GAI'A Estate Agiorgitiko

GAI'A Estate Agiorgitiko bottle image

Wine Description

One of the pioneers of the modern Greek wine revolution, Gai’a Estate (pronounced Yay-ya) was established in 1994 by Leon Karatsalos and winemaker Yiannis Paraskevopoulos. Their mission was to capture the best that Greece’s indigenous grapes have to offer by merging traditional viticultural and production methods with innovative techniques. The estate is named after “Mother Earth,” in honor of the unique terroir that gives birth to these world-class wines.

GAI'A Santorini beach tasting
GAI'A Nemea Vineyards
Nemea Winery
Santorini Winery
Yiannis Paraskevopoulos and Leon Karatsalos
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Acclaim
“The 2014 Agiorgitiko Gai'a Estate was aged for 20 months in mostly (90%) French oak of various sizes (half new, the rest used), the rest in American oak. This wasn't always the easiest vintage in much of Greece, but this shows rather well, with some caveats. With fine balance and mid-palate finesse, it has a caressing, velvety texture and a dry, lingering finish. Too dry? It doesn't show as much pure flavor as it does in most years, but it is clean and serious, with a finish that tightens as the wine airs out. It also shows more finesse and freshness than some years, which I rather liked. This is one of Greece's most flavorful grapes, though, and I was sometimes wondering where the flavor was. It reminded me of a lot of Portuguese 2014s in this tough year—nicely done but feeling more like a cool-climate wine in some ways but without all of those advantages. It may yet evolve more—it is certainly not at peak yet (try it again around 2020-2022). The structure is still in charge and partly responsible for subduing the fruit, and the structure is quite wonderful. The question is when that fruit will pop up—or if it will. I held it open a couple of hours, and it became nicer but not truly distinguished. Its focus and precision are admirable. We'll see where it goes in a few years, but I still rather liked it. It should be a fine food wine, if nothing more, but it has that potential. There were 7,868 bottles produced.”
— Wine Advocate, Dec 2017
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Vineyard & Production Info
Soil composition
Calcareous
Exposure:
Southwestern
First vintage of this wine:
1997
Average Vine Age:
40 years
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Winemaking & Aging
Prefermentation Technique:
Cold soak
Time on its skins:
2-3 days
Varietal composition:
100% Agiorgitiko
Size of aging container:
225 L
Type of oak:
French
Length of aging before bottling:
12-14 months
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Analytical Data
pH level:
3.6
Acidity:
5.6 g/L
Alcohol:
14.5 %
Residual sugar:
2.9 g/L
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Wine Production

After harvest, the grapes are destemmed, crushed and cold soaked (53°F) with the skins for 2-3 days in order to maximize extraction of the dark red-black color of the fruit and well-structured tannins. The wine is aged in new 225L French oak casks from the Nevers and Allier forests, during which time the wine undergoes malolactic fermentation. The final wine is bottled without filtration in order to preserve the exceptional personality of the ripe Agiorgitiko varietal and the character of the Nemea terroir. 

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About the Vineyard

The grapes for the Gai’a Estate come from a 40-year-old estate vineyard, located in the Koutsi region of Nemea, at an altitude of 1,800ft. The climate is moderately cool at this mid-level elevation, resulting in grapes that are concentrated in flavor with well-developed tannins and balanced acidity. The 17.3 acre vineyard is located on a Southwest facing slope, and is closely monitored so that yields remain low.