This wine was one of many good wines in a xinomavro tasting in my local wine club last Monday. Xinomavro is the most emblematic grape in the northern part of Greece and is characterized by a light colour and crystalline tannins, not very unlike nebbiolo. The prices are generally sympathetic.
Kostis Dalamára is a sixth-generation winemaker in Naoussa, the historic region of Macedonia. When he took over the family estate in 2010 he introduced organic cultivation, spontaneous fermentation and reduced sulfur dioxide levels. The soil in the area is sandy loam to clay, which comes from former limestone and marl rocks.
The grapes for this wine are de-stemmed and fermented in steel tanks, macerates for some 25 days before being moved to 300-500 liter barrels to mature for 6 months in 10% new oak. The rest is 1-14 year old barrels.
Naossa 2021(Dalamára)
Ruby red. Aroma of mature strawberries, raspberry, sundried tomato and an earthy note. Medium-bodied, with those signature xinomavro tannins and a nice integrated acidity. It’s more fruity than most, somewhere between rusticity and elegance.
I have participated in a tasting with some of Vinmonopolet’s suppliers, organized by the Norwegian state monopoly. The relatively new importer Swirl has a portfolio that focuses on Portugal. Øystein Solvang presented a veritable wave of individual vignerons from various corners of the country, all of whom demonstrated high quality and a large degree of sustainable production. Here I can only name a few. Among those I already have a close relationship with, and which you can read more about on the blog, were Aphros (Minho), Espera and Marinho (both Lisboa), Vitor Claro (Lisboa and Alentejo), Cebolal (Setúbal/Alentejo) and Muxagat (Douro).
Øystein Solvang, Swirl Wines
Among those who were new to me are Tabodella and Hugo Pinheiro, both from Penalva do Castelo in Dão, who represented two different approaches. Where Tabodella had a more classic cut, Pinheiro offered a distinctly fruit-driven, unfiltered style.
A strong impression was made by tasting wines from João Tavares de Pina, also from Penalva in Dão, with the following background. Tavares recently lost his house and 85% of his vineyards in the fire that has ravaged the interior of Portugal. He is a sociable and generous guy with many friends, and there is currently a large-scale campaign underway in Portugal and partly abroad for him to be able to replant the vineyards. João says that the best you and I can do to help is to buy his wines. I have myself bought a couple of cases recently.
Here I tasted a wonderfully developed wine, Terras de Tavares 2002, with a brick-red color, aromas of dried fruit, well-hung meat, prunes and a hint of smoke. This evoked memories of an evening at the home of João and his wife Luisa, with a fire on the fireplace in the cold winter, when we ate delicious food prepared by João himself and also had a similar wine (Terras de Tavares 1997, read about it here).
I said hello to 2 x Ole Martin. It was the first time I had met Ole Martin Alfsen, who is known in several disciplines of gastronomy and wine. -Now it’s mostly wine, he says. He has developed his own portfolio of wine made in collaboration with producers in several countries, often abbreviated to his initials OMA. He always hits the mark with quality at reasonable prices. The wine name XinOma probably says it all; it is made by him on the grape xinomavro. Ole Martin also tells how he works in collaboration with producer Oenops. This grape often produces light coloured wines. The wine is light, but also has a nice concentration, with good primary fruit and an aroma of flowers and herbs.
Ole Martin Alfsen
We also tasted a rosé version of the same wine, a pét-nat and a blaufränkisch made in collaboration with Heinrich in Gols, Austria. Ole Martin also talked about his collaboration with Loimer in Austria, Quintas de Melgaço in Portugal, Giovanni Rosso in Italy and Au Bon Climat in the USA. Finally, we tasted a pinot noir, in which Ole Martin had collaborated with Broc Cellars in Santa Bárbara, California. It’s a fruity, mellow wine. It has a touch of oak, but Ole Martin Alfsen knows better than anyone that such wines also have a place on the table.
Ole Martin Brodvall, Vinarius
At importer Vinarius, Ole Martin Brodvall served wines from the prominent Fitapreta, where António Maçanita is the winemaker. First we tasted a phenomenal white wine from typical Alentejo and Portuguese grapes, mostly arinto. Palpite 2022 had a clean and beautiful fruit with hints of apricot and orange peel and good body, together with a significant acidity. Fitapreta Tinto 2022 was a relatively light and luscious wine with aromas of red berries with balsamic hints, from a typical Alentejo blend. Tinta Carvalha 2022 was also light in colour. Red berries, cherries and a hint of anise and other spices, good length. A good ambassador for the region..
I also met Henriette Batt, who has worked for importer Engelstad for many years. One of the producers she presented was Herdade do Rocim, which is known as one of the leading producers of vinho de talha, clay-aged wine, in Alentejo, Portugal. They also host a festival for clay-based wines. Fresh from Amphora 2023, which came in a 1L bottle, was a textured white. Discreet aroma, but with a mineral and spicy character, with a great and fruity middle part and a salty finish. The red in the 22 vintage has 40% moreto and has a fine touch of cherry and stone fruit, clean and lovely.
Henriette Batt, Engelstad
I was running out of time, so I indulged myself with just a few highlights from several importers. John Sonnichsen (VinJohn) served wine from his colleague Autentico. I tried MA Doña Blanca 2022 from producer Mufatto, who is Argentinian but operates in Bierzo, Spain. There doña blanca finds itself in the shadow of godello. But it stands out: Light in colour, rich with almonds, a bit of spice, good lees character, well-integrated barrel. A great wine, good for medium-term storage.
John Sonnichsen
It is always a pleasure to try wines from the Spanish producer Envínate. Ove Kvalheim at Unico had brought the white Benje 2023 from Tenerife, that is made of palomino fino and has been under a thin layer of flor, but without skin contact: Light in colour, rich, ripe citrus, nuts, fine texture. Superb. Lousas Viñas de Aldea 2022: Bright red, great berry fruit, with some pepper, a cool touch, nice concentration. I also tasted António Madeira‘s red Vinhas Velhas 2021, an elegant wine from a relatively cool vintage and two wines from Areanna Occhipinti. The normal SP68 in the 23 vintage lived up to the usual standard. Siccagno Nero d’Avola 2021 had a wonderful fruit, with flowers and discreet spice, young tannin, great acidity, juicy and concentrated at the same time and good length.
Have you ever heard of roditis? This grape comes in many variations and clones throughout Greece. Robinson, Harding and Voillamoz (in the book Wine Grapes) say that it has generally low ambitions and often comes in field-blends. Here it is in its crude version, and with serious goals, a lovely natural wine from producer Oenops Wines of Drama.
Winemaker is Nikos Karatzas. The grapes come from old vineyards and are picked by hand. Fermentation is carried out with native yeasts in a clay pot, where the juice remains on the lees for a month. The wine stays in a for further a 6 months. No additions are made.
Rawditis is accompanied on the market by the equally ambitious and raw red Xinomavraw, also recommended.
Rawditis 2021(Oenops)
Golden with orange hints. Expressive aroma of peach, apricot, white flowers, citrus peel, honey and a touch of smoke. Rich in the mouth, with a good acidity and some bitterness towards the end, long and dried-fruity finish.
The last xinomavro in this column was a very mineral wine. This one is quite different, a lot more fruity. Oenops Wines was founded in 2015 in the northeastern region of Drama by Nikos Karatzas. The grapes come from selected vineyards from Drama and Macedonia, that are cultivated by various ambitious winegrowers.
The grape for this wine is xinomavro, from Naoussa and Amyntaion, age varying from 14 to 65 years. Spontaneous fermentation was carried out in egg shaped 5 hl amphoras, with 6% whole cluster. Nothing added, and no machinery was used at any stage. After fermentation followed 6 months ageing on lees in amphoras. Bottled unfiltered.
XinomavRAW 2020(Oenops Wines)
Ruby red. Aroma dominated by raspberry and cherries, and behind there some earth and leather. Juicy in the mouth, some tannin, lots of lovely, natural acidity.
Summer is coming, and we want a fresh rosé. Apostolos Thymiopoulos can offer this. Though it’s not what you maybe would expect at this time of year: Here is an oak-matured rosé with some backbone.
Apostolos was the first to vinify the family vineyards, in 2005. He believes in sustainable viticulture and minimum intervention during the whole winemaking process. With this philosophy Apostolos produces ten different expressions of xinomavro, to express every aspect of its potential.
We are in the Naoussa appellation of Macedonia, northern Greece. The Thymiopoulos winery is located in Trilofos, a village at the foot of the Vermio mountain. The parcels for this wine are non-irrigated, young vines of xinomavro, around the village of Fytia at 450-650 metres. The soils are schist and granite.
The Naoussa region has a warm continental climate, tempered by the cooling winds coming either from Vermio mountain or from the sea.
Lower temperatures due to high altitude, and big differences in temperatures during ripening season give freshness to the wines.
The grapes were hand-picked, destemmed, macerated for 12 hours, and fermentated with wild yeasts in stainless-steel tanks for 5 to 6 months. Then followed a 4 months maturation in 500-litre, second-use oak barrels.
Rosé de Xinomavro 2020(Thymiopoulos)
Light red. Aroma of strawberry, currant, rosehip and herbs (thyme). Juicy and rounded, with some backbone, and also a nice acidity.
The wines of Greece have come a long way from the tourist spots’ retsina or the reds of the whitewashed tavernas in western Europe. Enter Apostolos Thymiopoulos, presenting this week’s wine Xinomavro Young Vines!
His contribution here is a red from the grape xinomavro (pronounced ks-) raised in the Naoussa appellation of Macedonia.
Nils-Are Økland, my colleague in Vinforum, put it this way in an article from 2019: “The rich ancient literature in Greece testifies to the importance of wine in early European culture. (…) Both Plato, Aristophanes and Hippocrates discuss the joys and challenges of wine in their writings. (…) Vines were also important in Greek cultural export and the colonization of Sicily and the coastal areas of southern Italy. In light of this proud history, it is striking how petty Greek wine industry has been in modern times. (…) But there are many indications now that Greek wine will have its well-deserved renaissance.”
Winemaker Apostolos Thymiopoulos is based in Trilofos, in the Naoussa region, one and a half hours south of Thessaloniki in northern Greece. Overlooking both the Aegean Sea and the Olymp he works organically and biodynamically in both own and contracted vineyards. He is maybe at his best with high-altitude xynomavro grapes. This week’s wine comes from vineyards at 400 and 600 meters above sea level, maybe not impressive, but higher than normal in Naoussa. This, together with a poor soil with schist, granite and limestone also contributes to a fresh fruit. Wild yeasts are used, and it’s aged 8 months in concrete.
Xinomavro Jeunes Vignes 2020(Thymiopoulos)
Ruby red. Red fruits (raspberry), herbs and a stony minerality. Textured, yet juicy, with nice acidity and a mineral finish.
The Thymiopoulos family has a long history in agriculture and grape-growing in Trilofos, under the Vermio mountain south of Thessaloniki. Apostolos Thymiopoulos was however the first to vinify the family vineyards, and he produced his first wine in 2005.
Apostolos Thyiopoulos (credit: the winery)
Thymiopoulos practises organic viticulture and believes in minimum intervention during the whole process. Various biodynamic practices are also used, thus being able to preserve biodiversity. The wild flowers stimulates both over- and underground fauna, thus strenghtening the soils and with it, the vines.
He concentrates exclusively on xinomavro, the emblematic variety of the Naoussa region. From this variety he makes at the moment ten different wines, from sparkling via rosé to reds. I have tasted five, and can recommend all of them. They are excellent value, such as the Young Vines2019. Xinomavro gives naturally acid and tannic wines, well-suited for ageing. And Apostolos would also say it gives an ethereal quality.
Our selected wine, the Xinomavro Nature, has no additions of sulphur. It comes from a single vineyard planted 53 years ago, 200 meters high on a slope, at the edge of the village. The soil here is pure limestone. The climate is tempered by the winds from the Mediterranean and downhill from the mountain. So despite the low altitude the temperatures are also relatevely low. The 2019 vintage had 50% destemmed grapes, fermented with indigenous yeasts and was macerated for 30 days. It was matured for 6 months in 500-litre French oak barrels of second use.
Xinomavro Nature 2019(Thymiopoulos)
Ruby red. At first quite discrete aroma of red berries and a touch of spices (cardemom, pepper), sightly warm. Much more open after three hours in the glass, and more aromatic herbs like thyme appear. Evident tannins, good acidity and long, mineral aftertaste.
It’s not often that we present natural wines from this ancient country, but here is a good Greek pét-nat. It’s the Kioutsoukis family, originally from the coast of the Black Sea, that brought the knowledge about winemaking with them to Greece. Now, here in the modern world they completed their conversion to naturals in 2015.
The traditional use of herb sprays are used if necessary, but wine responsible Dmitri Kioutsoukis’ ideal is to use as few treatments as possible.
They own 10 hectares of vineyards in the hills of Mygdonia in Northern Greece, not far from Thessaloniki. They have a strong focus on Greek grape like assyrtiko, malagousia, roditis and xinomavro. In the low hillside an all-year northernly wind secures healthy vineyards. The soils vary from clay-sand to small stones and schist. This slightly off-dry (15 grams) ancestral style sparkler is made from xinomavro and the whites malagousia and assyrtiko.
Kamara Pure Pét’ Nat 2019(Kamara Estate)
Blood orange colour, turbid and quite bubbly. Smell of red berries (raspberry/strawberry), lime, grapefruit and mango. Good acidity, slightly bitter finish that balances the residual sugar.
Retsina may evoke memories of sunny days, white-washed walls and lots of meze. This may also be one of the wines that taste good on a summer holiday, but maybe not as appealing back home.
Ρετσίνα is a Greek resinated wine with more than 2000 years of history. In ancient times the wine vessels, particularly amphorae, were sealed with pine resin, that protected the wine against oxidation and gave it the unique resin-like flavour. With the times, after the introduction of glass bottles, it became a wanted taste, something that defined the style. Until one day when retsina found itself as little more than a souvenir.
But those days can soon be over. Here is a wine from organically grown grapes, modern in most ways, except the pine resin that is added to the must during fermentation. The grape is roditis, second or third in importance (after saveatiano). Today much less resin is needed. Some may miss that strong smell of “turpentine”, but for the most of us it’s now a modern wine with a strong character that is undoubtedly linked to the islands and mainland of Greece.
The Tetramythos winery is located on northern Peloponnese, near the mountain Aroania in Achaia. Here they have built a winery with wood and stone, and in harmony with the surroundings. It makes use of gravity and has all the modern equipment to make a panorama of wines, including that age-old traditional retsina style.
The grapes are all roditis spontaneously fermented in clay pots.
Tetramythos Retsina 2015 (Tetramythos)
Golden yellow. Aromas of apples, citrus, herbs (rosemary, thyme) and an evident but discrete element of pine resin. Round, mellow with low acidity.
Price: Low
Food: Grilled seafood, squid, white fish, a variety of meze, and why not with garlic dips
