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Emery Wines
| News: March 24, 2003 |
With the passage of time, ownership of the operation has passed to new generations of the family spread between Greece and the United States. The face of Emery, however, is Mary-Irene Triantafyllou, granddaughter of the founder, an indefatigable spokesperson not only for the winery, but for Greek wine. This past year (Spring 2004), she was elected President of Greek Women of Wine, an organization of winery owners, oenologists and other women in the profession who do as much as any other organization in Greece to promote an understanding of wine and who are poster people for all that is good about the Greek wine industry. Raised in the U.S., Mary-Irene and her family now live in Athens. She is the eyes and ears of the family, helping oversee Emery's substantial distribution in Greece as well as exports. Her tireless PR on behalf of the company has helped it weather increasing competition from the wave of new producers in Greece in past years. Her binational perspective has been invaluable in shaping a commitment to increased quality and a multi-million dollar renovation of the family winery currently underway. The family's roots in Chicago paid off a couple of years ago when they found Greek-American oenologist Stergos Hadzisavvas, back from years spent in Italy as a winemaker following a serendipitous affair with winemaking formed during a visit there a decade or so earlier. The fact that Hadzisavvas' time in Italy coincided with that country's quality revolution bodes well for Emery's own program for improvement. The relaxed but serious Hadzisavvas brings both objectivity and useful experience to the problem of how to extract the best quality from the Rhodes appellation. Rhodes is the only Greek region in which the tannic Mandilaria (known locally as Amorgiano) and the aromatic Athiri are permitted the status of varietal wines. Rhodes' long and dry microclimate is mostly responsible for these distinctions, but climate alone is not a guarantor of quality by the international standards that Emery strives to meet.
To aid in this and other matters, the Triantafyllou family contracted Angelos Iatridis, Greece's leading consulting oenologist. Iatridis, who understands as well as anyone in Greece the value of extraction and concentration, provides not only important technical insight, but the weight of authority that will go a long way towards reassuring growers that they have more to gain by following a disciplined cultivation program. Hadzisavvas feels good about the company's direction. "We are eighty percent there and moving upward", he says. Experimentation is at an all-time high. In 2002 he began a program of extended skin contact for the winery's Athiri. The result was increased body and aroma. Athiri's aromas have always been its most admired feature, but even in Rhodes, where the variety develops greater body, it hasn't until now broken into the top class of Greek white varietals. Emery has now changed that. Emery's Athiri Vounouplagias ("Mountainside") now joins their award-winning rosé (Granrosé, from Amorgiano), and sparkler (Grand Prix) as an internationally regarded Rhodian wine. The reds are edging upwards. As they gain in character year after year Amorgiano is destined also to join the elite list of Greece's leading red varieties. Emery's Cabernet is improving by leaps and bounds with each vintage. Emery is in a unique position to capitalize on its progress as a quality producer. With fifteen products in the market, including a sparkling wine, there is potential to serve every price category in domestic and export markets. Emery is on the move and can be expected to become increasingly visible in the media and in the market over the next few years. Emery Wines: 2002 Athiri Vounouplagias This low-production, stainless steel-fermented Athiri underwent 8 hours of skin contact. It has silver hues, a white fruit and melon nose and light body. In addition to highlighting aromas, skin contact has resulted in a distinct, silky mouth feel. A light, elegant wine of medium acidity, soft, subtle finish and clean aftertaste. 2002 Rodofili This low-production (approx. 12,000 bottles) Athiri is fermented in barrel followed by six months aging in Cognac barrels. It is colored by hints of caramel with cream, butterscotch and butter on the nose. This wine takes to oak quite nicely. Dry, with medium body and acidity, it loses some fruit in barrel, but has a rich flavor, a long finish characterized by bread yeast and a tart, lemon aftertaste. 2002 Granrosé This wine is a medium-to-dark rose color with a nose of dark honey and raspberry. Medium-bodied and off dry, its fruit has real depth underlined by light residual sugar and dry extract. Not surprisingly, the Amorgiano offers some light tannin. Careful vineyard selection and low yield provide sturdy acidity and concentration that contributes to a long, balanced finish. 2001 Zacosta This unfined and unfiltered Amorgiano has a dark cherry color, light hay-infused nose and medium fruit. Its palate is defined by a liberal dose of coffee and characteristically strong tannin. 2001 and 2002 Cabernet (barrel tastings) Cabernet production is in its nascent stages at Emery, but two hectares of now four-year-old vines have already begun to yield significant results. Hadzisavvas wisely employs second use barrels and lets the wine decide when it has seen enough oak. The 2001, despite its rich color, exhibits a certain thinness, not surprising given the age of the vines. Woody, but still round, it was a promising first step. The 2002 was a dramatic step forward. Similarly dark in color, it has flavors to match: cassis, dark fruit, dark chocolate. Only a slight weakness of body keeps this wine from topping the short list of serious Greek Cabernet. At this rate, Emery will soon find itself shoulder to shoulder among Greece's elite red wine producers. |
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