A visit to Tatsis Winery is something more than the usual courtesies and public relations between producers and distributors of (natural) wines; it requires planning well in advance if only for the destination, the small region of Goumenissa within Greek Macedonia, about fifty kilometers north of Thessaloniki. After leaving the Ryanair flight, a small Citroen rented at Thessaloniki airport takes us through the rugged streets of a Greek countryside parched by the July sun but alive, rich and orderly. Fruit trees alternate with the inevitable olive groves, in the distance the Aegean sea appears and disappears on the undulations of the gentle hills. Crops of unexpected cotton appear which, as we will learn, are among the finest in the world; the vineyards are sparse and can be seen close to the country houses, probably for domestic needs. Approaching Goumenissa, the smallest of the protected wine regions of Greece, the vineyards become more and more prevalent until they dominate the surrounding hills.
Tatsis is located just inside the protected area, a small wrought iron gate leads us into the courtyard of an ordinary-looking cottage surrounded by vineyards.
We are about to start an extraordinary journey accompanied by Stergios Tatsis, the most whimsical producer of natural wines that we have gotten to know: long gray hair, a white beard that is more rock than hipster and the T-shirt of the Bike Club of Thessaloniki, of which he is one of the faithful members. With him is his brother Periklis who takes care of the vineyards, and their two wives with their 4 children… all of the age at which they’re able to lend a hand in running a completely family business. Stergios takes us to the cellar for a brief visit to the stainless steel vats that hold the fruit of his work; here almost everything is done, from squeezing to labeling and shipping the bottles, which now, fortunately, travel the entire globe, even if they are occasionally sampled in order to share in the bounty of this small but magnificent production.
You go down the stairs and the first basement houses the 500 and 250 liter oak barrels where red wines and bottles of fresh wine rest; other stairs lead to the cellar labyrinth; vintages set in niches carved into the walls; all built by the Tatsis family in the 80s, long before the world knew what natural wine is. Here, also, is the personal cellar of the family members; everyone has their own niches where they stack their favorite vintages for the times to come.
These are wines that can rest indefinitely and Stergios proves it by extracting a twenty-year-old Xinomavro vinified in white (which in the new decade will take the name of Xiropotamos) and a red Goumenissa from 1997. We are a bit perplexed, we knew Tatsis and his wines on the market, of which we are proud ambassadors; we did not expect this whirlwind of vintages that have very deep roots and reverberate distant memories. Here wine is not just culture and tradition; it seems an object of divination to be consecrated and shared only with trusted friends. We are happy to be considered as such, because when we rise to the surface the long table in the main room has been set and a saraband of proudly Greek dishes accompanies the opening of the bottles liberated a few tens of meters below: very tasty olives, tsatsiki, marinated aubergines and beans, salad with feta, grilled sardines. The Xiropotamos we open is stunning; unthinkable freshness and acidity... roundness that blends with complex flavors and aromas that we try to identify; it looks like that aromatic herb, it reminds me of that fruit; there is love and passion inside. At the end of the lunch, we rinse the glasses with water and take hold of the Goumenissa decanted half an hour before, and here the surprises become astonishment; a deep wine that in twenty-five years in the bottle has had an extraordinary evolution without giving up a millimeter of freshness and color: enveloping the mouth, it leaves a feeling of total satisfaction. But do you sell these wines? Well I don't have enough. Some of it, yes, but for personal use. The wines of Tatsis had struck us immediately; the freshness of Malagouzia, the perfection of Xiropotamos, the marvelous madness of Roditis. Having tried them where they are born means falling in love instantly. We leave on the small Citroen this time with the sea in front of us, a couple of days await us on the wonderful beaches of the Sithonia peninsula, in the trunk a couple of bottles that Stergios has given us as homage. Inside, thoughts that become memories and the desire to find another excuse to return. https://naturavini.com/artist/tatsis-winery/
