Cyprus tasting notes

These notes accompany our in-depth feature on Cyprus and its wines.

VLASIDES

Vlasides Syrah 2008
Barrel sample. Lovely fruit, with spicy layer of soft oak, but the fruit is bold and fresh; a really good, relatively straightforward Syrah at this stage, but with terrific zest and clarity. Lovely, with fine tannins and wonderful balance. 92/100

Vlasides Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon 2008
60% Merlot. Big, sweet, quite plush nose, with plummy red fruit and some vanilla. On the palate quite grippy, slightly tougher than the Shiraz, slightly more drying tannins, but still a very good wine with structure. Quite a powerful style. 89/100.

Vlasides Syrah 2007
Lightly herbal notes, again good, crisp, lithe and lively fruit. Slightly less concentrated on the palate than the 2008 andjust lacks a little of the density. Still a crisp, fine quality Syrah. Sophoclese says this had only been bottled for two weeks at time of tasting. 90/100

Vlasides Maratheftiko 2006
Sophocles explains this grape was traditionally found in field blends, used with Mavro to add body and colour. It comes from a plot of 50-year-old vines and has a distinctive, resinous, herbal and earthy nose. The palate has really good fruit and gamy qualities, and it has excellent balance with quite a fine tannin. 89/100

to return to Cyprus and its wines