Some impressive wines at Gamay, Athens, a wine bar with a brilliant list
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gamay_winebar/reels/?hl=en
This was my second visit to Gamay, a really excellent wine bar in Athens. I popped in last Tuesday, and returned last night. Owner Yiannis Pappis used to work at Mr Vertigo, the well known wine shop and import agency. He’s put together a brilliant list of Greek and international wines, with a low intervention focus. There’s plenty of good stuff to drink here under €50. I focused on Greek wines, but also went for a really interesting Aligoté, because it’s one of my things.
Gamay also does really good food! Open every evening until 1 am, no reservations. There’s an outside area that’s rammed, and a tasteful inside bit that’s empty because Greeks love to smoke and they can’t inside. It’s in walking distance of Pharaoh which I ate at last week.
The Illustrious Hartman Molavi Extra Brut 2018 Crete, Greece
11.5% alcohol. This traditional method fizz, a blend between Xinomavro and Romeiko, and spends between four and five years on lees. It’s a collaboration between Laurens Hartman (Domaine Karanika) and Afshin Molavi (Manousakis Winery). I was really impressed by it. This is very fine, saline and mineral with a lovely juiciness and an incisive lemony acidity. Such precision to this fizz. Not heavy but beautifully intense. There’s also a slight smoky edge. 93/100
Aparchi Leneta Assyrtiko 2022 Santorini, Greece
14% alcohol. Good to see a Santorini white that isn’t crazily priced. This is from the Leneta vineyard, owned by the Holy Monastery of Prophet Elias Thira, so it’s a monastery wine! Bold, rich and nicely intense with a salty, pithy edge to the rich fruit. Such a concentration of flavour here without heaviness. Some salinity, some aniseed. Stylish. 93/100
Jérôme Galeyrand Alligotay 2022 Bourgogne Aligoté, France
Gamay has an insanely good French list, with strong representation from the Loire and Burgundy, so I felt I ought to venture out of Greece for this wine. This has ripe rich aromatics of melon, pear and honey, as well as a touch of mint. The palate is bright with some salty mineral character. There’s a lovely vivid stoniness here as well as fresh ripe yellow fruit. 94/100
Pithari Fokania 2022 Ikaria, Greece
11.5% alcohol. From a vineyard at 600 m, made from the Fokiano variety grown on sandy granitic soils. Lighter coloured red with amazing spicy, smoky reductive notes combing with floral red cherries, and a hint of pepper. There’s energy in the mouth with some tannic grip and good acidity. This is quite thrilling. A bit like a Schiopettino in style. 95/100
Mercati Paolo 2019 Zakynthos, Greece
This is a remarkable style of wine, made with some flor and then oxidation. Saline spicy and savoury. Oxidative with some raisin and cedar spice. Complex and detailed with a spicy warmth. Such lovely harmony here. 95/100
