Xinomavro

Xinomavro is Greece's finest red grape and one of the most structured varieties in the Mediterranean. The name means sour black, which describes the two things that define it: extremely high acidity and dark skins that nonetheless produce a surprisingly pale wine.

Naoussa, on the south-eastern slopes of Mount Vermio in Greek Macedonia, is the benchmark appellation. The vineyards sit between 150 and 400 metres on sandy clay and limestone, and the wines there are the most powerful expression of the grape.

The comparison to Nebbiolo is unavoidable and unusually apt: pale garnet colour that browns early, very high acidity, formidable tannin, and an aromatic profile built around dried tomato, sour cherry, olive, dried herbs and rose, developing leather, tobacco and forest floor with age. Both grapes make wines that are austere and unrewarding young and remarkable after a decade.

The dried-tomato note is the variety's most distinctive marker and is present almost regardless of site or winemaking.

Amyndeon, higher and on a continental plateau, produces a lighter, fresher and more floral style, and is also the appellation permitted to make rosé and sparkling from the grape.

It oxidises readily and its tannins are aggressive, which historically produced hard, rustic wine. Modern handling — gentler extraction, better oak, some blending with Merlot or Syrah in the less strict appellations — has made it considerably more accessible without losing its character.