THE 20 BEST GREEK WINES OF 2024
Like every year, the time has come for announcing the Best Greek Wines of 2024! This year, the list was shaped by the purchases and votes of the 65,000+ Botilia members. These are the Greek wines that stood out among the hundreds that passed through Botilia.gr and ultimately earn their place as the Best Greek Wines of 2024. To be more thorough about the process, the Botilia.gr team makes the initial, strict selection among several thousand wines that pass through its glasses throughout the year. Botilia members can rate the wines they taste while this year, for the first time, there was an online open vote with 4,432 wine lovers participating.
All of this resulted in the following list of the Best Greek Wines of 2024, in which for the first time, two wines share the 1st place!
19. Rose Extra Brut 2022 - Domaine Karanika
The Rose Extra Brut 2022 of the Karanika Estate has been one of our favorites for years. Ideal for any occasion, with the addition of 5% Limniona giving another intensity to the traditional composition of the white. It is produced using the champagne method and is a vintage wine, with the year 2022 being one of its best! That's why it was included in this list! Laurens Hartman, committed to the quality of Xinomavro for sparkling wines, creates a rosé wine with excellent effervescence and organic cultivation that has gained worldwide recognition. And we agree with this.
18. Moschopolis 18 2021 - Moschopolis Winery
Moschopolis 18 from Moschopolis Winery is an excellent wine that is ranked among the best Greek wines of the year, every year, with the work of George Germanis and his team demonstrating their dedication to quality. The blend of Mavrotragano and Syrah comes from dry vineyards near Thessaloniki, and ages for 18 months in French barrels and another 6 months in the bottle. The result is impressive, with rich flavor and complexity, making it a wine worth having permanently in your cellar.
17. Naoussa Grande Reserve 2011 - Boutaris Winery
Naoussa Grande Reserve Boutari is an exceptional red wine that impresses wine lovers and collectors with its quality and the impeccable collaboration of the art of winemaking with time. Coming from the historic vineyards of Naoussa, the 2011 Naoussa Grande Reserve matures for 24 months in French barrels and followed by several months in the bottle, acquiring exceptional complexity and depth. Its uniqueness lies in the exquisiteness of the Xinomavro and its limited quantity, making it a rare jewel of Greek winemaking!
16. Le Sang de la Pierre 2022 - Aivalis Winery
Le Sang de la Pierre from Aivalis Winery is a wine that generates excitement and demand every year, with the excellent Agiorgitiko from Traganes stealing the show. The small vineyard, with rugged soil and no fertilization for 14 years, produces exceptionally concentrated grapes. Mr. Christos' son, Sotiris Aivalis, took over its creation exclusively, using Burgundy methods, such as raising 5% of the fruit and maturing it in French barrels. The result is a complex and velvety wine with an impressive character. The name "The Blood of the Stone" was inspired by a drop of juice that stained the stones of the vineyard. It is one of those wines that you can buy and simply forget about in your cellar for years!
15. Palies Rizes 2021 - La Tour Melas
Agiorgitiko, impresses with its concentration and French finesse! Produced by the La Tour Melas Estate in Achinos, Fthiotida, it comes from vines over 100 years old. Under the guidance of Kyros Melas and his team, the wine matures for 14 months in new French barrels highlights its world-class, elevating Agiorgitiko into a great red wine, among the best Greek wines of the year.
14. Agios Chronos 2019 - Avantis Estate
Agios Chronos from Avantis Estate is an iconic, award-winning Syrah-based red wine. Created by Apostolos Moudrichas, with a philosophy reminiscent of Rhone, the wine combines Syrah with 8% Viognier and is aged in new French barrels for 12 months. The grapes come from Avantis Estate’s vineyards in Evia. The result is a rich, complex, and elegant wine, unfiltered, with the potential for deep aging, that impresses even the most demanding. Every year deserves a place on this list, so you can try the 2020 vintage (Agios Chronos 2020), which you will very likely find on this list, next year!
13. Blanc de Gris 2023 - Domaine Tselepos
Blanc de Gris from Tselepos Estate is a wine that overturns the usual perception of Moschofilero. Yannis Tselepos, with his excellent technique, creates a wine with a unique personality. Fermentation begins in a tank and continues in oak barrels, where the wine remains for 3 months with the leaves, giving it a rich texture and complexity. Despite the floral and fruity notes, Blanc de Gris impresses with its substance and duration, highlighting Moschofilero in something completely new and exciting. It is rightly on the list of the best Greek wines of 2024!
12. Nostos Mourvedre 2020 - Manousakis Winery
Nostos Mourvèdre from Manousakis Winery is a rare and impressive wine from the Cretan vineyard, which can now be yours, as the last of its collector's bottles have been secured. The winery, founded in 1993 by Manousakis in Vatolakkos, Chania, has become a reference point for the quality of its wines and its unique tastings. Nostos Mourvèdre, made from old and new vines, matures in barrels for 12 months, offering rich color and strong tannins. It is the ideal wine for collectors!
11. Agathoto 2023 - Ktima Kir-Yianni
Agathoto from Ktima Kir-Yiannis is a special rosé made from Xinomavro, originating from Naoussa and the Gastra region. Coming from an old 50-year-old vineyard, the wine expresses the dynamism of the variety with intense acidity, rich aromatic intensity, and discreet oiliness. It ferments in tanks and barrels for 20 days and matures for 12 months, acquiring complexity and notes of vanilla and tomato. Its dark-colored bottle reveals its gastronomic character, ideal for meat and Mediterranean cuisine, while its aging promises even more enjoyment if you manage to keep it!
10. Idylle d' Achinos 2023 - La Tour Melas
Idylle d' Achinos La Tour Melas is a rosé wine that rivals the best of Provence, with exceptional elegance and balance. Created from Grenache, Syrah, and Agiorgitiko, it follows biodynamic and organic cultivation, with limited production from vines over 60 years old. Its concentration, delicate color, and unique finesse make it captivating every year. The 2023 vintage is considered one of its best and we challenge you to try it to find out for yourself!
9. Rose de Xinomavro 2022 - Thymiopoulos Vineyards
Rose de Xinomavro by Apostolos Thymiopoulos is a subversive rosé that stands out for its structure and aging. With tomato aromas, intense tannins, and crisp acidity, it shouts out its Xinomavro origins. Its stay in an old oak barrel for 3 months enhances its gastronomic character, making it ideal for eating. Wonderful now, but also in 2-3 years when it will evolve even more!
8. Pure Santorini 2020 - Volcanic Slopes Vineyards
Santorini Pure from Volcanic Slopes Vineyards is an impressive Assyrtiko from vines over 200 years old in Pyrgos and Megalochori. The winery, although young, has already distinguished itself, taking advantage of the unique volcanic soil of the island. The wine ferments and matures for 14 months in concrete tanks with its fine lees, while remaining an additional year in the bottle. Rich, authentic, and full of character, it is excellent now, but in 5 years it will be simply a masterpiece!
7. Diaporos 2019 - Ktima Kir-Yianni
Diaporos from Ktima Kir-Yiannis is an iconic red wine that highlights the potential of Xinomavro. The 2019 vintage received 95pts from Decanter, confirming its high quality. It is produced from 87% Xinomavro and 13% Syrah, with careful vinification and 22 months of maturation in French oak barrels. Rich, complex, and ideal for aging, it promises excellent development in the coming years.
6. Le Roi des Montagnes Syrah 2022 - Papargyriou Estate
Le Roi des Montagnes Syrah from Papargyriou Estate is an impressive red wine that stands out for its power and complexity. Coming from vineyards at 850m in Sofiana, Corinth, it is produced from overripe Syrah grapes, giving a rich body, intense fruit concentration, and high alcohol. The balance and elegance are achieved thanks to the mastery of Yannis Papargyriou. It matures for 18 months in French oak barrels and a few months in the bottle. This is a rare and sought-after wine, which sells out quickly! Catch it!
5. Blanc De Rose Cuvee R 2009 - Thymiopoulos Vineyards
Blanc de Rose Cuvee R by Apostolos Thymiopoulos is a unique white wine with an extremely complex winemaking process. It comes from organic vineyards in Fytia, at an altitude of 500 meters, where the Xinomavro remained for 6 years on its lees, before Malagouzia was added and fermentation continued for another 3 years. The wine then matured for 2 more years on its lees and another 2 in the bottle, before being released. Thymiopoulos' creative approach confirms that this wine, like his predecessors, sets new boundaries in Greek winemaking and promises long-term aging.
4. Pyritis 2022 - Artemis Karamolegos Winery
Pyritis 2022 by Artemis Karamolegos Winery is a top Assyrtiko that highlights the terroir of Santorini and has received awards, such as 92pts from Decanter. It comes from three vineyards over 120 years old, two in Pyrgos and one in Megalochori, with a very low yield per hectare. Minimal interventions in winemaking and 10 months of lees aging, result in a wine that is both exuberant and elegant. Karamolegos Winery, one of the oldest in Santorini, continues to highlight the many faces of Assyrtiko and simply leaves us speechless!
3. Alpha One 2018 - Alpha Estate
Alpha One from Alpha Estate is a top Greek red wine, ideal for collectors and red wine lovers. Angelos Iatridis selects the 17 best barrels each year that express the terroir of Amyntaion, with different varieties in each vintage. In 2018, Alpha One was created from Montepulciano and Xinomavro, with grapes from an altitude of 600-700 meters. It is matured in new French oak barrels for 36 months, with a 200% new barrel technique, and aged in the bottle for another 18 months. A rich, fine wine for those who enjoy cigars, rare steaks, and smoked whiskey. We know there are many of you!
2. Earth and Sky 2022 - Thymiopoulos Vineyards
Apostolos Thymiopoulos's Earth and Sky is the Xinomavro that changed the course of Naoussa, offering a wine that does not require decades to soften. With a modern approach, it became a cult choice internationally, exporting most of its production to France, Canada, America, and Japan. Its vintages are sold out at the speed of light and that's how the 2022 vintage was. Those of you who managed to try it, well done!
🏆 1st Place (Tied). Santorini Cuvee Monsignori 2022 - Estate Argyros
This is one of the two wines that tied awarded the title of the Best Greek wine of 2024! Estate Argyros' Santorini Cuvee Monsignori is not just another sensational Santorini. It's a piece of wine history, a well-hidden treasure, that has at least a decade ahead of it. It comes from the oldest vineyard of Santorini, that of Episkopi, and from autochthonous vines, pre-phylloxera, and over 200 years old. It could not fail to be in the first place with the Best Greek Wines of 2024!
🏆 1st Place (Tied). Blanc Des Coteaux Cuvee Amphora 2022 - Thymiopoulos Vineyards
Blanc Des Coteaux Cuvee Amphora from Thymiopoulos Vineyards was ranked as the 8th best wine in the world by Decanter in its debut year, and in it's second year, it proudly shared the top spot as the Best Greek Wine of 2024! 45% Assyrtiko, 35% Malagouzia, 15% Vidiano, and 5% Aidani cultivated in certified organic vineyards in the village of Fyteia, on the slopes of Mount Vermio, compose a truly great wine from the hands of an extremely talented winemaker. It remains consistently number one in our and your preferences!
Botilia's Team
