Winemaker Notes
A great match with red meat and game. Since 2005, Paliokalias is not filtered so a small amount of sediment at the bottom of the bottle is normal. It is recommended to decant the wine for a few hours before serving it.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2013 Paliokalias (Xinomavro, of course) was aged for 12 months in French oak (approximately 15% new). (Stock up, because the 2014 has been declassified into the 2014 Naoussa reviewed this issue.) Kostis said this is where he wants to go with this bottling in style. If the 2011 is not the best of this mini-vertical, this surely is. Classic in aromatics and flavor, this has broadly expressive fruit, fine balance and a fresh, lifted feel. Bright and sunny, it is not overly concentrated, but it is respectable enough and the intensity of flavor is still a selling point. There is a serious backbone here, but everything is under control. The style here is not terribly rustic. That doesn't mean you should dig in now--you should not. It needs a few years to settle down and acquire more complexity.
Beyond the usual suspects, there are hundreds of red grape varieties grown throughout the world. Some are indigenous specialties capable of producing excellent single varietal wines, while others are better suited for use as blending grapes. Each has its own distinct viticultural characteristics, as well as aroma and flavor profiles, offering much to be discovered by the curious wine lover. In particular, Portugal and Italy are known for having a multitude of unique varieties but they can really be found in any region.
Naoussa is home to one of Greece’s most age-worthy reds: Xinomavro. Flourishing on the sun-exposed, southeastern-facing slopes of Mount Vermio between 700 to 1,700 feet in elevation, some say Xinomavro is Greece's red counterpart to its famous white, Assyrtiko. Others liken it to Italy's well-respected, highly perfumed and powerful, Nebbiolo.