Meet my New Obsession! Troupis Route Gris
Some time ago, I posted about a couple different Moschofilero wines I’d had, which you can find here. Then, at the urging of my friend Anna Maria of Unravelling Wine, I hunted down a Bosniakis Moschofilero.
Given how wide-spread Moschofilero is in the Peloponnese, especially in Mantineia where the Mantineia PDO wines must contain minimum 85% Moschofilero; none of us should feel shocked about the wide range of wine quality. While almost always at least enjoyable, Moschofilero can give rather insipid wines.
While it resembles the Traminer and Muscat grapes in aroma profile, it does not belong to either grape family. In fact, two opposing theories debate Moschofilero’s background. One posits that Moschofilero is but one mutation from the Peloponnese “Fileri” family. According to Wine Searcher, the -filero suffix lends itself to many varieties grown in the area that have a similar DNA makeup to Moschofilero. The other theory holds that these are two separate varieties.
As a grape, it is productive and high-yielding (thus the many insipid wines). Despite its rampant productivity, it is sensitive to bad weather and cold. Late-ripening, harvest do not usually occur until the end of September or even into October.
Many of us know Moschofilero as a white wine. In fact, the grape falls into the pink/grey category. It’s medium-sized berries ripen to a dark pinkish, sometimes grey color and are low anthocyanins. So, like many “grey” grapes, most people make it as a white wine by directly pressing them on arrival the winery and not allowing any skin contact. 
But that’s not what Yiannis Troupis does…
Troupis Route Gris
Troupis Winery sits at 700 m in the center of the Mantineia Plateau in the Fteri region of the Peloponnese. The family started making wine in the 1970s. At first, just for themselves. Any grapes they didn’t use, they sold onto commercial wineries. That all changed in 2010 when they decided to go commercial themselves and invested in land to plant larger vineyards. Being in Mantinea, of course a large part of their focus is on Moschofilero. Other grapes are not neglected though such as the regional Agiorgitiko, Assyrtiko, and forgotten Mantinea varieties, such as the Kolliniatiko.
Back to the Troupis Route Gris…rather than crushing and separating the juice from the skins immediately, Yiannis Troupis allows the skins and partially crushed grapes to macerate for a short while. This allows time for the skins to impart both color and a higher intensity of flavor.
The palest of ballet slipper pink in the glass and slight cloudy (bottled unfiltered), the wine gave an explosion of perfume. Aromas of rose petals, tangerine, orange peel, mint and a rich/yeasty underlying tang rushed towards the nose as if the glass isn’t capable of containing them. The palate was all the nose promised and more. Like a rose vine twining around a tree bedecked with various citrus fruits, flavors kumquat, tangerine, and citrus blossom water danced on the tongue leaving a lingering sensation of rose water. Round, slightly oily with an ever so gentle suggestion of tannin and a firm, citrussy acidity.
I wouldn’t even have known to look for this had a friend not recommended it. I’m so glad she did. not only did I love it, it’s become an obsession with another friend who simply must have a bottle every time I’m in Athens!
What do you call a pink/grey grape that’s had skin contact? Is it white? Is it a rosé? Is it an amber/orange wine??