Dry white

Mantinia

Robe — Very pale, sometimes a faint coppered blush

  • rose petal
  • muscat
  • lemon
  • orange peel
  • spice
Palate
Pale, fragrant and crisp, high acidity and low alcohol
Ageing
Drink young, 1–3 years
Serving
9–11 °C

High on a cool plateau in the central Peloponnese, the pink-skinned Moschofilero grape gives Mantinia its calling card — a pale, intensely fragrant white, all rose petal and Muscat spice, kept crisp and low in alcohol by the altitude. It is one of Greece's most distinctive and aromatic whites.

The cool air and long, late ripening preserve a piercing freshness, and the grape's aromatic pink skins can lend the wine a faint copper tint. Delicate, floral and refreshing, Mantinia is a lovely white counterpoint to the powerful reds of nearby Nemea.

The blend

A typical modern composition

Where it is made

Producers

A few estates working in this style today — a sample, not a ranking

Through time

Indicative presence index, 0–100Origins & Antiquity — 20The Monastic Middle Ages — 25Exploration & the Fortified Age — 25Classifications & the Golden Age — 30Phylloxera & the World Crises — 35The Modern & New World Era — 65Antiquity20500150017001875195065