Jérôme Charles Binda

Jérôme Charles Binda, a former arts and antiques dealer from Paris, left France in his 40s to, all of a sudden, become a vigneron on the eastern Cycladic island of Tinos in the early 2010s. It’s a story that feels far fetched, and one that could only occur within the context of natural wine. I have to admit that I’ve been a bit sleepy on Greek wine. I had my moment with the Sontorini wines of Hatzidakis years ago, but as many of you know, my palate has gone decidedly French these days. I was first introduced to Bindas’ wines just over a year ago, when I happened to be in London at the same time as a Tutto trade tasting, where Alex and Damiano were introducing the wines for the first time in England. I’ve found that I’m increasingly not very good at focused drinking at trade events, and I think that the wines washed over me a bit that dreary London day, me being more taken by my new surroundings rather than what was actually going on with my palate. I’ve drank a few of Jérôme’s wines since, each one a bit of a curio but always delicious, and always a bit hard to pin down. But, like with all wines that start to call me intuitively, I began to think more and more about, and to crave these wines on my tongue, seemingly out of nowhere recently. Charles, and his son Gabriel, are doing singular work on Tinos, farming bush vines unaffected by Phylloxera, that are mostly around 150 years old, and vinifying everything manually without (do I even have to say it?) any additions of any kind. The results are sensual and aromatic wines that feel neither Greek nor French—fresh juice squeezed out of hot earthen crag that contain a distinctively addictive bitter quality, from an ancient island on the deep blue Aegean sea; perfect spring-summer tonics for all that ails.  

Sainte Obeissance 2018
Aspro Potamisi / Rozaki
$50



Sainte Obeissance 2019
Aspro Potamisi / Rozaki
$55



10+12 2020
Aspro Potamisi
$55



Un Été Grec 2021
Koumariano
$55



To Kokkinaki 2017
Mavro Potamisi / Koumariano / Kondoura
$50