Tsantali Kanenas Red (Mavroudi-Syrah) 2013

Maronian Tetradrachm ancient coin c189-145 BC

Dionysus teaching the art of wine-drinking to his son Oenopion_ on an Attic black-figured amphora from Vulci _540-530 BC_ by Exekias Maronia Village Maronia (or Maroneia) is a village in the regional unit of Rhodope, in the administrative region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, Greece; the history of Maronia is dated back to thousands of years, always related to wine.  Maronia was founded by Chian colonists (from the island of Chios) on the SW slopes of Ismaros mountain, in the mid-7th century B.C. and soon developed into a prosperous and densely inhabited city-state. According to tradition, the mythical founder of the city was Maron, a priest of Apollo; he was the son of Oenopion ("wine drinker" in Greek), the legendary King of Lemnos and son of the god Dionysus who was said to have brought winemaking to the island. Homer describes Maron's hospitality and the gifts (among them the famous "Maronios wine") that he offered to Ulysses (Odysseus) when he visited the land of the Kikones. Besides the acclaimed Epic Poems by Homer, the local wine was mentioned in many texts among the quality wines from Greece. Poludeuke (Julius Pollux), a Greek grammarian and sophist of 2nd century AD, on his work "Onomastikon", a thesaurus of Attic synonyms and phrases that offers valuable information about life details in antiquity, writes about the most famous wines to be traded with their Appellations of Origin: "Thasos (island), Arioussios from Chios island, Mendeos from Mende (Halkidiki),Ismarikos, Lesvios (from Lesvos island), Peparetheos (from Skopelos island), Pramneos (from Ikaria island) and Maronitis".  The bond with winemaking is evident in ancient discoveries: decorative vines can be found inancient coins and a spectacular mosaic found at a large private house, in the men's quarters (andron), dated to the end of 4th or the beginning of the 3rd century BC. At the same time, wine presses curvedin stones can be found in Mount Ismaros dated back to 700BC, as well as the Sanctuary dedicated to Dionysus (400 BC).

Tsantali Kanenas Red (Mavroudi-Syrah) 2013     The 2013 Kanenas is an equal blend of Syrah and Mavroudi coming in at just 12.3% alcohol. It was aged for 12 months in a 50/50 mixture of new and used French oak (with 5% of the juice in used American oak). Bright, lively and just bursting with flavor, this doesn't project a lot of concentration, but it has plenty of structure, focus and fine fruit. I was a bit underwhelmed at first, but I liked this more and more as it aired out. It's worth leaning up for the moment because of what it does so well. Did I mention how wonderful its bright, expressive fruit tastes just now? 90 Points eRobortParker.com #222