Week 1, 1997 İHannu Lehmusvuori
Peloponnesus, Greece
2100 drachmas = 42 FIM
In Finland, and very likely in many other parts of the world, the release of a so-called art wine has become an annual trend. Every year a well known artist is given the opportunity to create a label for a (French) bottle of wine. All else is usually quite common; traditionally formed bottles with no trace of a designer's hand, and a traditional wine - sometimes somewhat above average in quality, sometimes not. But all the same there's this much of insight; a (rediscovered ?) consciousness that aesthetics belong to the Dionysian culture and the enjoyment of wine. In addition, wine in general gets more space in the media which is by no means a disadvantage.
Cavino's Atelier bears a resemblance to the art wines, but in a slightly different manner. There's no label that's changed annually, but a total appearence pleasing to the eye; a harmony between the shape and coloring of the dark bottle and the label's small aquarelle with hues of brown. It's hard to imagine that you could set this bottle on the table without receiving comments from your company.
So, here we have a bottle that tells us something about the modernization of Greek wines - also with it's atypical grape. Pleasant, although not very strong scents and a clear red color lead us to expect a clean wine experience. The taste is slightly hard with a nice dominance by the grape. A composed wine with demi-full body and no recognizable oak ageing. Clearly a wine to accompany light meats.
