1979 Kalos 2020: What Retsina Looks Like With Age

A thread of petrol on the nose. That was the first signal this bottle was going to be different from what I’d expected.

Retsina doesn’t age, you’ll often hear. Drink it young, drink it cold, don’t overthink it. That advice held up when retsina was bulk product and the resin did most of the work. But this is Assyrtiko grown at 350 metres, bottled three years ago by someone who treats her work as research. The whole premise is different.

The 2020 Kalos was Eleni Kechri’s first commercial vintage under the 1979 label. It was also the last vintage in which she blended resins from three forests into a single wine, before her research confirmed that the forests could stand apart. Three years in bottle later, this wine does two things at once: it shows why retsina deserves serious attention, and it documents the moment just before the project changed direction.

Producer: 1979 Wines Wine: Kalos Vintage: 2020 Region: Emathia, Northern Greece Grape Variety: Assyrtiko Vineyard: Gerakona, Kilkis, 350m altitude Resin Sources: Pinus halepensis from three forests — Halkidiki (coastal), Megara/Attica (plateau), Corinthia/Peloponnese (inland) Harvesting Method: Sustainable, no sulphuric acid Alcohol: ~13% Retail Price (Greece): approx. €25 Availability: Germany, Belgium, UK, Canada Netherlands: distribution coming soon Website: 1979.gr/en

Tasting Note

Appearance — Deeper gold than either 2022, with a warmer, amber-tinged core and a clean golden rim. The colour alone tells you something is happening here.

Nose — The Assyrtiko is immediately recognisable but has moved from primary citrus into something more developed. Lemon has become preserved citrus marmalade, slightly candied, with real depth behind it. Hazelnuts and a gentle toast sit alongside it, and then, unmistakably, that thread of petrol — the secondary aroma of aged Assyrtiko that confirms genuine bottle age. The resin is woven into the fabric of the wine rather than sitting on top; less a flavour than a structural quality. A spiced warmth that gives the marmalade and nut notes a particular richness.

Palate — Fuller-bodied than the 2022s, with a rounder, more textured attack. The acidity remains very much present. Assyrtiko doesn’t surrender its backbone easily, but it’s now framed by more weight and glycerol from the extra time in bottle. The mid-palate is the most complex moment: marmalade, fresh grapefruit peel still vital, dried herbs, a faint smokiness, and a mineral spine that never quite goes away. The finish is long, warm, and resinous in the best sense. The empty glass smells extraordinary.

Quality Assessment — This is the wine that settles the question of retsina’s ageing potential. The primary freshness has deepened into complexity without losing the essential character. The resin integration is complete after three years. You wouldn’t describe this as a resinous wine; you’d describe it as a complex, layered, distinctly Greek white wine. Which is exactly what it is.

The Starting Point of a Project

The 2020 occupies a particular place in the story of 1979 Wines. It was the first vintage Eleni released commercially after years of research, the first time her work went into a bottle with a label and out into the world. It was also the vintage in which she hadn’t yet confirmed that the forest terroir differences were stable and reproducible enough to justify single-forest bottlings.

That’s why it’s a blend. Halkidiki, Megara, and Corinthia resins assembled into one wine, each contributing a different dimension: the coastal freshness of the first, the herbal structure of the second, the deeper warmth of the Corinthian pines. As Eleni describes it: this is how retsina has always been made. Resins from different sources combined, the forest character averaged out rather than expressed distinctly.

What the 2020 shows, three years on, is that the blending approach has its own merit. The blend is more food-versatile than either single-forest wine, more complex at this stage of development, and more immediately accessible to someone trying serious retsina for the first time. If you’re building a wine list or choosing one bottle to introduce this project, this is the one.

The Research That Followed

The 2020’s blend format was also the last of its kind. By 2022, Eleni had confirmed, through multiple vintages of controlled trials, that the forest terroir differences were consistent year after year. The coastal pines of Halkidiki always gave iodine and sea spray. The Megara plateau always gave herbs and dry mineral warmth. So she separated them. The Thalassino and the Stergianos as distinct expressions.

The 2020 Kalos is therefore not just a wine. It’s a document of a research process. A before-photograph, taken at the moment when the hypothesis was being tested but hadn’t yet been confirmed. Tasting it alongside the 2022 single-forest wines makes the whole story legible in a way no amount of description can quite replicate.

Food Pairing

The most food-versatile of the three wines, and the most suitable for the dinner table rather than the aperitif glass. Eleni’s own suggestion: yellow cheese with marmalade, ripe Camembert, a French Alpine cheese with a washed rind. I’d add: slow-roasted pork with a citrus glaze, duck breast with cherry or orange sauce, aged cheddar with quince paste, and a rich chicken liver pâté. The combination of acidity, body, and complex aromatics means the wine handles rich dishes — something most whites at this price struggle with.

A cheese course works too. The evolved, complex character holds its own against strong-flavoured cheeses where a younger white would be overwhelmed.

Serve at 10–12°C, slightly warmer than the 2022s. The extra body and complexity deserve room to breathe. Decant for 15 minutes or let it sit in the glass.

Cellaring: The wine is already showing beautiful development at three years. Given how Assyrtiko typically ages, there’s no reason this couldn’t comfortably age another three to five years. Buy two bottles. Drink one now, hold one.

The Verdict

The 1979 Kalos 2020 is the most complete wine in the 1979 portfolio at the moment, simply because it’s had the most time. It shows where the single-forest wines are going, it demonstrates Assyrtiko’s ageing potential in the retsina context, and it’s genuinely delicious in a way that needs no qualification for someone sceptical about the category.

At approximately €25 in Greece, it’s the most expensive of the three. And the easiest to justify.

Part of a three-bottle tasting with Eleni Kechri of 1979 Wines on Sparks by VinoVonk.

This article is based on a press sample received from 1979 Wines / Eleni Kechri. My assessment is entirely independent.