The Mitravelas’s are the oldest viticulturalist family in Nemea. Documentation proves that their grandmother, Mitravelena, owned property in Agios Georgios, which is now the wine region of Nemea. The winery was established in the early 1913. By the end of the 20th century, the family had around 10 hectares of vineyards with the Nemea region.  Today, the fifth generation, Konstantinos,  runs the estate and winery. As a student of business administration, he brings new ideas, and a desire to modernise in all areas of the operation, from finances to choices of equipment.

One of his first innovations was the development of the Red on Black Agiorgitiko. This was the first stainless steel aged Nemea to be released into the Greek market. As a parallel, he released the Ktima, Mitravelas Estate Nemea, from 40 year old vines, and 6 months of aging in French oak barrels. White on Grey, a Moschofilero, was added to the line, soon to be followed by a Rosé of Agiorgitiko.

Mitravelas’ holdings in Nemea amount to some 10 hectares, mostly located on hillsides scattered around Nemea. All of the sites are low yield, well-drained, and dry farmed. These result in the highest quality grapes. Wines have been cultivated in Nemea for over 2000 years. Today, Nemea, is the most prolific producer of PDO red wines in Greece. The are ranges in altitudes from 250m to over 900m, made of soils comprised of alluvial, limestone, gravel, sand, and some clay. Vineyards range in orientation, incline, et cetera, furthering the complexity potential.

Agiorgitiko is Nemea’s most important variety, and by far and away, the most important grape to Mitravelas’ operations. It is the only permitted grape for the PDO Nemea. Here, this grape reaches perhaps its best expression.

Assyrtiko

Due to the unsustainability of grape growing on the island of Santorini, producers elsewhere have been planting this noble and elegant variety. At Mitravelas, while they don’t have the proximity to the sea at Nemea, they do have the altitude, which does have its benefits. Acid is perhaps the most significant attribute high altitude offers. Mitravelas’ Assyrtiko is still very much a seafood wine, despite the lower amount of saline and brininess. There is ample minerality, tropical and citrus notes, and assyrtiko’s weight, which enables a considerably wider range of pairings than many crisp whites.

Esthita Rosé

This pink hails from Psarri, sitting around 800m above sea level in alluvial clay and limestone. It is Agiorgitiko and Syrah. With intense winters, mild summers, and cool nights, this is the ideal site to compose a rosé that delivers all of the beachside zippiness one could want, while offering more than enough fuel for the gray matter to feed on. While the nose typically favours strawberries, the palate can bounce around between those, cherries, and pink floral notes, while always maintaining a light herbaceous savouriness.

White on Grey Moschofilero

While Assyrtiko may well be Greece’s one and only truly world class white variety, and make no mistake, it is at the very least that, Moschofilero is one of several contenders for second place. For decades and beyond, to the casual wine drinker, Greece was basically known for white wine, albeit often the antiquated and put mildly, polarising, Retsina.  Moschofilero is something else, and like many of the Greek runners-up, an unusual contender. Like Malougazia and others, it is a floral white, and not like Sauvignon Blanc-floral, more like Gewurtztraminer floral. Intensely peachy, exotic spring flowers, some high toned baking notes, honeysuckle, perfume. Unlike its Germanic cousin, it is not flabby, low in acid, and overly alcoholic more often than not. Moschofilero references, even hints at bombshell bawdiness, and then takes a very graceful step back out of the limelight, with a refreshing curtsy. Southeast Asian food often springs to mind as a natural ally, while obviously Mediterranean, specifically Greek, food is what this wine was propagated to accompany.

Red On Black Agiorgitiko

As previously stated, this is considered the first release of an unoaked, stainless steel aged Nemea. That alone is a minor stroke of genius, if for no other reason than one is permitted to peek behind the curtain for a glimpse at what unfetter Agiorgitiko is all about. Sometimes, I have to admit, this is not always a successful exercise. Without disparaging, there are examples of wines that really need oak, or rather are notably better with oak aging. Mind you, the assertion is not that the oak versions of this wine are not fantastic either. However, the arduous point is that this is a really tasty, interesting wine, young, and unadorned.

Nemea Ktima

This is the estate, Agiorgitiko, the flagship of sorts. It is more of a traditional-style of Nemea, as opposed to a polar opposite of the Red on Black. The wine comes specifically from older vines, averaging 40 years of age, and is then aged in used (2nd or 3rd) French oak barrels for 6-8 months. Previously it was aged a full year, but that proved a bit excessive for these grapes, and so in recent vintages the wine is typically aged less. After destemming the grapes are inoculated with locally selected yeasts. Fermentation is at a low temperature for about 15 days. At 14.5% ABV, this is a fairly alcoholic wine, and yet, this is not a heavy wine by any measure. Structurally, it offers both power, and softness, notes of plums, violets, vanilla, herbs, roasted peppers, and some leathery notes. One might compare it to a classic Rioja, although the colours are less red, favouring more purple and dark hews. The inherent complexity of this Nemea suggests food pairings of great complexity; roasted meats, well-aged cheeses, root veg, mushrooms.