I have seen a number of positive reviews of this wine lately, most recently in the latest issue of Decanter where it is picked out alongside other "exciting and accessible wines that are perfect for drinking over the holidays, priced at £20 or less". This particular bottle is in fact just £10.00 RRP and even cheaper at the moment if bought with the current '10% off any 4 bottles' offer. Its bright and distinctive label is typical of the Expressions range which is the M&S collection of single-varietal wines made from less-familiar grapes.
This Xinomavro comes from the Kir-Yianni winery in Northern Greece which was founded Yiannis Boutaris in 1997. An influential and charismatic character Boutaris was mayor of Thessaloniki, a founder member of the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Arts and a long-standing advocate for the Holocaust Museum in his home city around which there has been significant delay but is finally now coming to fruition. He died recently on 11 November therefore it seems fitting that we should have chosen to drink and enjoy the products of his enterprise.
Xinomavro is one of those grapes where the name tells you a bit about the wine before you've even tasted it. 'Xino' in Greek translates as 'acid' and 'mavro' means black. It's going to be a wine with high acidity made from black grapes which I guess implies a noticeable amount of tannin too. However this is softened through the 12 month aging process. But what was really surprising was the wine's colour which was lighter than I had expected. It looks similar to a wine made from Nebbiolo or Pinot Noir and retrospectively I've seen a description of this particular bottle as a wine "merging the elegance of Pinot Noir with the refined structure of Nebbiolo (and the savoury Mediterranean essence of Grenache)".
The Decanter review notes "aromas of strawberry jam and oregano lead to a palate of spicy red fruit, with plenty of tannic grip on the finish for food pairing - try it with moussaka". More prosaically, the M&S label simply states: Style: fragrant, fruity, oaked red wine / Taste: raspberries, blackberries, herbs / Food: beef, vegetable moussaka, BBQ dishes. For what it's worth we paired it with a steak and asparagus stir-fry and rice.
If you haven't already experienced this classic Greek grape I would certainly recommend trying a bottle. It's gaining the attention of shoppers in the wine aisles and, even if you cannot immediately pronounce the grape, just remember it is the one starting with the letter X. (Apparently the correct pronunciation is "ksee-NOH-mah-vroh" with a hard K at the start and an accent on the 2nd vowel).
While the M&S Xinomavro is undoubtedly good value at the moment the same winery also produces some outstanding wines from this grape. Kir Yianni, Diaporos Single Vineyard Xinomavro, Imathia 2019 14.0% is a Gold Medal winner that understandably commands a price to match (currently £44.00). Anyone with more modest means seeking a bottle to compare with the M&S wine would do well to pop into Aldi for their Athlon Xinomavro Syrah 2022 13.0%. It's 75% Xinomavro and 25% Syrah, has also won plaudits, and it's just £8.99
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