Palivou Estate’s Ammos Terra Leone
Konstantinos Lazarakis MW describes Palivou Estate (Ktima Palivos) as “One of the more low-key Nemea producers, but one always striving to improve his existing wines or to create notable new ones…” My experience so far with Palivou Estate wines has been positive and this Ammos Terra Leone, one of the estate’s reserve wines, is no exception.
Established by Giorgos Palivos in 1995, Palivou Estate includes 30 hectares of organically farmed vineyards. Vineyards include plantings of Rodites, Malagousia, Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah but the main star here is Agiorgitiko. The winery sits in the heart of the Nemea PDO, home to one of Greece’s most commercially important grapes, Agiorgitiko. The grape name may be hard to spell, but its polydynamic (able to produce many styles) character and affinity for oak have made it a grape that produces wines with wide appeal. Winemakers use Agiorgitiko for everything from soft, approachable reds and cross-regional blends to what Lazarakis calls “…concentrated, tannic and ageworthy monsters”. One guess as to which part of that scale is my favorite!
Palivou Estate itself produces several styles of wine with Agiorgitiko but my favorite to date has been this Ammos Terra Leone.
Palivou Estate Ammos Terra Leone 2014 Tasting Notes:
Knowing that Agiorgitiko takes well to oak, Palivou Estate treated this single block, reserve wine to only the best with 18 months ageing in entirely new oak; 80% French and 20% American. The wine was then bottle aged another six months prior to release. Unless I know and trust the winemaker, I often shy away from wine that I know has been aged in completely new oak. Without a skilled hand, such treatment can unbalance wine and leave it feeling heavy and more like oak juice than wine.
Thankfully, Giorgos Palivos is a skilled winemaker and under his guidance the oak in his Ammos Terra Leone Agiorgitiko is perfectly integrated. The resulting wine is deep and complex with aromas of forest fruits dipped in dark chocolate. In the mouth, tannins were overtly aggressive. Which of course means I loved it. Initially, dried cranberries and chocolate leapt off the palate but soon made way for pepper, spices, and tobacco.
Ageworthy for sure, this vintage could have easily cellared for another seven plus years. It had definitely not quite reached is peak when we drank it. While it was a bit too young yet it was however still highly enjoyable.