Thymiopoulos Alta Xinomavro 2021

Xinomavro tends to display the freshness of Pinot Noir and the structure of Nebbiolo.

This elegant example by Apostolos Thymopoulos has a medium to light body with juicy, silky tannins and flavours of cherries, plums and hints of tomatoes – a very typical aroma for xino.

Apostolos Thymiopoulos produced his first wine, “Earth and Sky”, in 2005 on land that his family has tended to for generations. An advocate of sustainable viticulture and minimum intervention, his methods incorporate organic and biodynamic practices, such as using guinea fowls and turkeys for pest control and no herbicides.

In the winery, fermentation is carried out using wild yeasts and the wines are bottled unfiltered, with only the minimum addition of sulphur. Apostolos devotes himself exclusively to Xinomavro, the emblematic variety of his local Naoussa region.

Naoussa has climatic influences from the Mediterranean, but is very much a continental climate with colder winters, areas with high winds, rain, and snowfall in the mountains. Naoussa grows other Greek grapes you may be familiar with – Malagousia and Assyrtiko for whites, and Xinomavro for red.

Alta is ready to drink now – preferably with light tomatoey meat dishes, as well as eggplant or mushrooms. We love it with our lamb ribs, but then... we kinda love everything with our lamb ribs (#iykyk).