2016 Alpha Estate, Xinomavro, Reserve, Vieilles Vignes, Amyndeon, Western Macedonia, Greece
About this WINE
Alpha Estate
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.
When is a wine ready to drink?
We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.
Not ready
These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.
Ready - youthful
These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.
Ready - at best
These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.
Ready - mature
These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.
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