KIR-YIANNI 2020 XINOMAVRO RAMNISTA , GREEK RED, NAOUSSA

In the glass, the 2020 Ramnista Single Vineyard Xinomavro has a vivid ruby hue, with a bouquet and palate of cherry and pomegranite, as well as the traditional Naoussa style of tomato leaf, mountain herbs, and a savory element with sophisticated oak integration. The wine, which is hand-harvested from sandy-loam slopes with a variety of exposures, undergoes cold soaking, prolonged maceration, malolactic, and 16 months in largely used French oak. The palate is soft, giving and pleasing, with fine grained tannins on the finish. Ktima Kir-Yianni is located on the eastern foothills of Mount Vermion in Naoussa. Yiannis Boutaris, a member of the ancient Greek Boutari dynasty, founded the estate in 1997 after quitting the family business to work on smaller, terroir-focused initiatives. His plantings of Xinomavro here in the early 1970s helped transform Naoussa from a bulk wine location to Greece's standard for age-worthy, structured reds like Nebbiolo from Piedmont. With "Ramnista" (meaning "royal hill") as the flagship single-vineyard expression made from old grapes planted circa 1970–71, the domaine now prioritizes parcel selection, sustainability, and Xinomavro's potential for scent and tannic grip under sons Stellios and Mihalis.