Description
Domaine Economou, Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot
I’d like to begin today’s cryptic cult offer with a three-year timeline of Economou releases. 2019: Virtually no wine left the cellar. 2020: Radio silence. January 2021: Economou alerts his importer about a potential release. Late 2021: Still “on the way.” June 2022: After 36+ months of nothing, we’re finally blessed with a meager allocation of wines. In short, the astonishing elusiveness and extreme rarity of today’s offering should put every fervent wine collector on notice, even if they’ve never heard the name.
For the uninitiated, Economou is a micro-domaine with a mythical cult status that surpasses any Napa label or First Growth. The fascinating allure and aura here is more akin to Gravner “Rujno” or Wendouree Cabernet, wines that are simply phantoms on the US market. Giannis Economou has been called many iterations of crazy, but one thing is undeniable: The man is among the world’s most talented, ingenious winemakers. Known and revered by only the most dedicated wine professionals around the globe, his Cretan blends are deeply singular and limited gems that deliver transcendent experiences. While most of his holdings boast a treasure trove of ungrafted Liatiko vines, today’s painfully rare, long-aged current release fuses together Cabernet and Merlot. In order to secure this 2012 bottling, I had to buy it sight unseen many months ago. Since that time, I’ve visited the domaine personally and uncorked a bottle of my own. It’s savory, perfumed, transfixing—you’ll never forget it!
NOTE: Once this sells out, be on the lookout this afternoon for his legendary “Grand Vin.” Those who read our May newsletter will already have some insight…
Nestled deep in the Mediterranean Sea, 200 miles north of Africa, Crete is the largest and most populous island of Greece. This self-sustaining landmass possesses a truly ancient winemaking history that reaches back to the highly advanced Minoans—currently the earliest recorded civilization in Europe. Clearly, vinous talent has deep roots here and today, one particular producer stands head and shoulders above the vast majority of his winemaking peers, anywhere.
Giannis Economou graduated with an enology degree from Alba before he went on to learn alongside some of Europe’s finest: From Château Margaux in Bordeaux to cellar work across Germany to Ceretto and Scavino in Piedmont, he culled his abilities under the best in the business. Although he had the entire fine-wine world at his fingertips, Giannis knew he could do something rare and pure on his home soil. So, he returned in 1994 and breathed new life into his family’s heirloom vineyards.
Today’s wine from the 2012 vintage was derived from ungrafted, organically farmed Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot vines. The pristine fruit fermented spontaneously and aged in a mixture of stainless steel and used French oak—perhaps even some red plastic jugs that line his winery—for many years before bottling without filtration. Honestly, I cannot provide specific details beyond that because his vinous art isn’t documented. There are no tech sheets, no lab, no analyses; just him and his winemaking genius. Case in point: His 2014 Cab-Merlot blend was still resting in a single steel tank when I visited three months ago. You can learn a bit more from my experience there in our May newsletter.
The resulting wine is a singular experience that provides immense complexity, savory depth, and pitch-perfect balance. Poured at 60 degrees into a Bordeaux stem, this gorgeous, decade-old Cab-Merlot returns sublime aromas of black cherry skin, spiced plum, redcurrant, forest floor, crushed herb, bay leaf, tobacco, baking spice, balsamic, licorice root, vintage leather, and ocean rock. Coming in just under medium-plus bodied, this delivers soft-knit textures and swells of ripeness alongside a powerfully savory core. Maybe you want to call it Bordeaux, but something stops you. Perhaps it’s more akin to Musar? No, there’s something different about it. That’s the magic of Economou—there’s nothing else like it. You may be well-versed in decade-old Cabernet blends, but this bottle promises to redefine everything you know. Enjoy this rarity slowly, with good company.
