Semeli Feast White 2016

'THUS UZ SPAAARRGHHHTAA!!!!!!!' So bellowed Gerard Butler at a troublesome guest in the film '300', which tells the tale of Greece's King Leonidas overcoming the Persians at Thermopylae with just 300 men. Well, fast-forward 2,493 years, and Sparta is a much more welcoming place and you can find another, more gentle Leonidas, seeing to his vines in Mantinia, from which he makes this fresh, rose-petal and lychee flavoured beauty. Dry, but with an abundance of floral perfume, this is a superb choice for a dry white drinker looking for something a bit different.
The Nassiakos family winery merged with Château Semeli about five years ago to form Semeli S.A. The Nassiakos Winery had been in existence for three generations, specialising in the Moschofilero grape variety, grown in the family vineyards in Mantinia, Peloponnese (modern day Sparta). Leonidas Nassiakos studied Oenology at Patras University in Greece, before joining the family winery to assist his father. In 2000 he became Head Winemaker at Chateau Semeli in Nemea, Peloponese, while still making wines at the family winery in Mantinia. In 2005 the two wineries amalgamated and Leonidas became the General Manager and Head Winemaker of the new Company, Semeli S.A. In Greece he is said to be known as 'the Master of Moschofilero'. His goal is simply to make good value, quality wines from indigenous Greek grape varieties.