Alexakis Kotsifali Syrah 2018 Review

Published by Jeremy.

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Greece is a wine-lovers paradise, with many delicious varietals to be found all over the mainland and nearby islands. On the island of Crete you may be lucky to find the Kotsifali grape that has limited exports.

We were lucky enough to find a bottle of Alexakis Kotsifali and Syrah blend (60%/40%), and were rather eager to try out as quickly as possible. A new grape paired with one of our all-time favorites? Something told us we were going to like it. And we did.

While this one is a fair bit lighter by most Greek wine standards, for those who want an easy drinking wine that is both fruit-forward and complex, give this one a go.

Kotsifali Has a Lovely Flavor Profile

This Kotsifali and Syrah blend was pale ruby in color with medium aromas of black cherry, clove, cinnamon, sage, thyme, wet leaves, tobacco, forest floor, black pepper, blueberry, cassis, and pomegranate.

On the palate, it was dry with high acidity, medium chalky tannin, alcohol, body, and finish, and medium(+) flavor intensity. We had flavors of dried red cherry, black cherry, green bell pepper, clove, sage, wet leavers, olive, blueberry, cassis, tobacco, blackberry, and blueberry.

Kotsifali Food Pairing – Burger with Mushrooms

We weren't quite sure what to expect with this wine as far as food pairings are concerned, particularly because Greek reds can be all over the place. But we leaned into the hope that it would be on par with a varietal Syrah (as it was) and paired it with a homemade burger with mushrooms, tomato, pickles, and more plus homemade sweet potato fries.

This one was a great pairing as the fatty burger helped highlight more blueberry and other dark fruit notes, plus a spike in herb character, all while smoothing out the modest tannins in the wine. The sweet potato fry pairing was perhaps a bit more interesting because the wine had a spike of earthy characteristics as well as a more prominent olive note that we quite enjoyed.

Score: 3 / 5

We'd buy a glass of this one.

Overall, this one was quite the interesting bottle to try and it was very reminiscent of a nice Syrah. Although we perhaps could have done with a bit stronger tannin and body on this one, it was a refreshing red all around. We'd never say no to another glass.

Alexakis Wines is located at 104-106 Irinis & Filias, Peridi Metohi Heraklion Crete 715 00 in Greece. We purchased this bottle on Wine.com and enjoyed it in 2024.