GAI'A Ritinitis Nobilis

GAI'A Ritinitis Nobilis Retsina bottle image

Wine Description

One of the pioneers of the modern Greek wine revolution, Gai’a Estate (pronounced Yay-ya) was established in 1994 by Leon Karatsalos and winemaker Yiannis Paraskevopoulos. Their mission was to capture the best that Greece’s indigenous grapes have to offer by merging traditional viticultural and production methods with innovative techniques. The estate is named after “Mother Earth,” in honor of the unique terroir that gives birth to these world-class wines.

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Yiannis Paraskevopoulos and Leon Karatsalos
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Acclaim
“I defy those who think they hate all Retsina to find something bad to say about having a cold glass of Ritinítis Nobilis with a spring or summer salad. The pine element is so elegantly integrated into the base wine—which is obviously of higher quality than that of many a Retsína of yesteryear, as shown in the texture of the fruit—that it will win over a lot of skeptics. Writer Jamal Rayyis found a fresh-cut celery note in the wine, while Dimítrios Karagiánnis, of NYC’s Nerai, stipulated adding anchovies to that crisp salad pairing.” – (Best Buy) — Wine & Spirits, Feb 2024
“Yiannis Paraskevopoulos’s Ritinitis has set the bar high for Retsina for years, but this vintage hits it out of the park. He bases it on roditis grown in the cool heights of the Peloponnese vinified in stainless steel, so that the base wine itself is bright and lively, with vibrant acidity and a mineral grip. The resin, culled from a particular stand of Aleppo pines, goes in fresh and in moderation. The combination always creates a cooling, refreshing Retsina, but this vintage (2020) has an electric intensity. It’s head-turning in aroma, more seaside-pine-grove than direct pine resin, and arresting in flavor, delivering a jolt of bright, fresh herbal flavor that wakes up every nerve in the body.”
— Wine & Spirits, Jun 2022
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Vineyard & Production Info
Soil composition
Calcareous and Clay
Exposure:
Northern
First vintage of this wine:
1996
Average Vine Age:
15 years
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Winemaking & Aging
Varietal composition:
100% Roditis
Fermentation container:
Stainless steel tanks
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Analytical Data
pH level:
3.3
Acidity:
5.7 g/L
Alcohol:
12 %
Residual sugar:
1 g/L
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Wine Production

The Retsina of Greek antiquity developed its distinctive flavor from pine resin that was used to seal the porous surface of the clay amphora used to store and transport wine. Although resin is no longer needed to provide air-tight containers for wine, today it is added directly to the must during the fermentation process in order to achieve the signature flavor profile. The grapes for the Ritinitis Nobils are destemmed prior to crushing. Only the free-run juice is used for fermentation. A carefully calculated quantity of resin from the Pinus Halepensis pine tree is added to the must (less than 0.3 gr/L). After fermentation, the wine is clarified with bentonite, followed by cool stabilization (25°F) for controlled tartrate precipitation.

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About the Vineyard

The Traditional Appellation for Retsina can be made anywhere in Greece, typically from Savatiano: a high-yielding, neutral-flavored white grape. Ritintis Nobilis represents a courageous re-interpretation of the oft-maligned Retsina style, made from high-quality Roditis grapes from cool-climate, north-facing hillside  vineyards located on the Corinthian slopes; the ideal environment for producing grapes with elegance and a smooth, lemony character.