By mid-October, most Greek vineyard workers are back home, the harvest long since done. But on the Mantinia Plateau, high in the Peloponnese, the work is just beginning. Mantinia is one of Greece’s coldest wine-growing regions, surrounded in winter by snow-covered mountains, and staying cool in the heat of a Greek summer. It’s not easy to ripen grapes, but the long growing season suits one grape variety perfectly: the pink-skinned Moschofilero. Leonidas Nassiakos has dedicated a lifetime to this grape, and his deep, refreshing wines are its benchmarks. They are also outstanding value for money.
Moschofilero is naturally floral, with similarities to Muscat and Gewürztraminer. It is grown in other places, but like Assyrtiko from Santorini, or Robola from Cephalonia, Moschofilero from Mantinia is special, with a unique balance, intensity, and complexity. Nassiakos’s wines are the best versions we’ve tasted, weaving restrained aromatics with stony minerality, and a cold mountain freshness.
Novus is Nassiakos’s new winery, the culmination of thirty years of work. He has always specialised in Moschofilero, first at the family winery set up by his grandfather, then at others. This is his own project, built to make the finest Mantinia wines possible. He farms five hectares of 15-40 year old Moschofilero vines at 650m above sea level, and is converting to full organic viticulture. Depending on the wine, fermentation takes place in a mix of tanks, concrete eggs and acacia barrels. The wines are all aged on their lees, adding texture and depth.
Novus has everything that’s most exciting about Greek wine - a local grape variety, a unique place, and a dedicated, talented winemaker. Delicate and floral, yet full of energy, these are delicious, engaging wines that punch above their weight.
