Nebbiolo wines are some of my favorite wines in the world but this section is about non-italian varieties. Well, Xinomavro is a greek grape and wine style that resembles Nebbiolo and deserves some attention.
Xinomavro is grown around Greece but the best examples of the wines are from the Northern region of Macedonia and the two most famous PDOs of Naoussa and Amynteo. Both of these wine regions produce wines under the European Union PDO system with 100% of Xinomavro grapes. Some wines are made outside the PDO rules by blending in Merlot and those wines are receiving more and more attention as the Merlot softens the wine, adds some body and takes the edge off of the typically high tanning levels of a Xinomavro wine. The Macedonia region has both mountains and plains with varying climates. The continental and cooler regions in the mountains is where one will find Naoussa and Amynteo. The vineyards are planted on each side of Mount Vermio at elevations of 150 to 400 meters offering cooler temperatures and a high diurnal range for acid retention. The best sites are protected from consistent and cold winds that blow through. Some of the best sites are beginning to produce single vineyard wines to better reflect their quality. Traditionally, Xinomavro wines are extremely acidic and tannic, requiring extensive bottle aging before most people could enjoy them. They were picked at a point where they were just ripe and often had green and potentially underripe favors. The wines were matured in large, neutral oak vessels and focused less of fruit and more on the development of spicy and meaty wines. In the 1990s, a trend to using French barriques started and wines with more resolved but firmer tannins, greater color stability, more body and oaky aromas were the result. Modern winemaking has moved to picking riper fruit, performing a cold soak (extracts color and flavor without the tannins) and employing whole bunches in fermentation. The wines are softer, rounder, less tannic, deeper color and have a far greater focus on fruit.
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Wine Up and DownDennis Smith, IWP, AWE, WSET 3, NPWE Archives
October 2021
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