Characterisation of Anthocyanin Profile in Premium Red Wines from the Hilandar Monastery Vineyard (Mount Athos, Greece)

In this paper, we present for the first time a complex, comprehensive multi-year investigation focusing on some of the qualitative and quantitative components of wines from a centuries-old traditional viticulture area in the Chalkidiki peninsula in the northeastern part of Greece. The research was conducted at the Hilandar monastery vineyard and winery. French premium clones of Merlot (181, 345, 346), Cabernet Franc (210, 214) and Cabernet Sauvignon (15,169, 337) were used for the “Savino Polje” wine blend. A comparative analysis of the anthocyanin complex was performed for wines made from the 2010 to 2016 harvests. Statistical analysis revealed a significant difference in the concentration values of individual anthocyanin compounds in relation to the duration of wine ageing. Among the identified and quantified anthocyanins, malvidin-3-O-glucoside (acetylated and coumarylated derivatives) were the most prevalent, especially in young wines (vintages 2015 and 2016). With the exception of vitisin A and peonidin-3-O-glucoside-coumaroyl, which showed the highest concentration in the oldest wines with values increasing with age, a decreasing trend was observed for all other anthocyanin compounds. The sum of the identified anthocyanin compounds also showed a decreasing trend over time. The highest relative total compound content of the malvidin group (64.65 ± 0.42–81.30 ± 0.44%) and the sum of non-acylated anthocyanins (48.84 ± 0.29–58.00 ± 0.37%) were determined. The presented results are of great importance, as this is the first time that results related to wines from this region are being published. This research represents a valuable source of information and contributes to the ongoing comparison of the qualitative parameters of wines from this and other regions.