A unicorn wine: we ‘ve heard about it, but we never, ever have seen it or tasted it. And how could we, since Elia Sangiovese of Karavitakis Winery never existed between Greek borders... At the same time, it was and still is, the wine that came to everyone's mind when listening to the name of Karavitakis, with comments like "he makes an awesome Sangiovese but you can’t find it, there are very few bottles."
Our answer is yes, it is a terrific Sangiovese and yes, there are very limited bottles but luckily, we did find a few and managed to keep them here. Manolis Karavitakis has studied in Bologna, so he has an intimacy with Italian varieties. A few years ago, when he returned, he thought Sangiovese would fit well in the lands and the climate of Crete so he decided to cultivate it! By having experience with the variety, the first samples were very encouraging. The following progression showed that Elia Sangiovese by Karavitakis Winery is one of the best Sangiovese outside Italy ...
Sangiovese comes from the privately-owned vineyards of the estate, in Pontikiana of Chania. After great care in the vineyard, and insistence on the perfect phenolic ripeness of the grape, follows careful vinification of the precious juice. Then the wine matures in French oak barrels for about 11 months. Only 20% are new barrels while the rest are of second and third use. The reason for this is because they do not want to overshadow the delicate and aromatic character of this special variety. And if you ask us, they do it perfectly!
Use a decanter to help it to unfold its complicated character and put some slow-cooked meat on the side and you can thank us later.
