Having decided to study medicine in Italy Stergios Thymiopoulos was about to board his flight Yet he could not bear the fact that his family would sell land to finance his studies He turned around and headed home to Trilofos Naoussa There his family had been growing plums peaches and vines for three generations A chance meeting with Mrs KourakouDragona then President of the Wine Institute in Athens who had instigated Greeces first appellations in 1971 had positive ramifications She was adamant that the way forward in replanting Naoussa was Xinomavro He heeded her advice Grapes were sold to large ngociants a little wine and tsipouro was made He was an enlightened farmer Openminded intuitive wellread hardworking and a visionary Our talks about the birth of the Modern Greek state were memorable He was also a man on a mission buying hillside land on the axis of Trilofos and Fitia He understood better than most nature and grape farming In order for his vines to fully ripen on these cooler hillsides his yields were low He was also right on vineyard orientation and many other key quality factors such as canopy management For all this nongreedy commonsense approach he endured being the butt of jokes by colleagues and friends One day all this will pay off was his reply It was his son Apostolos who studied oenology Upon paying a visit to retired Mrs KourakouDragona she thundered So you are the son of Naoussas best farmer You have a tough act to follow The first vintage was 2003 Climatechange messages did not go unnoticed As of 2009 he started to source grapes at higher altitudes There is little high Naoussa where vineyards reach 500 m Most are in this TrilofosFitia Naoussa PDO southernmost axis Trilofos is at 200 m There is a clue of the intricate geological complexity of these vineyards just look at the travertine quartz and schist now enclosing the house courtyard These were quarried from their morerecently planted vineyards Apostolos is a risk taker he harvests up to three weeks later than his colleagues do A few other estates have now followed suit He farms organically with increasing elements of biodynamics When locusts arrived one summer morning he responded by releasing his flock of guinea fowl to clean up A TV channel that was on hand interviewing him was able to capture this on film It received traction on social media His flagship Earth Sky Uranos in the US is all about terroir It shines like a beacon on a perilous foggy coastline There is more to come research on singlevineyard wines is redefining what Xinomavro senseofplace snapshots can offer For starters there are different altitudes old clones and ungrafted microcuves Stergios died aged 55 Not long after his other son Theodore 28 died tragically in a tractor accident Yet Stergioss legacy lives on Under Apostoloss stewardship this estate has become Naoussas game changer
Indigenous yeast Bottled unfiltered Tasted several times in monthly intervals Different each time Lucent ruby Vibrant colour on the outer rim Strawberryscented Meltinyourmouth tannins meshed with a highacid suave tannic backbone Seamless oak Layers of flavour Insistent cherries on the long mineral finish Silky finesse Great purity Ethereal An acrobatic act in a rather difficult discipline Magnums would be an ideal companion for this tanninmanagement tour de force A landmark Best 20162036
Wine: Thymiopoulos Vineyards Earth and Sky
Year: 2012
Link: http://www.thymiopoulosvineyards.gr
Score: 19
Type: Red
Variety: Xinomavro
Area: Macedonia