2022 Apostolos Thymiopoulos, Xinomavro, Young Vines, Makeoania IGP, Greece.
The beautiful and distinctive 100% Xinimavro young vine ruby red from Apostolos Thymiopoulos delivers a wonderful palate of wild plum, brandied cherry, raspberry and blood orange fruits, again reminding me that Xinomavro is very Nebbiolo like, especially here with subtle earthiness, black licorice, seeped rose petals and Amaro notes. This exceptional value, shows off a medium body and a fine tannic structure, as well as a brisk cut of natural acidity making it fabulous with a robust meal, and or hard cheeses. This wine, from the Macedonia area in Northern part of the mainland in the foothills of high mountains, which sees warm days and cool nights, sourced from both high elevation and lower plots of vines set on schist, granite and limestone soils, really highlights the unique terroir of this less traveled part of Greece. Greece’s new generation of winemakers have transformed our understanding of Greek wines, especially in the red wines, which were never nearly this delicious and compelling, it is the best time ever to explore them.
Apostolos Thymiopoulos, based near Naoussa, one of Northern Greece’s best growing regions, is all new to me and I am now an instant fan after tasting this wine and look forward to checking out the winery’s offer offerings. I understand that he Thymiopoulos family has been growing Xinomavro grapes in the village of Trilofos for the better part of a century, but Apostolos Thymiopoulos was the first of the family to make wine for himself commercially, doing so while studying oenology back in 2005. Apostolos is committed to sustainable viticulture and minimum intervention during the whole winemaking process, and completely focused on the native Xinomavro grape, of which he typically does 10 different expressions of each vintage. For this wine, the grapes are 75% de-stemmed, with 25% whole bunches, saw a long cool maceration and native yeast fermentation in stainless steel tank, after completing malos, the wine is then racked over to cement vats for 8 months of aging. This wine’s transparency and quality really shines, and makes me wonder why I’m not drinking more Xinomavro, which I highly recommend doing so in the near future!
($20 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive