastern Peloponnesos in Nemea, this dry red from the 2003 vintage is definitely worth taking a look at. Made from the Agiorgitiko, as most reds from this region are, it comes off as a bit fruity upfront with sour cherry flavors coming through. After being open for a bit, the slight hint of oak comes out (it's aged in oak for a year). It comes together as an almost-too-easy to drink red with very soft tannins.

Probably versatile enough to drink on its own or even with pasta, chicken and meaty dishes.

I have a few bottles of the 2003 vintage, which I think are perfectly ready to drink now..and I doubt that will be hard since they are so good. I also have a bottle of the 2005, which I might save until next year.

And good news: if you can find this, it should retail for about $10 or $11...an excellent Greek wine at that price. I got it at the county liquore store, which tends to have odd Greek wine picks, so I'm not sure how widely available this is currently. The 2005 might be easier to find and likely a good bet too...that review will be coming up.

Achaia Clauss Demestica Red NV

To start off the blog, what better wine to check out, than the classic Greek red import, Demestica. From the historic, large winery, this is not a great wine, especially since the quality (and quantity) of Greek wines available in the US is steadily increasing. But, if you're the type of person that can't enjoy this wine on certain occasions, then this really isn't the blog you should be reading.

A very agreeable, soft, lightly fruity red wine...it has some versatility with a good range of Greek foods. Made from 100% Agiorgitiko (currently my favorite Greek varietal on the red side), you can serve it slightly chilled with a generous serving of gigantes (giant white beans in tomato sauce..see example recipe) and some feta and olives.

So, this wine, supposedly the "most popular Greek wine available", according to Stellar Imports, the importer, is a decent, not too hard to find, table quality Agiorgitiko for those of us who eat Greek style at home. The best part: its price..I get it for about $8 for 750 ml bottle....Although, I notice that they sell it with a screwtop and in the 1.5 L size in Greece (and perhaps elsewhere in Europe...)