2003 Domaine Gerovassiliou Avaton
Greek wines are somewhat new to us here, largely because the ones I've tried in the past seemed not up to our usual standards.  Quite odd, that - Greece has been making wine longer than almost any other country; most of the European countries that produce wine had their start from Greek colonists.  It's a bit foreign in that the varietals used are unique to Greece.  Recently, we've been fortunate enough to make the acquaintance of importer Sotiris Baftis' wonderful wines.  The quality - in all price ranges - is spectacular, and the US is slowly realizing just how beautiful these wines can be.  This wine is made in microscopic amounts.  The wine is a blend of Limnio, Mavroudi and Mavrotragano, all indigenous varietals, and comes from the growing region of Epanomi, close to Thessaloniki.  Give this another five years in the cellar, then enjoy it with roast lamb.  And raise a toast to Homer - he mentions one of these varietals in the Odyssey, making it the oldest known varietal.