If you still think “Greek wine” means a piney hangover and a sunburnt plastic chair, you are living in the wrong decade. What is happening right now across Greece (and, very importantly, Cyprus) is not a glow-up. It is a structural reset.
The new Hellenic paradigm is built on three forces that keep showing up in the glass:
- Climate pressure forcing altitude, wind, shade, and earlier picking
- A serious “single vineyard” mindset (not as marketing, as identity)
- A confident return to native varieties that used to be treated as second-tier
I’m writing this after a tasting where my notebook looked less like “notes” and more like battlefield cartography: altitudes, vessel choices, days of skin contact, months on lees, and lots of underlining around one word: energy.
Below is the living version of that night - wineries, wines, and the details that actually matter.
Cyprus first - Zambartas and the elegance of altitude
Cyprus is often treated as an “also”. That is a mistake.
Zambartas Wineries (Limassol) are part of the reason Cyprus now reads as a modern fine-wine origin rather than a historical footnote. Their range is built around local varieties and clarity of style, with Maratheftiko as the headline act. On the producer’s own material, Maratheftiko is framed through its aromatic signature: violets, black cherry, sweet spice, and a clear ageing intention.
What stayed with me in the tasting (and what I wrote in large, impatient handwriting) was the altitude logic: you taste the difference when ripeness is earned slowly. That is the whole point in this part of the world.
The wines poured (Zambartas):
- Xynisteri 2024 - crisp, straightforward, quietly mineral. The kind of white that doesn’t perform - it just works.
- Single Vineyard Xynisteri 2024 - more density and grip, less “easy-drinking”, more “table wine with intention”.
- Promara 2023 - the “what is that?” moment. Stone fruit and herbs, a slightly wild edge, and a very Cypriot kind of freshness.
- Maratheftiko 2023 - floral marker (violets), dark cherry, sweet spice. Not a bruiser - structured, but composed.
Santorini - not just a volcanic postcard
Everyone knows Santorini. Fewer people understand that Santorini is currently a stress test: drought, heat, low yields, and very real questions about the sustainability of farming.
That is why I liked seeing Santo Wines (Union of Santorini Cooperatives) in the line-up. Cooperatives are not automatically “mass”. On islands like Santorini, they are also institutional memory and grower protection. Santo Wines is explicitly positioned as the Union of Santorini growers, with the purpose of protecting growers and organising production and sales.
Santo Wines (Santorini PDO)
- Assyrtiko 2023 - taut acidity with that unmistakable sea-salt edge. I wrote “hot acid” in my notes - ripeness, but never heaviness.
- Nykteri 2023 (Assyrtiko-Athiri-Aidani) - broader shoulders: more depth, more texture, more “food wine” than aperitif.
- Single Vineyard ‘Kontrades’ Assyrtiko 2022 - where Santorini stops being a style and becomes a site: tighter line, longer finish, more layered mineral tension.
Then came the Santorini that feels like tomorrow:
OENO P - small scale, high intent
OENO P by Paris Sigalas is a boutique project and it reads that way: small scale, focused, personal.
OENO P deserves a separate sentence in the modern Greek wine conversation.
This is not simply a boutique Santorini project. OENO P positions itself consciously and confidently as a volcanic alternative to Burgundy - not in imitation, but in philosophy.
Paris Sigalas approaches Assyrtiko the way Burgundians approach Chardonnay or Pinot Noir: parcel by parcel, soil by soil, exposure by exposure. The question is never “what does Santorini taste like?” but “what does this place taste like?”
The use of amphorae, small-format vessels, and long lees contact is not aesthetic. It is analytical. OENO P is built around micro-vinification and precision, allowing tiny differences in volcanic composition to speak clearly. That is why their wines feel architectural rather than aromatic, structured rather than demonstrative.
In the glass, these are not loud wines. They are focused, tensile, quietly powerful. High acidity is a given on Santorini, but here it is wrapped in texture and depth, not sharpness. The wines feel designed for long-term evolution, not instant gratification.
OENO P is Santorini for people who think in terms of crus, not styles.
And that is why it belongs in the same conceptual conversation as Burgundy - not because of prestige, but because of intent.
The wines on the sheet were the kind that scream “choices were made here”:
- ‘Tria Ampelia’ Assyrtiko 2022 - amphora-driven patience: taut, saline, built around line and length rather than overt fruit.
- ‘Tria Ampelia Pithari #11’ Assyrtiko 2022 - the geek’s joy: a pithari with a personality. More earth-toned, more tactile, still unmistakably Santorini.
- ‘Akulumbo’ Nykteri Assyrtiko 2021 - a darker, broader register: less lightning, more architecture.
This is the real story of Santorini now: not “mineral whites”, but how producers are redesigning the tools to keep volcanic identity while the climate gets louder.
Tinos - where “natural” is not a costume
If Santorini is a museum, Tinos is a studio, which brings me to Domaine de Kalathas (Tinos).
These wines are not trying to charm you. They ask for attention. And they are fascinating because they sit on the edge of a category. One of my favourite lines from the tasting sheet is: field-blend energy, wild but intentional.
The wines poured:
- ‘Sainte-Obeissance’ 2019 (Aspro Potamisi-Rozaki) - I wrote “indigenous yeasts” and “years on them”, because the mouthfeel told the story before the facts did: slow-built texture, a kind of controlled oxidation, and a saline undertow.
- ‘Kokkinaki’ 2023 (Mavro Potamisi-Mandilaria-Koumariano) - herbal, stony, and slightly feral. Not a “red fruit” red - more like a windswept hillside turned into tannin.
These are wines for people who genuinely love natural wine, not as a trend but as a language. Wild, uncompromising, sometimes challenging, always memorable. They do not aim for polish or consensus.
Kalathas wines are low intervention in the purest sense: indigenous yeasts, minimal sulphur, no corrections, no safety rails. What you taste is the vineyard, the wind, the granite, the salt carried by the Meltemi. Some wines feel almost untamed at first sip, but then open slowly, layer by layer.
You don’t just remember the flavour - you remember the experience.
These are not “easy” wines. They are wines with character, the kind you want to argue about at the table. And for lovers of raw, expressive, island-driven natural wines, Kalathas is one of the most compelling addresses in Greece today.
Cyclades beyond the headlines - Syros and Naxos
OuSyra (Syros)
Syros is not a place most people associate with wine first. That is why it works: you are not tasting a brand, you are tasting an island.
Serifiotiko is the point here - austere, salty, linear, made for food rather than applause. The notes on my page say “salty effect” and “precision”, and that is the best way to frame it: Assyrtiko without the fruit, but with the nerve.
Tranampelo (Naxos)
Tranampelo felt like the evening’s reality check: dry farming, organic, field blends that are not styled as “natural wine fashion” but as local logic.
Here is the part I loved: the producer does not treat “field blend” as a romantic concept. It’s an engineering decision. A mixed vineyard gives a natural balance - acid, phenolics, aromatics - and co-fermentation makes it feel seamless rather than assembled.
And yes - this is where my scribble “6 reds + whites” came from: a true mixed-field mindset, where multiple island varieties are co-fermented and the final wine refuses easy categorisation. Add low-intervention choices and biodynamic thinking, and you get wines that feel alive without feeling messy.
The wines that landed hardest:
- Single Vineyard Aspro Potamisi 2024 - bone-dry, stony, and quietly aromatic (herbal tea, citrus peel). Dry-farmed energy.
- Odd Blend White Field Blend 2024 - the paradox wine: a white field blend with copper-toned texture, gentle tannic feel, and a savoury herbal core. It tastes like history, but with precision.
- Odd Blend Red Field Blend 2024 - island red with nerve: less about plush fruit, more about dried herbs, salt, and tannin that feels like wind.
Lemnos - orange wine with a volcanic accent
Garalis Winery (Lemnos) reminded me why skin contact wines from the Aegean can be so convincing: the herbal spectrum feels native, not borrowed.
The bottle that mattered:
- PDO Limnos ‘Terra Ambera’ Muscat of Alexandria 2024 - my sheet says “5 days” and “stainless”, and that checks with the style: aromatics on the surface (orange blossom, dried apricot), but the finish is tea-like and salty, with a grip that keeps it gastronomic.
Crete - Douloufakis and the Vidiano argument
Crete is its own continent. And Douloufakis (Dafnes) are central to the modern Cretan white conversation because they treat Vidiano like a serious variety, not a curiosity.
Their Dafnios line is widely positioned around local grapes, including Vidiano, and the winery is consistently presented as a key Dafnes producer.
The wines poured:
- ‘Dafnios’ Vidiano 2025 - apricot and stone fruit, herbs, and a very controlled richness. Freshness held like a spine.
- Tachtas 2024 - the textural lane: rounder, more layered, and built for the table.
- ‘Alargo’ Assyrtiko 2024 - high-acid, crisp, more linear than you expect from Crete.
- PDO Dafnes ‘Dafnios’ Liatiko 2022 - spice, dried flowers, gentle tannins. More fragrance than power.
- ‘Dafnios’ Liatiko Grand Reserve 2020 - the serious architecture: deeper, more structured, longer on the finish.
Attica - the rehabilitation of Savatiano and the retsina reset
The most satisfying part of the whole tasting might have been Attica, because it forces you to confront your own prejudice.
Mylonas Estate (Attica)
Mylonas is one of the names that keeps coming up when people talk about Savatiano as a quality grape and Retsina as a category that can be clean, precise, and gastronomic.
On my page, next to their Retsina, I scribbled the dosage logic because that is the fulcrum: resin as seasoning, not as a mask.
Wines poured (Mylonas):
- Pet Nat Savatiano 2024 - bright and direct, a sparkling version of the new Savatiano confidence.
- Retsina 2025 - clean, resin used with restraint. Citrus, herbs, a balsamic lift rather than aggressive pine.
- Savatiano 2025 - simple in the best way: fresh, mineral-edged, very food-friendly.
- Cuvée ‘Vouno’ Late Release Savatiano 2021 - the textural Savatiano: more depth, more quiet complexity, less “summer white”.
- ‘Naked Truth’ Savatiano (skin contact) 2025 - structured, lightly tannic, herbal and dry.
- Malagousia-Mandilaria Rosé 2025 - bright fruit plus herbal edge; not candy, not bland.
- Merlot-Agiorgitiko-Mandilaria Red 2024 - an approachable red with Mediterranean warmth, kept in balance.
Kokotos Estate (Attica)
And then Kokotos delivered one of the most charming details of the whole evening: acacia.
Not oak. Not the usual vanilla frame. Acacia ageing (and you can taste it) gives a different kind of perfume: lifted florals, honeyed nuance, and a softer, more luminous texture.
- Barrel Fermented Savatiano 2025 (Acacia-aged) - my note: “acacia, honeysuckle”. Exactly that: floral but not perfumed, richer but still fresh, with a gentle honeyed warmth rather than wood sweetness.
- Assyrtiko 2024 - crisp, structured, clean.
- ‘Kokotos Estate’ Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot 2021 - polished international blend, but disciplined, not overbuilt.
Central Greece - La Tour Melas and the “Greek fine wine” posture
La Tour Melas (Fthiotida) is one of the estates that signals Greece’s confidence in the premium lane: not “good for Greece”, but intentionally benchmarked against classic fine-wine structures.
Wines poured (La Tour Melas):
- ‘Idylle D’Achinos’ Rosé 2024 (Agiorgitiko-Syrah-Grenache) - serious rosé posture: not just fruit, but savoury edges and food compatibility.
- Nautilus Drink Pink Rosé 2024 - brighter, more playful, still clean.
- ‘Cyrus One’ 2022 (Cabernet Franc-Agiorgitiko) - structured and firm: dark fruit, spice, and a finish that suggests time will be rewarded.
- ‘Palies Rizes’ Agiorgitiko 2022 - this is where I wrote “old vine” and “1 year” on my sheet: deeper, more architectural, less immediate charm, more long-game.
- Cabernet Franc-Merlot 2022 - polished, composed, built like a statement rather than a trend.
Northern Greece - Alpha Estate and the technocratic north
Ending with Alpha Estate (Amyndeon, Florina) makes sense because this is where Greece looks most like a cool-climate system rather than a Mediterranean stereotype.
A 2024 profile in The World of Fine Wine places Alpha Estate in Amyndeon and frames it among Greece’s most renowned wineries, rooted in the remote landscape of the appellation.
Here, even the international varieties feel purposeful: they are used as precision instruments, not as identity substitutes.
Wines poured (Alpha Estate):
- Malagouzia Single Block ‘Turtles’ 2024 - aromatic, but not loose: white flowers, ripe peach, basil-like herbal lift, held by acidity.
- Sauvignon Blanc Fumé Single Block ‘Kaliva’ 2024 - the oak-handled lane: smoky edge, citrus core, and a more serious texture than most SBs.
- Chardonnay Single Block ‘Tramonto’ 2023 - structured rather than buttery. Clean lines, discreet wood, length.
- Rosé PDO Amyndeon Xinomavro 2024 - savoury rosé brilliance: tomato leaf, wild strawberry, dried herbs, and that Amyndeon tension.
- PDO Amyndeon Reserve Old Vines Single Block ‘Barba Yannis’ Xinomavro 2022 - built, not styled: firm tannin frame, savoury complexity, and a finish that feels like a promise.
- S.M.X Syrah-Merlot-Xinomavro 2022 - the blend that behaves like a thesis statement: dark fruit meets structure, with Xinomavro adding tension and grip.
Conclusion - the Renaissance is not a slogan, it is a method
What I took from this tasting is simple: the Greek and Cypriot “renaissance” is not driven by one flagship grape or one famous island. It is driven by a method.
- Islands are fighting heat with tradition and tools (kouloura mentality, amphora precision, co-op protection).
- Mainland is finding coolness via altitude and lakes.
- Attica is rewriting categories (Savatiano, Retsina) through restraint.
- Cyprus is using elevation and local varieties to build a modern identity without copying anyone.
And the best part: these wines are not trying to be international. They are trying to be true, and in 2025, that is a competitive advantage.
Courtesy of Maltby & Greek Annual Portfolio Tasting. Maltby & Greek are the leading UK importers and distributors of premium Greek and Cypriot wines, spirits, and artisan produce.