Critics reviews
To celebrate 40 years of Decanter, 40 of our staff and contributors have chosen their favourite wine of 2015.
Decanter, Nico Manessis DWWA Regional Chair for Greece, October 2015
About this WINE
Thymiopoulos Vineyards
Apostolos Thymiopoulos has been described as Greece’s rising star and, having tasted his Earth and Sky Xinomavro, I can understand why. His father used to sell his grape production to other winemakers until Apostolos finished his winemaking studies at Athens University and began to experiment with making wine from the family’s vineyards. 2003 was his first vintage and his only label was Earth and Sky. 95% of it was exported abroad.
Today the estate, situated in Trilofos (close to the school of Aristotle) at the southern tip of the Naoussa region, practises biodynamic viticulture on a variety of soils ranging from schist to red marble and granite. Naoussa is warm, but not hot, in summer and often extremely cold in winter. In fact, it shares the same mean annual temperature as Bordeaux. Unlike many of their neighbours, Thymiopoulos do not irrigate their vines. This approach is adopted to avoid increasing tannins in a variety that is already abundantly possessed of phenolic compounds. In this endeavour they singularly succeed. Their super organic approach extends to pest control. Turkeys and guinea fowl keep locusts and other unwelcome insects at bay.
Harvesting is by hand towards the end of September/early October, and the grapes are carefully selected and taken by conveyor belts to stainless steel tanks for a natural fermentation followed by a spontaneous malolactic conversion in 500 litre barrels (30% in second fill barrels; the rest in up to 5 year old barrels) for 18 months. The wines are hand-bottled unfined and unfiltered. Their method is careful and unhurried; an artisanal approach.
Demetri Walters MW, Hellenic Wines Specialist
Xinomavro
Where should one begin with the litany of difficulties that beset the culture of this grape? Xinomavro's greatest disadvantage is its rapid lignification. Once the grapes have achieved sufficient sugars, the stems can already be snapped! This adds to the potentially towering tannins that Xinomavro possesses. This is further compounded by its grapes possessing 3-4 seeds per berry rather than the usual 1-2. Thankfully its skins are thin and weak.
Whilst vigorous, particularly when water is overly abundant due to all-too-frequent irrigation in much of Naoussa, it is a slow ripener. This is not aided by fertile soils or inappropriate irrigation that can both lead to overly high yields and subsequent unripe tannins and vegetal aromas and flavours.
In terms of its raw material, Xinomavro is an ancient variety with numerous clones. 3 of these produce small berries on small bunches that, if well handled, can create relatively fine-grained tannins, delicate aromas and bright pigmentation. These better clones are nowadays the basis of the best wines, whilst the other clones are often employed for increasingly attractive rosé wines.
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Description
This is quite simply the best Xinomavro that I have tasted. Whilst possessing the bitter cherry, firm tannins, relatively pale hue and elevated acidity of Italy’s Nebbiolo, this ‘sour black’ also offers a savoury weave of black olive and tomato stalk. Neither traditional nor modernist, Earth and Sky is in a style of its own. It shows notable extract, ripeness without fleshiness, a full body, 14% alcohol, but also a sense of restraint and measured austerity that frames and balances the wine.
Demetri Walters MW, Hellenic Wines Specialist
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