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Review	Product Name	Vintage	Rating	Date Sort ascending	Favorite
Ktima Pavlidis - Wine Enthusiast	THEMA Red	2014	88	Apr-2020
Review “This wine has a young and chewy character that will mellow with age. It offers expressive aromas of blackberry, leather and spice, with layers of black fruit, herbs and olive on the palate. There’s a good minerality throughout and subtle but exotic flavors of spice on the finish.”
Ktima Pavlidis - Wine Enthusiast	EMPHASIS Assyrtiko	2016	87	Apr-2020
Review “This wine offers a rich lemon and white-flower nose. On the palate, there’s a complexity of fresh citrus fruit, vanilla and cigar smoke, but all balanced by lifted acidity and a pleasing chalky finish.”
Ktima Pavlidis - Wine Advocate	THEMA White	2018	91	Jan-2020
Review An equal blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Assyrtiko, this is a solid blend at a nice price. In a similar vein, and as an alternate selection, the Biblia Chora Areti white (90 points, $23) is an 80/20 blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Assyrtiko. Both of these illustrate how well Assyrtiko is doing off of Santorini and as part of blends.”
Ktima Pavlidis - Decanter	EMPHASIS Tempranillo - 2015	2015	90	Dec-2019
Review “Dense, concentrated black fruit and blueberry nose. Sappy fruit palate with american oak accents, well framed tannins and round texture.” (Silver)
Ktima Pavlidis - Wine Advocate	EMPHASIS Assyrtiko - 2015	2015	90	Nov-2019
Review “The 2015 Emphasis Assyrtiko is unoaked and comes in at 14.4% alcohol, with 1.6 grams of residual sugar, 4.9 of total acidity and a pH of 3.25. This is part of our vertical on this wine this issue. There were 5,000 bottles produced from a single vineyard in the foothills of the Pangeon mountains at 350 to 400 meters in altitude. This is from a year with high temperatures and increased rainfall compared to averages and with some rain at harvest. It still shows fine concentration, even better balance, ripe fruit and good flavor. The fruit lingers nicely on the finish – it’s not tense per se, but it has plenty of grip early on. Overall, this shows very well. It’s in a good place now and has plenty of life left. We’ll see where it goes in time, but let’s take that in stages.”
Ktima Pavlidis - Wine Advocate	EMPHASIS Assyrtiko	2018	91	Nov-2019
Review “The 2018 Emphasis Assyrtiko comes in at 13.7% alcohol, with 2.1 grams of residual sugar, 5.5 of total acidity and a pH of 3.2. This is part of our vertical on this wine this issue. There were 5,000 bottles produced from a single vineyard in the foothills of the Pangeon mountains at 350 to 400 meters in altitude. The winery said this year had average temperatures, rainfall with “a warm and dry maturation” and “favorable” weather conditions. Fresh, bright and transparent, this is (not surprisingly) the most youthful wine in this flight, with the least development. Apart from its youth, though, it shows impeccable balance and a fresh feel with lifted fruit. The vintages here rocket up and down in terms of alcohol level this issue, but this seems to tread a middle ground that puts it in a good place – more concentrated than the 2014 but brighter and fresher than wines like the 2017. We’ll see how this ages, but I suspect the freshness will preserve it well. You can drink this now, but I wouldn’t. Even a year in the bottle will help it come together and acquire some nuance. After that, it should hold reasonably well.”
Ktima Pavlidis - Wine Advocate	EMPHASIS Assyrtiko	2012	87	Oct-2019
Review “The 2012 Emphasis Assyrtiko is unoaked and comes in at 13.9% alcohol, 2.4 grams of residual sugar, 3.17 of total acidity and a pH of 3.17. This is part of our vertical on this wine this issue. There were approximately 3,500 bottles produced from a single vineyard in the foothills of the Pangeon mountains. When last seen, this Assyrtiko from a dry and sunny summer was pretty good. This time around, it is about as good, but it is showing some issues. It shows some of that charcoal nuance that the 2011 has, but here it is an annoying nuance rather than something that destroys the wine. The mid-palate depth is superb, and the structure is beautiful. This still has fine grip on the long finish. The texture has a hint of velvet. In theory, this has plenty of life left, but I’d want to drink it now for fear it might turn into the 2011.”
Ktima Pavlidis - Wine Advocate	THEMA Red	2016	90	Oct-2019
Review “The 2016 Thema red is a 60/40 blend of Syrah and Agiorgitiko aged for 12 months in 30% new French oak. It comes in at 15.2% alcohol. The Syrah largely dominates this in flavor and aromatics early on, projecting a moderately gamey overlay and subduing the red fruits of the Agiorgitiko. Yet the Agiorgitiko is not completely intimidated. It certainly fights back. With aeration, the red fruits come out, and this becomes fresher and more expressive. This seems beautiful just now. The tannins are ripe enough so you can drink this today – about 30 minutes in a glass brings it around fairly well – but it should improve over the next couple of years, at least. It’s a nice value.”
Ktima Pavlidis - Wine Advocate	THEMA White	2018	91	Oct-2019
Review “The 2018 Thema White is an unoaked and equal blend of Assyrtiko and Sauvignon Blanc, coming in at 13.7% alcohol. This, the winery said, was an “especially challenging year” with slightly reduced yields that enhanced quality. I might take that last opinion as some puffery, but it seemed to work out great here. This is gorgeous. Fragrant, with the Sauvignon Blanc clearly in charge up front, it has its share of herbs, but they are always just nuances that are well controlled. The Assyrtiko asserts itself early and often in terms of good structure and even better concentration. This seems to have a bit more stuffing than some other years, while retaining its balance and freshness. It’s hard to rate this bottling much higher, as I don’t think it will be a long-term ager or turn into anything more special, but it’s sure worth leaning up today. It seems like a complete package in its style and at this price level. It seems pretty terrific.”
Ktima Pavlidis - Wine Advocate	EMPHASIS Assyrtiko - 2017	2017	91	Oct-2019
Review “The 2017 Emphasis Assyrtiko comes in at 14.8% alcohol, with 3.2 grams of residual sugar, 5.4 of total acidity and a pH of 3.14. This is part of our vertical on this wine this issue. There were 5,000 bottles produced from a single vineyard in the foothills of Pangeon mountains at 350 to 400 meters in altitude. The winery said this year had average temperatures, rainfall with “a warm and dry maturation” and “favorable” weather conditions. Yet, with those average temperatures, there is certainly an alcohol spike here. This is the place in the vertical this issue where the wine seems a bit immature and very youthful, although with aeration it shows some development (and a lot more than the 2018). Despite that alcohol level, it seems fresh and lively, although the fruit is certainly ripe. It doesn’t seem thick or heavy at all. Nicely done, this does begin to show intensity of flavor on the finish as it airs out. The finish has a fair bit of grip on it too. This is impressive in its youth. We’ll see how it ages, but it should do pretty well.”

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