Winemaker Notes
Xinomavro (pronounced ksee-NO-mah-vro) is the noblest red variety grown in Greece. The father-son team at Domaine Karydas produce a charmingly rustic expression of the grape from the vines surrounding the family home in the Macedonian appellation of Naoussa. The purple floral aromas and dried fruit and roasted meat flavors make this great wine a dead-ringer for Nebbiolo.
Perfect with grilled meats at a barbecue.
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
Father-and-son team Konstantínos and Pétros Karydas produce one wine, this ageworthy xinómavro, from their six acres of vines. The fruit here feels very alive, in a rustic vein, accented by classic Náoussa scents of tomato leaf before wandering into notes of fennel and truffle nestled in brambly tannins. Some oak-influenced notes of cocoa on the finish encourage five or ten years’ aging before serving with slow-roasted lamb and potatoes.
Native to Greece, Xinomavro is widely regarded the finest red wine of the country. Its name literally means “acid black”, and attains fullest potential in the country’s northwest region of Naoussa. These single varietal bottlings of Xinomavro (blending is not allowed here) are often compared to the fine Barolos of Italy for their structure, finesse and age-worthiness. While its vines are fickle and blue-black grapes grow in tight clusters, similar to Nebbiolo, Xinomavro actually appears unrelated. Somm Secret—The use of French oak can help tame Xinomavro but too much can overwhelm it. Some eschew oak entirely during winemaking; other producers use locally-grown walnut.
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.