The Boutari Iouliatiko is a sweet wine made from the indigenous Cretan red variety “Liatiko”. It ripens early and matures in July (hence the VII on label, reference to the 7th month of the year). The freshly harvested grapes were sun-dried for 11 days, which results in an increased acidity due to concentration. The wine was matured for 3 years in barrels and likely for more time in bottle. 6800 bottles were produced from the 04 vintage, the alcohol level is 15%.
The results are stunning – this is one of the top sweet wines from Greece. The wine has an amber colour with purple tinges. The aromas are explosive: Dried fruits, walnuts, milk chocolate and a drop of honey. The wine is concentrated, but very elegant on the palate. It is smooth and not cloying at all, with a lively acidity. It is perfectly balanced and gives immense pleasure from start to finish, the aftertaste is long lasting. I suspect strongly that this will appeal to novice and expert alike.
The giant has shown that he can deliver high quality, hand crafted, small production wines. I hope the focus will be on creating more of those gems in the years ahead.
Learn more about sweet wines from Greece here.
Great to see a big company as Boutari still being innovative.
“the alcohol level is 15%…. warten wir die Entwicklung der nächsten Jahre ab . Ab 16% kann man wohl nicht mehr vom Wein sprechen oder ??
Nun, für z.B. Sauterenes Weine schreibt das Gesetz einen Mindestalkoholgehalt von 13% vor…