Pape Johannou    

(Papaioannou)

Before my first visit to this Estate I had read a magazine article which said that they employed a French-trained winemaker. As I speak French, I showed up expecting no trouble with communications. As it turned out, that winemaker had been there for one season and I was hosted by Athanasios and George Papaioannou – neither of whom spoke a word of English or any other language I know. My Greek is limited to “Please” and “Thank you”.

But wine works wonders. We got along fine. Nemea is a dusty town of 5000. Ancient Nemea, where Papaioannou is located is an even dustier village of 500. On the outskirts the Papioannous have a lovely compound of houses and winery buildings including a gorgeous new underground barrel cellar and (all marble, of course) tasting room. Most of the winery equipment is bare bones and not new, but perfectly maintained and fully adequate to the production of fine, sometimes great wines. Now that the barrel cellar is finished, winemaking equipment is being upgraded and modernized. Quality will improve further, but the changes will be subtle.

The vineyards of course are what matter. Some Aghioritiko (the Nemea varietal), Cabernet and Chardonnay are planted amidst the ruins of an ancient temple of Zeus. An American archaeological team has been excavating here for 25 years and this is also the site of the Nemean Games, a wholly amateur antidote to the Olympics conducted in the style and spirit of Ancient Greece. The best Nemea wines come from High Nemea, vineyards over 1000 feet and at Xirocambos (1300 feet). Much of the Aghioritiko this high up gives fine and great wines. Then there’s Assyrtico planted on Ai Lia (Saint Elias), a spectacular extinct volcano…

This is a magical Estate. The bottled wines are only an extension of 3500 years of civilized history.