Parparoussis Nemea Reserve 2012 - A Nemea in the style of Burgundy.

    Educated in Bordeaux and in love with red Bourgogne, Thanassis Parparoussis is one of the pioneers of the Greek wine renaissance that was witnessed during

the last quarter of the last century.

    His Nemea reserve 1997 remains a milestone, his Dora Dionyssou (Dionyssos’s Gifts) of white Sideritis with a deceiving sparkle and acidity that demanded solely seafood, left lingering reminiscencies to some. His dry red Mavrodaphne was a serious Bordeaux affair, his sweet one is the finest sweet reds in Greece and abroad and so is his white sweet Muscat, supplies of whose have started to run out, as it keeps gaining gold medal recognition worldwide. His daughters pioneered the first Greek rose de gris wine, an excellent Sideritis job back in 2011…

…all of which bring us to this singular Nemea. Carafed for 3 hours, it does not taste like Nemea. Ruby to purple, medium body and intensity. Thinner, but a lot more delicate and complex, with black fruit apparent besides cherries, finesse shows through both in nose and palate. The kind of Pinot Noir finesse. Paired with a rare T-bone brought from the island of Kea, we tolerated the fillet and enjoyed the steak, keeping a low profile on the rest of the food, to stay aligned with the wine. The sheer elegance is a combination the origin of the grapes, the Gymno valley, keeping cool in the evening with a draft from the mountain to the sea, and the personality of the wine-maker, who wanted his wine to have the fine complexity of a Bourgogne and the brightness of Nemea. Presence of barrel is found nowhere, only deducted. And the 13.5 alcohol is consolidated totally in red velvet. Sip after sip, it shone through. We raised our glasses looking at the contents, smiled and went on. Even when the bottle was through. A fine, smooth, year. Treat it as you would a lady.

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  The rest of the food was aubergines salad with Florina baked peppers, bizelia (not peas) and Marathon tomatoes with garlic, basil, Kea capers and extra virgin olive oil.