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Achaia Clauss
"Once upon a time there was a Bavarian called Gustav Clauss. Gustav very much liked drinking wine and reading books. One day while he was drinking some wine he started reading a nice book referring to Greece. Gustav was very impressed by the story of this country and decided to visit it .So it happened. In 1854 Gustav arrived in sunny Greece. He traveled round the country, which he considered most attractive until one day he reached Patras . Here he discovered a paradise of vineyards which covered the surrounding hills. Here, he thought must certainly produce the best wine. Without taking much into consideration he decided to settle down in Patras ,where he built a castle and within its walls he made a wine factory." "Full of love and talent Gustav created many kinds of wines which started to be exported to the other European countries. Their names became famous all around Europe: Mavrodafni, Moschato, Demestiha." Clauss' venture attracted much attention from the start. From the initial vintages in the 1860s, his wines met with a warm reception in Europe. The first German exports began in 1869, establishing an immutable reputation that, according to legend, may well have spared the estate during the Nazi occupation of Patra during World War II.
Though its core products reside in a virtual lock box, today Achaia Clauss is a machine with a 20,000 unit-per-hour bottling capability, annual production of twenty-five million bottles and exports to nearly forty countries. Its portfolio consists of a staggering seventy labels, running the gamut from bulk-quality products to emerging boutique styles to rare Mavrodafni that is released from the winery's "Imperial Cellar" for only the most compelling clients and events. This huge cellar contains casks from every vintage, each dedicated to a head of state or visiting dignitary. The tradition began with the unexpected arrival of the Empress Elizabeth of Austria at the estate in 1885 and led to a steady stream of visitations from Greek and foreign magnates, politicos and royalty. The estate's guestbook includes such luminaries as Franz Liszt, Eugene O'Neill, Field Marshal Montgomery, Neil Armstrong, Margaret Thatcher, and Valery Giscard d'Estaing. The cask holding the first vintage is adorned only with the number 601, denoting the page number of the notebook on which the original Mavrodafni recipe was written. The two casks containing 1882 are considered the creme de la creme, topped off annually to the point where the wine has reached a stabile equilibrium. The value of the cellar is estimated to be in the millions of dollars. After the death of Gustrav Clauss in 1908, the winery passed to his German partners. After World War I, the Greek government confiscated it for war reparations and auctioned it off. The buyer was a local Greek currant mogul, Vlassis Antonopoulos. Antonopoulos made significant capital improvements aimed at modernizing production and added the name Clauss in honor of the company's founder. The Antonopoulos family controlled the winery until financial problems forced its sale to current owner Nikos Karapanos. The extensive Achaia Clauss portfolio requires a copious supply of fruit. The property itself has a mere eleven hectares of Mavrodafni, Cabernet and Syrah. For all practical purposes the exclusive buyer of Mavrodafni within the appellation zone (and primary negociant of the wine for other Greek labels), the company has recently extended its already extensive contracts with growers throughout the Peloponessos.
The Achaia Clauss wines: Demestica N/V This much maligned wine, said to be the highest selling in Greece, is made from Roditis, Sideritis and other white varieties. It is blended for the consistency for which it has been known for nearly a century. Summer wine and distinctly ethnic, by any measure, we found much better aromas and cleaner flavors than we have found in exported versions. There is some peachiness in its fruit, straw in its color and herbal notes. The finish was surprisingly upscale. A new US importer may solve the storage and handling problems the plagued the wine in the past. Peloponnisiakos Local Roditis, and Chardonnay and Ugni Blanc from Messinia produce a light, fruity summer wine. Better balance and structure than the Demestica, with more apparent acidity. Filambelo A limited production wine made from select Roditis augmented with Chardonnay, it is a wine of some structure. Some of Roditis' lushness is apparent on the nose and palate but overall it is a clean and light drink.
This represents a bit of a venture into New World winemaking. Southern Peloponessos Chardonnay steel fermented with a bit of Ugni. Interesting for its residual sugar, though the growing environment is conducive mainly to sparse fruit. Earthy Chard nose supported by more body than the other whites we tasted. Demestika Red We were surprised by this wine. Being a high production, low latitude product, it is not known for its extraction. Indeed, its color is very much on the light end of the Agiorgitiko spectrum. Alcohol was solid, though, fruit thin, but pleasant. Tannin structure was surprisingly elegant. Peloras red 75% Cab, 25% Agiorgitiko, this wine has medium body and some of the complex cedar and eucalyptus nose characteristic of southern Greek Cabernet. The density of aroma and a slight oaky feel made this a particular high point of the tasting, going especially well good, strong cheese. Leonteias 1998 This, an appellation Nemea, if I'm not mistaken, is sourced from mid-altitude vineyards and confirm our preference for Agiorgitiko from this elevation. Smooth and well extracted with subtle, mature fruit and mild spice, it shows that Achaia can meet relatively premium standards for quality in red wine. Epiloyi 1997 This limited production (24,00 bottles) wine is made from 100% Agiorgitiko aged in Allier barrels. Its two years in oak rob, somewhat, the grape of its typical, charismatic fresh cherry attribute, but not entirely of its charm. This is more or less an example of Kava wine, a tradition more valued in Greece than by us Americans, a difference in taste that should not be taken, in the case of this wine, as an aspersion.
The bold flavor of Mavrodafni is too challenging for some American wine drinkers, especially those whose encounters with red dessert wines began with the current crop of emasculated versions that inhabit the chocolate departments on trendy dessert menus. Mavrodafni leans towards port. There is an enduring bitterness in Mavrodafni that appeals more to the European palate, one that challenges in youthful wine, but becomes a sublime counterpoint to its dense sweetness in aged versions. Some of that bitterness is probably tannin, some the residual bite of fortifying spirits. It should be no surprise that Achaia Clauss manages to balance these elements in a wine that still displays the red (and literally black) currant fruit at its magnificent best, with just that right hit of acidity along with a slight rough edge. Mavrodafni 1979 This roughly twenty-year-old bottle was inspiring. Raisin bordering on prune, there was still some currant in its fruit; a plenty lively mouth feel with calming caramel notes just starting to develop. It was smartly packaged with a label reproduced from a nineteenth century issue. We left with a bottle now cherished and oozing a dark, plummy jam that challenges our self control. Muscat of Patras "Mellisia" 1999 This intense, honey-packed white muscat has a deep yellow color and candied finish. With little acidity, the effects of sugar are relentless. Takes dessert wine to a new extreme. |
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Muscat
"Mellisia" 
