Evangelos Gerovassiliou is one of the most highly regarded winemakers in Greece. He trained in Bordeaux with the illustrious Emile Peynaud. On the recommendation of Peynaud, Gerovassiliou, then in his 20s, joined Chateau Carras just as that estate was pioneering modern winemaking in Greece. Gerovassiliou has since built up his own estate at Epanomi, just south of Salonica in traditional vineyard country. The estate of about 40 hectares is on gently rolling hillsides, cooled by northerly winds, with a predominantly southern aspect looking down to the Aegean Sea and across to Mount Olympus. The soil is a light, sandy clay and the rocks are rich in marine fossils. The vineyard is planted both with international and native varietals; Gerovassiliou has spearheaded the efforts to bring out the qualities of the native varietals with the use of contemporary wine-making techniques and was one of the earliest to see the potential of Malagousia, a native of central Greece, and Limnio, originally from the island of Lemnos, both of which have been widely taken up elsewhere. From 2002 Gerovassiliou has been producing a stunning red based principally on the Santorini varietal, Mavrotragano. Among the international varietals his Chardonnay and Syrah are in a class of their own, regularly winning high distinction in international competitions. Clear in structure they exhibit an unmistakable and delightful individuality. It is some years since Steven Spurrier compared Gerovassiliou to Marcel Guigal in terms of their contribution to their wine regions; Gerovassiliou has not stood still.