Brothers Stamatis & Antonios Mylonas are third-generation winemakers in the Attica region of southern continental Greece (an important detail in a country of countless islands). Attica is where the capital city of Athens is located and where a significant amount of bulk Savatiano-based Retsina wine is produced. Depending on your palate even a little pine resin* is too much, but Mylonas produces an all stainless-steel wine from old-vine Savatiano (55+ years), indigenous yeasts, and a tiny amount of pine resin. This retsina is extremely well-balanced and should appeal to most drinkers, with light notes of pine needle, eucalyptus, lemon, tropical, and stone fruit. Pair with fried fish, fritto misto, hummus, Melitzanosalata/Baba Ganoush, and anything doused with extra virgin olive oil.
[*What started out of necessity more than 2000 years ago, i.e. using pine resin to seal clay jars, is now the traditional flavoring of this great wine. Why pine resin? Before the Romans instituted the use of wood barrels in the third century AD, wine and olive oil were transported across the Mediterranean in earthenware Amphorae. Sticky pitch from Aleppo pine trees was used to keep the jars free from salt water, air, and sun; however, the resin also ended up in the wine. This traditional wine lives on, but these days the winemaker only has to add pine resin to the grape must during fermentation - and eureka, ancient wine recreated! Although it might sound as if Retsina (ret-SEEN-ah) would taste odd, it really does have a delectable flavor which you will crave once you develop a taste for it.]
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