Boutari Naoussa 2008, PDO Naoussa, Greece

This wine is made with a Greek indigenous grape call Xinomavro, aging took place in French oak for 12 months (225 litre casks) and alcohol comes in at 13.5%.

A pale ruby in the glass, this wine opened up with aromas of raspberry, cherry, plum, licorice, earthy and minerally notes. On the mouthfeel, medium bodied, dry, rustics in the best sense of the word with lively acidity and firm, dusty tannins. Medium length and weight on the finish, bright fruit flavours and a nice tannic grip lingering. For those of you who have never   experienced  Xinomavro before, this one reminds me of two Italian grapes; Aglianico and especially Nebbiolo. This wine is most interesting and a superb value,  strongly recommended to fans of old world wines. It will need a little time  to open up (1 hour decant would be a good idea), as recommended by the winery on its label, best serve at 16-18 °C. Final note, this wine was even better the next day, score 89 points.



*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from Kolonaki Group prior to Vintages New Release of August 17,2013 (023218) at $12.95