THE 22 BEST GREEK WINES OF 2022
Like every year, the Botilia.gr team presents the list of the Best Greek Wines of the past year. The Best Greek Wines of 2022 result from the preferences of Botilia's 60,000+ members. The preferences are measured by the purchases and ratings of the hundreds of Greek wines that passed through Botilia.gr last year. To be more specific about the process, the Botilia.gr team makes the initial, strict selection among several thousand wines that pass through its glasses during the year. From these, the best are selected, both in terms of quality and value for money, and these are available both to Botilia members and the general public. Botilia members, in addition to their purchases, have the ability to add to their favorites and rate the wines they taste. We note that they can only rate wines that they have bought (and therefore tasted) in order to make the process more transparent and accurate.
Based on all of the above, these are the Best Greek Wines of 2022:
22. Amuse Rose Muses Estate
Stelios Zacharias has managed to create one of the most beautiful Greek rosé wines, combining the aromatic Sauvignon Blanc with the bold Mouchtaro. Its pale color, combined with the explosive nose that, if you close your eyes, reminds a little of New Zealand, and leaves no one unmoved. Then comes its crisp acidity and intense fruit that make it a passe-partout and the ultimate party wine, since there will be no one who doesn't love it from the first sip.
21. Terre De Zeus Xinomavro 2020 - Navitas Winery
Terre de Zeus Xinomavro Navitas is one of the best, modern, new age, Xinomavro out there! Single vineyard Xinomavro, with a super fine and fruity character that has almost been pre-sold before it was even released, it is a pleasant surprise on the list of the best Greek wines of the year.
20. F by Foivos Foivos Papastratis
We loved F by Foivos 2020 by Foivos Papastratis from the first moment it entered our glass! It is one of those wines that literally grabs you by the nose, since the aromatic character of Moschato with flowers and Turkish delights is not easily hidden, while its combination with Assyrtiko is truly incredible.
19. L' Esprit du Lac Kir Yianni
For us it's no surprise since we know how incredible a wine it is. For its production, only the best grapes are used, from the oldest vines of the historical vineyard of Kali Riza, in the area of Agios Panteleimon. Its elegant, delicate color, the aromas of strawberry, rose and sweet tomato, make it truly irresistible and put it among the roses of our hearts.
18. Brut Cuvee Speciale - Domaine Karanika
The Brut Cuvee Speciale of the Domaine Karanika does not need special recommendations since it is one of the best Greek sparkling wines. Xinomavro from selected vines, over 40 years old, cultivated with organic and biodynamic methods, is vinified with the traditional champagne method (méthode traditionnelle). Karanika Brut Cuvee Speciale is truly unique!
17. Tear of the Pine Kehris Winery
Tear of the Pine from the Kehris Winery is a wine that has impressed the world. It is the first premium Retsina to be released and the one that pioneered the fight to shake off the bad name of Greek wine in general. If you see the awards it has collected you will be really impressed. Countless gold medals and highest distinctions in the world's biggest competitions fill pages. Besides, you will find it in some of the best wine lists worldwide!
16. Deka White - Oenogenesis Estate
Deka White - Oenogenesis is a great white wine, with huge aging potential and a real stone pillar in Greek wine! Bakis Tsalkos, having great Greek wines on his cv, took his own path and created a wine with excellent structure and remarkable complexity!
15. Naoussa Domaine Kelesidis
Naoussa 2017 from the Domaine Kelesidis from the "Grand Cru" vineyard in Giannakochori, Naoussa is probably one of our (and your) favorite Xinomavros. Straddling between modern and classic winemaking, it can satisfy everyone as long as it is paired with the right dish. This wine has been made for gastronomic pleasures and exuberant dishes.
14. Dame Rouge II Day 7 - Jima Winery
Super rare, unicorn wine released in just 590 bottles, from the amazing Panos Jimas, the boutique wine maker with sommelier past! Get ready for massive complexity, intensity and knife-edge concentration. It has won a place among the best Greek wines and also in our glasses.
13. Rose de Xinomavro Thymiopoulos Vineyards
The champion of the badass rosé category, Rose de Xinomavro, steals the show every year! It may not have the pale color of the rosés of Provence, but it doesn't need it, since what characterizes it is its complexity, tomato character and impressive structure, which you rarely find in rosé wines.
12. Klima Kotsifali Mavrotragano - Karavitakis Vineyards
Klima Kotsifali - Mavrotragano from Karavitakis Vineyards has established itself as one of the most successful blends of Greek varieties on the market. With the finesse and complexity of much more expensive wines and with 92pts from James Suckling, it already has a brilliant career and belongs to the best Greek wines of 2022! One of those wines you always want to have in your cellar in times of need!
11. Xinomavro Reserve Alpha Estate
The Xinomavro Reserve Vieilles Vignes of the Alpha Estate, is one of the few Greek wines that hit red with the scores and distinctions they achieve, both inside and outside of Greece. The Barba Giannis vineyard with old, pre-phylloxera vines, planted in 1919, gives its best fruit for a world-class wine. It is not unjustified that it is three years in a row on this list.
10. Rilancio Sangiovese Karipidis Estate
Rilancio Sangiovese 2007 from Karipidis Estate is a collective Greek wine since it was released only once, in a special anniversary bottling! The wine is fermented and matured in oak barrels for 2 years, then bottled and matured in the winery's cellar until...today. The reason for this was that the Rilancio Sangiovese was a special bottling meant to travel exlusively abroad but they still decided to keep a few bottles in the winery to see the evolution of the wine and that's how it ended up in our hands. Fortunately!
9. Cava Dryopi 2017 - Dryopi Estate
Cava Dryopi 2017 - Dryopi Estate is the super-premium label of Yiannis Tselepos from a fantastic vintage for Nemea! It is a wine that will only be released in prime years and with the best possible composition depending on the vintage. With a blend of Agiorgitiko and Cabernet Sauvignon and after 24 months of aging in the barrel, it was released for the first time and deservedly managed to acquire a fanatical audience that is looking forward to the next one.
8. Le Roi des Montagnes Cuvee Papargyriou
The "king of the mountains" has been on his throne for years and as it seems, it will be very difficult to dethrone him! Giannis Papargyriou's special blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Touriga Nacional and Mavrodafni, late vintage, gives lessons in concentration and complexity! Whoever tries it once is doomed to love it forever!
7. Moschopolis 18 Moschopolis Winery
The magical and now favorite blend of Mavrotragano and Syrah, of the Germanis family, with native yeasts and eighteen months in barrel, is consistently featured in the list of the best Greek wines every year, from the first year it was released. Velvety, rich and complex it gets better every year. In our opinion it is, by far, the best they have ever done, which is probably why it sells out only a few months after its release!
6. Santorini Laudia - Canava Chrysou - Tselepos
A minimally produced Assyrtiko from Pyrgos, Santorini Laudia Canava Chrysos - Tselepos, is one of those that sell out almost immediately every year, having first swept all the awards! It is definitely one of the top Assyrtikos from Santorini, with complexity, balance, knife-cut concentration, incredible acidity and a buttery, rich body. Santorini Laudia 2020 by Canava Chrysos-Tselepos is a real collector's item.
5. Clos Stegasta Mavrotragano - T-Oinos Winery
Clos Stegasta Mavrotragano from the T-Oinos winery is a red wine that impresses everyone with its structure and complexity. And how could it be otherwise since behind this wine is a dream team, with the best oenologists from Bordeaux and California! It is a top sample of the variety's potential that easily defeats many versions of Mavrotraganos from Santorini and has deservedly earned its place among the best Greek wines.
4. Le Sang de la Pierre Aivalis Winery
Le Sang de la Pierre Aivalis is definitely one of the most impressive Agiorgitikos ever released! Every year it sells out almost immediately and the reason for this is the enormous concentration of fruit, its velvety structure and its impressive complexity. Constantly in the favorite selections and with a fanatical audience.
3. Ramnista "Le Bicentenaire" - Kyr Estate - Giannis
Ramnista Le Bicentenaire 2011 Kyr Giannis is a collector's vinification, an ode to the best vintage of the decade for Naoussa but also a tribute to the 200 years since the Greek Revolution. 3,000 bottles from the vintage of 2011, were kept in the cellar of the winery and chosen to be released ten years later, as Ramnista Le Bicentenaire 2011. It is a great and collectible wine and the third place among the top Greek wines belongs to it!
2. Liatiko Indigenous Yeasts - Karavitakis Vineyards
Liatiko Indigenous Yeasts of Karavitakis Vineyards is unquestionably the most impressive and at the same time elegant red wine of the Cretan vineyard that has been produced so far! James Suckling also agrees, who glorified it as one of the best Greek wines and rated it with 94pts! The old vines gave their best fruit and Nikos' magical hand did all the rest! We are talking about a wonderful Liatiko reminiscent of Pinot Noir!
1. Pyritis - Artemis Karamolegos Winery
The Pyritis of the Artemis Karamolegos Winery is one of the greatest Santorini wines released and for this year the Best Greek wine of the year. It highlights the greatness of Assyrtiko and the shower of distinctions it causes, is no surprise! Exuberant and at the same time elegant, it expresses in an exceptional way the terroir of the best vines of the island, aged over 120 years. It deserves first place!
Botilia's Team
