Epogdoon Barrel 2017, Vakakis, Samos (50cl)

Honey-streaked orange-yellow colour in a wine with an explosive bouquet that brims over with aroma of white flowers, dried apricots and raisins with hints of cocoa and roasted coffee beans, traces of rose-flavoured marshmallow, wood and toffee.

Nikos Vakakis has been one of the most important and largest viticulturists on the island of Samos with 3 hectares of the privately-owned vineyard and another 3 hectares belonging to the extended family. He owns some of the oldest vine plots in the entire Aegean region with autochthonous pre-phylloxera plants of Muscat a Petits Grains reaching the age of centenarians, whilst the altitude of the plots, ranging between 250 to 1050m above sea levels and the very low yields of 5t/ha are unique and impressive. His youngest vineyard is planted with the red variety Avgoustiatis, brought from the Western Peloponnese, and is now 15 years old. Viticulture on the island of Samos is very much traditional, with the vines growing in “masies” or terraces, very much in Oporto’s style and manual harvest together with the employment of mules for the transportation of the harvested fruit is the rule here.

100% Muscat a Petits Grains from Samos island, which has a PDO classification for the Muscat a Petits Grains grape for both sweet and dry wines. This is an example made by fruit coming from high altitude vineyards, up to 1000 meters, from the family estate and having spent 18 months in new French oak.