This redefiningXinomavro Naoussa address seems to be carefully unfolding more cards at this juncture Struck by cruel fortune after loosing his younger brother Theodore to an accident and his father Stergios shortly after Apostolos Thymiopoulos acknowledged as a brilliant farmer has regained momentum His postmodernist Gi ke Uranos and his clever Jeunes Vignes de Xinomavro have opened new markets for the cultish Xinomavro in North America UK France and Japan Never keen on the Greek market he early on in 2005 pushed to open exports He is now a role model for others to follow as his export strike rate is over 98 If anything following his personal loss Apostolos had to come closer to his vineyards in Trilofos and Fytia on the southern fringe of the PDO Naoussa This bottling is another step in reengaging in his terroir Each year he selects a single vineyard of 40plusyearold vines and bottles it with no added sulphites In essence he is decoding all these wonderful plots that his late father had stitched together Being pressed on any other news Apostolos was not forthcoming The twinkle in his eye gave away that he has more than one set of cards up his sleeve As I was leaving he was handbottling Magnums of this reviewed wine It all goes to be poured by the glass in wine bars in Paris and Tokyo His parting shot was I did this wine to prove that not all natural wine is rubbish with high volatile acidity carbonic gas and weird reductive offsmells With care it can be done right The minimalist label with a wryhumoured little boy flying its kite captures the spirit of this wine flying into refreshingly uncharted territory Lying at 500m on a slope in Fytia that contains red schist This oldvine single vineyard named Agios Athanassios is organically farmed Checking in ABV15 per cent it is broad shouldered kept in balance with terrific acidity 7grL in tartaric
Of a dark colour for this grape Upfront strawberryscented fruit followed by a dense characteristic of the vintage fruity core wrapped in finegrain tannins As no sulphur is added which would harden tannins especially in Xinomavro it strikes a vivacious clear picture Fleshy utterly delicious Difficult to say how it will evolve Still a 15 L size kept below 12C in the dark could be an eye opener of how such ripeness from lateharvested grapes and high inherent acidity for a red grape could be brilliantly expressive of the vineyards full potential
Wine: Xinomavro Nature Thymiopoulos Vineyards
Year: 2012
Link: http://thymiopoulosvineyards.gr
Score: 17
Type: Red
Variety: Xinomavro
Area: Macedonia