“Rapsani Terra Petra, Thymiopoulos 2019” is out of stock.
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Rapsani Terra Petra, Thymiopoulos 2019
2019 is a brilliant vintage in northern Greece and this xinomavro, from Rapsani in the foothills of Mount Olympus, is blended with krassato and stavroto for colour and added richness. Expect a bewitching bouquet of cherries, cloves and forest floor not dissimilar to top Burgundy, and a full, refreshing palate.
Out of stock
Code: GR2651
Wine characteristics
- Red Wine
- Medium-bodied
- Xinomavro
- 75cl
- Now to 2029
- 13% Alcohol
- oak used but not v. noticeable
- Cork, diam
Apostolos Thymiopoulos
Apostolos Thymiopoulos, the current head of operations at the family winery, is described by many as the young star of Greek wine. The family has been growing grapes for generations, but it was Apostolos’ father that first began to do so commercially: he grew grapes to sell to local wineries, and took the task of cultivating good-quality grapes very seriously indeed.
His passion obviously rubbed off onto his son, who went on to study oenology in Athens. It was during his studies that he and the family began seriously experimenting with the xinomavro grape. They had been growing it for some years, but now they wanted to bring this indigenous northern Greek variety to the rest of the world in a new, modern, high-quality form. Apostolos released his first wine – the 2003 vintage – in 2005. Named Ghi Kai Uranos (‘earth and sky’), it possessed qualities similar to that of modern Barolo, with powerful, concentrated ripe fruit, excellent acidity and good ageing potential.
Xinomavro actually means ‘sour black’ (it has also been translated as ‘black of Naoussa’) and this gives a good description of its key characteristics: a dark colour and high acidity. Its healthy tannins means it is likely we will enjoy watching some of the earlier wines evolve for many years to come. Another of xinomavro’s key characteristics is a remarkable ability to reflect the land in which it is grown, so the vineyards are of course key to its character. It isn’t grown with any particular success anywhere...