About this WINE
Zambartas Wineries
Zambartas Wineries was founded in 2006 by Akis Zambartas who formerly held the posts of chief winemaker and then managing director at the large KEO winery. Akis possesses a degree and PhD in chemistry from Lyon and a degree in winemaking from Montpellier.
Marcos Zambartas joined his father in 2008, and together they craft their small range of wines from native and international grape varieties. Following his studies in Adelaide, Marcos gained vintage experience in France, New Zealand and Australia.
Zambartas are a small, artisanal producer situated in the scenic mountain village of Agios Amvrosios, some twenty five minutes to the north of Limassol. Their current production is 55,000 bottles and they aim to increase this to 65,000 bottles by 2015. Their portfolio of wines consists of two white wines, a rosé, and three red wines.
Maratheftiko
Plantings of the Maratheftiko, a red grape indigenous to Cyprus, are small and the grape difficult to cultivate.
However, when well understood, Maratheftiko produces a range of medium to full-bodied wines with deep purple to ruby colour, a violet bouquet, delicate cherry flavours, firm tannins and fresh acidity. It is most often employed as a varietal wine and produces wines worthy of medium to long-term maturation with or without the influence of (new or used) oak maturation.
When is a wine ready to drink?
We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.
Not ready
These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.
Ready - youthful
These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.
Ready - at best
These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.
Ready - mature
These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.
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Description
Made from 100% Maratheftiko from both bush and trellised vines, the grapes are first selected by hand on a sorting table. They are then gently crushed and cold soaked for five days in a temperature controlled stainless steel tank to start the process of extraction prior to the alcoholic fermentation. This takes place at an average of some 22°C over the course of a week prior to pressing and subsequent aging for ten – twelve months in two to three year old French oak barrels.
This wine shows all the hallmarks of Maratheftiko: an intense purple colour, lifted violet and black cherry aromas, mouth-coating though structured tannins, and a full body. Though extremely primary and somewhat grippy at the present time, this wine will develop and prove more approachable over the next year and keep for the next eight to ten years.
The grapes for this wine come from Pachna, the village just above Agios Amvrosios (and the birthplace of my mother), in the southern slopes of the Troodos mountains that constitute the Krasochorio wine region of Cyprus. The vineyards are at an altitude of 750 metres above sea level and are made of friable limestone and chalk.
Demetri Walters MW, Hellenic Wines Specialist Maratheftiko is a grape indigenous to Cyprus, and is grown in sparse quantities. In the 1980s, with the emergence of boutique wineries in Cyprus this variety has been revived and its cultivation is slowly on the increase again, as it offers a distinctive character to local wines.
This wine is a textbook expression of the grape - The signature aromas of Maratheftiko violets and black cherry are immediately apparent on the nose. This leads to a savoury, and bitter chocolate flavours on the palate with well-integrated oak, good depth, and rounded tannins. It has the structure to evolve for another 5-7 years but it is already drinking well now. It should be pointed out this offers excellent value for its level of quality.
Eva Polaki, Greek Wine Specialist
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