Zambartas Melusine Commandaria PDO Cyprus Sweet Wine, 500ml

Tasting notes & pairs with

Dried fruit and honey on the nose, with a lift of orange peel. Decanter’s judges tasted this specific 2011 vintage. On top of that, they noted wood polish, dark chocolate and a hint of coffee.

A decade in oak has softened the sweetness. It’s closer to concentration than syrup. Gentle acidity keeps it from feeling heavy. Pickled ginger and kumquat cut through the honeyed fruit. It settles into a long, nutty close.

Pairs with: aged hard cheese (a mature gouda or a Cypriot halloumi variant works better here than a soft cheese), dark chocolate, or walnuts and dried figs on their own.

The estate

Zambartas Wineries was founded in 2006 by Akis Zambartas. He trained in chemistry at Lyon and oenology at Montpellier. Before that, he spent 25 years as chief winemaker at KEO, Cyprus’s largest producer.

In the 1980s he catalogued more than a dozen indigenous Cypriot grape varieties. These had fallen out of commercial use. His work underpins much of the island’s current wine revival, Xynisteri included.

This 2011 Commandaria was laid down to age a full decade in used oak. It was among the last wines he set in barrel before his death in 2014. It was released only once his son and successor, Marcos Zambartas, judged it ready.

The grapes themselves come from Zoopigi. It’s one of the fourteen villages inside the demarcated Commandaria PDO zone, in the Troodos foothills above Limassol. The village is still farmed without irrigation, in the traditional way. Learn more about Zambartas Wineries.

How it tastes

• Nose: dried fruit and honey, with orange peel and, according to Decanter’s tasting panel, a top note of wood polish and dark chocolate.
• Palate: juicy rather than syrupy, the sweetness carried by a gentle acidity, with pickled ginger and kumquat pushing through the honeyed fruit.
• Finish: long, closing on toasted pecan with a faint trace of coffee picked up from a decade in oak.

How to use it

Pour a small glass alongside aged hard cheese or dark chocolate to close a meal, rather than serving it with the meal itself. A tablespoon drizzled over vanilla ice cream or a plain almond cake works in place of a dessert syrup. Serve lightly chilled, in a small dessert-wine glass rather than a full-size wine glass, since a little goes a long way at this concentration.

Why this one

Ten years in oak before release is a slower, more deliberate style of Commandaria than most on the shelf. This bottle is one of the final vintages completed under the winery’s founding winemaker, before his son took over.

The Silver Medal and 92-point score from Decanter’s 2023 judges back this up. That decade in barrel buys concentration and complexity, not straightforward sweetness. A small glass after dinner is a considered way to end an evening, not unlike settling in with a coffee once the table’s been cleared.

Keeping it well

Unopened, store the bottle upright in a cool, dark place, away from temperature swings. The wine’s own sugar and acidity mean it holds for years without special handling.

Once opened, reseal and refrigerate. At 500ml, poured a glass at a time, it will keep its honeyed character for two to three weeks in the fridge. After that, the fruit notes start to flatten.

FAQ</h4>

What is Commandaria? A naturally sweet PDO wine from Cyprus, made from sun-dried Xynisteri and/or Mavro grapes grown in one of fourteen designated villages in the Troodos foothills.

Its production method was described by the Greek poet Hesiod around 800 BC, and the name “Commandaria” itself dates to the Crusader-era Knights of St John in the 12th century, which is why it’s often called one of the world’s oldest named wines still made today, rather than simply “the oldest wine.”

<strong>Is this wine fortified? No. Melusine Commandaria is unfortified: its 13.5% ABV and sweetness come entirely from the natural fermentation of sun-dried grapes, with no added spirit.

Why is it sweet without any added sugar? The Xynisteri grapes are laid out on elevated beds in the sun for about two weeks after harvest, which concentrates their natural sugars before pressing and fermentation.

<strong>What makes this bottle different from other Commandarias? It’s aged 10 years in oak before release, well beyond the norm, made from 100% Xynisteri rather than the more common Mavro-Xynisteri blend, sourced from a single village (Zoopigi), and it’s one of the last wines completed by the winery’s founding winemaker, Akis Zambartas.

<strong>How should I store and serve it? Lightly chilled, in a small glass, after a meal rather than with one. See “Keeping it well” above for storage once opened.