As Son of Zeus and God of Wine

s son of Zeus and god of wine, with low yields are prerequisites to bring Dionysius arrived on Mount Olympus Xinomavro to full ripeness, and there are not A to take his place in the pantheon and many places or people able to manage it. turn the fruit grown on the slopes of Greece’s There are only four official appellations highest peak into the mythical ‘nectar’. Today (referred to as PDO in Greece) that focus on it may be mere mortals that tend the grapes, Xinomavro: Naoussa, the best known and but the vineyards retain a mystical many would say most interesting; Amyndeon, atmosphere – bathed in glorious sunshine a cool climate area made famous by Alpha during summer and shrouded in low cloud Estate, but showing great promise for throughout the winter months. Reminiscent sparkling wines thanks to Domaine Karanika; of Mount Etna in Sicily, the gnarled old bush Goumenissa, a warmer region where vines sit in ampitheatric crevices carved into producers such as Tatsis, Chloi Chatzivaryti mountainsides or crawl over hillocks like and Ligas (a few miles away in Pella) are overgrown tarantulas. The appellation of attracting attention for their natural wines. Rapsani, as the wine region covering the And then there’s Rapsani. southern foothills of Olympus is known, ranks That wine is still being made at all in as one of Europe’s most beautiful and yet Rapsani is something of a miracle. Like most unsung. How appropriate then, that it has of Europe, the 20th century was incredibly proven such an ideal place to grow Greece’s challenging for this rural community, who finest red grape, Xinomavro, a variety that had to deal with phylloxera and a series of remains similarly anonymous on the devastating wars. During the 1960s a international stage. co-operative winery was established and in Xinomavro can be as difficult to grow as it 1971 Rapsani became one of the first Greek is to pronounce (the stress comes on the second syllable: ksi-NO- mav-ro), and comes packed with enough fierce tannin and cherry fruit to trick blind tasters into Illustration by Mark Long MarkIllustration by Greece Northern of wines Xinomavro underrated the on Andrew Mark mistaking it for Nebbiolo. However, to think of it as no more than a Barolo covers band would be to do Xinomavro a disservice. The savoury notes of dried herbs, tomato and olive that unfurl with bottle age imbue the wines with layers of complexity, which contemporary vignerons have balanced by emphasising primary fruit characters and taming those jagged tannins. Today’s best Xinomavros are complex, evocative wines with a distinctly Greek accent. The grape is native to Macedonia in Northern Greece and widely planted across the region, though it has always proved capricious to those who don’t afford it ideal conditions (another similarity to Nebbiolo). Poor, calcareous soils, attentive farming and a grower satisfied 88 Noble Rot Noble Rot 89 appellations to be granted PDO status. The showed that there was another side to firmly established as the benchmark for longer to mature. It’s going to be exciting to future looked bright, but by the late 1980s Naoussa,” says Markos Markovitis, another quality Xinomavro production. see what happens.” the co-op had been repossessed by the Greek winemaker with a contemporary approach But if Naoussa is the frontrunner in But how does it compare to his home turf? Agricultural Bank and the region’s wine to making Xinomavro in Naoussa, despite today’s Xinomavro conversation, then what Could Rapsani have even greater potential industry faced oblivion. With Rapsani staring being no stranger to the old-school wines of of Siatista, a place renowned in the 1800s for than Naoussa? “I’m here to find out, and into the abyss, Tsantali – a large commercial days gone by. producing some of the finest wines in the that’s why so many other winemakers are winery with interests across Northern “My father used to say that, when they country? This isolated region can rival looking for vineyards,” he says with a grin. Greece – stepped in to save the day, taking were first bottled, the wines were anywhere for mountainous terrain, With Rapsani causing this much excitement over the winery and buying the production of undrinkable,” laughs Markos, as he pulls spectacular terroir and geriatric vineyards, and Siatista waiting in the wings to fulfil its the region’s growers. corks on a vertical of wines, from the yet today its wines are almost completely potential, there’s every reason to expect that The subsequent rejuvenation of the ‘Château Pegasus’ era of his father and unknown, even in Greece. Dimitrios Xinomavro’s future will be as bright as its vineyards will come as a relief to anyone grandfather through to the post-2011 Diamantis is planning to halt Siatista’s slide mythical past. passionate about Europe’s viticultural vintages since he took over and switched to into obscurity by focusing his energies on patrimony – many of them are centenarian, using the family name on the label. The ’84, protecting the region’s viticultural heritage own-rooted and perched on precarious slopes ’86, ’97 and ’99 have aged superbly, but more and making wines that showcase its unique at up to 800m elevation. “Xinomavro recent vintages highlight an evolution in potential. “First we had to save the vines,” performs very well here,” says Thanos style. “I’m curious to see how the younger says Dimitri as we drive up the rocky road to Dougos, one of a small handful of growers wines will develop,” he says as we taste his ‘Magoutes’, a picturesque mountain pass based in the region, “but it takes time to excellent 2012. “Yields are half what they crammed full of old own-rooted vineyards at reveal its complexity. You have to be patient.” used to be and the wines today have much 900m elevation on Mount Siniatsiko, “but now Thanos is less enthusiastic about the more balance and density.” we need to take the winemaking forward, by stipulation that PDO wines must be a blend The pursuit of balance is an objective focusing only on quality.” Clambering down of Xinomavro with two other local grapes. shared by nearby Domaine Dalamara, jaw-droppingly beautiful hillsides, past “Krassato can be interesting, but Stavroto another winery where a generational shift centenarian bush vines protruding from has no place in the appellation,” he says has taken place in recent years. Kostis rocky limestone soils, it’s easy to understand wearily. “We managed to change the rule Dalamara cut his teeth in France at why Dimitri is so keen to emulate his that forced wineries to blend equal amounts domaines such as Trapet, Giboulot and Clos grandfather, who was one of Siatista’s leading of the three grapes, so now we can focus more du Rouge Gorge, so it was no surprise that grape growers. “The Xinomavro is different on Xinomavro.” he converted to organic farming, moved to on this side of Macedonia – it ripens earlier The obvious potential of Rapsani has spontaneous fermentations and and gives softer, more elegant tannins,” he attracted the attention of wineries in significantly reduced the use of SO2 when says. “So we have the opportunity to do Naoussa (two hours’ drive to the north) in he returned. Kostis’s flagship is the something really special, but we need more much the same way that Burgundy domaines single-vineyard ‘Paliokalias’, a south-facing people to come here and understand what we have launched projects in Beaujolais or the site that sits on sandy-clay soils over have in our hands.” Jura. The most gifted outsider to arrive is limestone bedrock, and the eponymous In that regard the similarities between Apostolos Thymiopoulos, someone who could wine has emerged as one of Greece’s finest Siatista and Rapsani are striking. Back on Noble Rot’s be the catalyst for a new era of high-quality, reds. A tiny parcel of 100-year-old own- Mount Olympus, Apostolos Thymiopoulos is small-production wine on Mount Olympus. rooted vines planted in the heart of the revelling in the opportunities presented by Top Xinomavros His foray into Rapsani won’t be the first slope is used to make Noble Rot’s favourite being first to the punch. Having friends like time that Thymiopoulos has broken new example of Naoussa, the impossibly rare Thanos Dougos has helped him get to know ground. When he released ‘Earth & Sky’ Dalamara ‘Vieilles Vignes’. the area inside out, uncovering the best 2015 Domaine Dalamara Naoussa ‘Vieilles Vignes’ Naoussa (labelled as ‘Uranos’ for the US Things have come a long way for the vineyard sites in the process. “The stony 2015 Domaine Dalamara Naoussa ‘Paliokalias’ market) in 2003 it redefined what Xinomavro region since 2010, when sales of Naoussa terroir in the higher elevation zones of 2012 Markovitis Naoussa could be, with its plush berry fruit and silken had declined to such an extent that large Rapsani is ideal for Xinomavro, and the 2015 Oenos Nature Naoussa texture issuing a stylistic challenge to the commercial producers lobbied to have weather is very dry, so we get lovely 2015 Domaine Karydas Naoussa dried-out tannic monsters that were the international varieties admitted into the aromatics, fantastic structure and real 2016 Thymiopoulos Naoussa ‘Earth & Sky’ norm. Over the years, Apostolos has PDO, so they could blend in Merlot, Syrah purity of fruit,” says Apostolos over a glass 2015 Thymiopoulos Rapsani ‘Terra Petra’ continued to hone his craft by farming and Barbera. Thankfully, sanity prevailed of his delicious 2015 Rapsani ‘Terra Petra’ 2010 Dougos Rapsani ‘Old Vines’ biodynamically, moving to larger-format and the appellation kept its authenticity with Noble Rot in the village’s taverna.

Load more