Domaine Tselepos 2016 Blanc de Gris 750ml

John's take: Moscofilero that was aged in barrels for three months. Honey, rose, quite rich and seductive.

The 2016 Moschofilero Blanc de Gris, the winery's Moscho with some wood (three months, new French oak), is actually mostly (90%) the darker-skinned Mavrofilero clone, which the winery says promotes more concentration. Deeper and a bit richer than the regular, unoaked bottling, but not showing quite as much tightly-wound precision, this still has plenty. The acidity here easily slices, dices and eradicates the wood. The next day, it was gloriously bright and open, the fruit lively and shockingly fresh, even with that bit of wood. It probably does not yet show the concentration it has (Yannis Tselepos noted that the yields were very low this year and it had been recently bottled), but it has a wonderful, fruity feel, with the fruit nicely lifted by the acidity. It is also nicely aromatic, one of the most aromatic years, said Yannis Tselepos. He added that the "[h]arvest was done under [good] weather conditions with low north winds and temperatures that would not exceed [72F]. It was a typical year of Mantinia. The climatic conditions created fine varietal aromas and the typical acidity. And last, I would like to add a note on the Moschofilero production, that we lost a great amount of grapes due to the hail storm end of June 2016. " Overall, things worked out. This is another in a long line of beauties. Few have been this enlivening. Yet, this is a Moschofilero that can age a bit, although that might not be its highest and best use. Giving it a year to come together, though, should easily improve it. In any event, it will certainly show better around October than now.

Score: 92 points -- Mark Squires, The Wine Advocate, 2017

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Yiannis and Amalia Tselepos when looking for a suitable location, they chose the earthen hills on the outskirts of the historic Mount Parnonas to plant their vineyards and founded Ktima Tselepos in 1989. The estate is located at the southeastern end of the Mantinian plateau, at an altitude of 750 meters.  Yiannis Tselepos graduated from the Department of Oenology at the University of Dijon, France, and after having gained experience for two years in wineries of Burgundy, he settled in 1981 in Mantinia, the wine of which he has been producing since then. Enchanted by Moschofilero after the variety’s first vinifaction, he is the first of the younger generations of winemakers to rescue it from oblivion and putting it back on the map by presenting it in a mono-varietal way.  The exceptional soil and climate of the region, characterized mainly by continental climate, poor claystone soils and the excellent sun exposure, were chosen for their ability to produce high quality wines.  The main philosophy of the estate is to study, experiment and display all the potential of the Moschofilero variety, in order to establish its presence in the greek and international market. Today, Ktima Tselepos extends in 45 hectares of privately owned vineyards and 20 hectares of cooperating producers. Great attention is given to the grape-growing practices and to the management of terroir so that the variety delivers its best expression.  The first label, Mantinia (Protected Designation of Origin), was released in 1990 and a few years later wines from international renowned varieties namely Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot followed. The volume of production of the winery has been increasing gradually, with the current production reaching the 450,000 bottles a year, allowing for the 40% of production to be exported, mainly to USA, Canada, China, Germany, Cyprus, Belgium and United Kingdom.