2010 - Present Wine

Producer Description 

Intense and elegant aroma, with touches of cherry and spice. The palate is delicate and fresh. 

Producer Description 

Intense, dark ruby red color. Exquisite aroma offering classic notes of dark berry jam and hints of leather. A wonderfully elegant palate, revealing soft tannins and lingering layers of fruit and spices that carry through to the finish.

Producer Description 

Fresh, fruity aroma dominated by peach, white plum, and grapefruit notes, with touches of toasted hazelnut. Mineral on the palate, with plenty of volume, elegant acidity and lasting rich fruity aromas, ending with a fresh, pleasant aftertaste.

Producer Description 

Pale yellow color with hints of green. You get on the nose a touch of oak, lots of finesse and minerality with white flowers, lemon and apple scents. On the mouth, the wine is fresh, round and fruity with aromas of melon, kiwi, peaches and apricot and a nice minerality. Overall, the wine is nicely balanced and fresh with a great length.

Expert Review

Wine Spectator 91 Points | A rich version, bordering on creamy, this peach-, apple- and stone-inflected white is complex and long, with fine balance and a long aftertaste that resonates with fruit and mineral notes.(V.2022). 

Producer Description 

Dark ruby red in appearance. Classic notes of cassis and black tea suffuse this wine. Luscious notes of cedar and vanilla complement its elegant but bold tannin structure. Medium to full bodied with a pleasant lingering finish.

Producer Description 

Bursting forth with red berry fruit in abundance briar before leading into a slightly chewy and structured herbal quality. Before you've finished you'll be treated to fennel, roasted sage and a touch of earth. Tannins are there, but so well integrated you hardly notice...

70% Zinfandel, 18% Petite Sirah, 7% Alicante Bouschet, 5% Grenache, Mourvedre, Syrah & Carignane. The now mature "Bambino" vines were planted in 2000 and represent Bucklin's "young vine" Zinfandel. Fermented with indigenous yeast without any nutrient additions. Aged in neutral French oak for approximately 10 months.

Producer Description 

This bright, lively wine showcases an abundance of berry flavors and aromas. Red raspberry, wild blackberry, and a touch of cranberry are balanced with spicy notes of anise and cinnamon. This medium-bodied Zinfandel lingers for a long, smooth finish.

Pair with barbecue, blue cheese and cheeseburgers.

Expert Review

Wine Spectator 90 Points | Jammy and generous but not blowsy, this Zin is loaded with blackberry and cherry flavors that are accented with hints of pepper and licorice.

Producer Description 

Priorat Martinet Bru Mas Martinet 2021 (750ML) captivates with its intensity and power, showcasing flavors of dark berries, spices, and hints of cocoa and vanilla. This blend reflects Mas Martinet's dedication to crafting bold and age-worthy wines from Priorat's prestigious vineyards.

Expert Review

Luis Gutiérrez of the Wine Advocate writes 94 Points | The 2021 Martinet Bru was also bottled and ready for tasting. 2021 is a year of very good potential in Priorat. There is great tension here, and the wine has freshness, complexity and depth, something special, but it was not easy, as they got a lot of rain in September. It's elegant and balanced, the tannins are very fine and the wine feels very relaxed (quite remarkable, as it was recently bottled). It has to be one of the finest vintages of Martinet Bru. I find great purity here. Sara Pérez told me the 2021s seem to dance... There are some 56,000 bottles. This is bottled over a period of time, and they started in July 2022. (v.2021).

Producer Description 

This wine comes from the estate's two oldest Romorantin vineyards .It is fermented in stainless steel tanks and concrete vats and aged in stainless steel and fiberglass on the lees. Powerful, racy aromatics coupled with richness akin to polished white stones, sea salt and dried white nectarine—if drinking now, decant and serve with poached chicken, swordfish and decadent cheeses; will also cellar well for another five years.

Herve Villemade has been working his family's vines in Cellettes since taking over from his father in 1995. Today, the estate represents about 22 hectares of organically farmed fruit within the Cheverny and Cour-Cheverny AOCs, along with a negociant license to supplement production with local grapes.

Producer Description 

A restrained Barolo with garnet color, offering notes of dried cherries, dried orange peel and hints of cocoa and bark. Medium-bodied, compact and dense with velvety tannins. Shows rich fruit at the end. Delicate and supple. Already drinkable, but better after 2027.

Expert Review

James Suckling 92 Points | A restrained Barolo with garnet color, offering notes of dried cherries, dried orange peel and hints of cocoa and bark. Medium-bodied, compact and dense with velvety tannins. Shows rich fruit at the end. Delicate and supple. Already drinkable, but better after 2027. (v.2020).

Producer Description 

Founded in 1171, Schloss Gobelsburg is one of the largest holders of “Grand Cru” vineyards in Austria.  This single vineyard Ried Heiligenstein is located on the the unique geological structure “Zöbinger Perm”, with the sandstone, silt and arkose giving the wine a unique herbed aroma with a washed-rind cheese quality. A crystalline texture with lemon grass, green apple and pear.  The acid is memorable and spicy without the tingle often found in high tension Austrian Riesling.

Expert Reviews

The Wine Advocate 96 Points |  Gobelsburg's 2020 Ried Heiligenstein 1ÖTW opens with a clear, bright and savory bouquet of sandstone, salt, ripe stone fruits and tea. Lush and round on the palate, this is a textured, very elegant and balanced Heiligenstein Riesling with a lingering, fine salinity on the highly elegant and aromatic finish. This is again an excellent, quiet and perfectly balanced Riesling from one of the greatest Riesling sites along the Danube River. The 2020 already drinks beautifully but can be aged for two or three decades. 13% stated alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted at the domaine in September 2022. (v.2020).

James Suckling 95 Points | #47 TOP 100 WINES OF AUSTRIA, 2022. This fascinating and extremely complex dry riesling has an incredibly wide aroma spectrum, from rhubarb and ripe gooseberry to wild flowers and herbs. At once rich and tense, with tons of wet stone minerality, this is precisely balanced on the blade of a razor-sharp knife. Drink or hold. (v.2020). 

Expert Review

James Suckling 94 Points | The wine opens with a very pure and fresh but intense nose of crushed limestone, lime and lemon skins. Round and elegant on the palate, this full-bodied wine is powerful, juicy, very intense, citrusy and finishes with a refreshing, almost challenging acidity grip. (v.2022)

Jancis Robinon | Ingrid Groiss tried to escape the vineyards and small-village life of Breitenwaida in the Weinviertel north west of Vienna but the call of the vines proved irresistible. 

Her parents and grandmother owned vineyards and made wine for their own Heuriger (a country wine tavern selling young wine on tap) and for private clients and at the age of 15 she wanted to leave home to study at the Klosterneuburg winemaking school. There was one insurmountable problem: there was no dormitory for girls and her parents felt, not surprisingly, that she was too young to live on her own in or near Vienna. So she studied tourism at a nearby college.

Having completed her studies, she started working with her parents and ‘felt like life had already ended … together with my parents in this really, really tiny village surrounded by nothing – here the chicken and foxes say good night to each other – ideally marrying my neighbour who is also a farmer (as an old saying goes: loves goes away, hectares stay) so I had to leave and explore the world.’

After a happy and properous few years working in marketing for Coca Cola and Anheuser Busch in the German cities of Bremen and Berlin, she still felt something was missing – ‘a great life, good payment, a company flat and company car … so what would you expect more from life?’ The inescapable conclusion: ‘What I really desire to do and what my heart beats for: making wine!’

Fortuitously and, from Ingrid’s point of view, ‘as a sign of destiny’, at this time the University of Vienna started a new natural sciences course in Weinbau, Önologie und Weinwirtschaft (viticulture, oenology and wine marketing). Alongside her studies she gained practical experience working with producers such as Domäne Wachau, Birgit Braunstein and Birgit Eichinger. She had started making wine at home but then began the generation game.

As she explains, ‘I had already started making wine at home but with my father, and it was always big discussions and fights because he had his own philosophy and I wanted to improve many things. It didn´t work and so I asked my granny to give me her Schablau vineyard to work and make wine out of it (this was my first own vintage 2010). I had a deal with my father. I said I would work this vineyard in my own philosophy and make the wine in my style and he is not allowed to discuss it. Then we taste all wines together blind and if my wine wins I run the vineyards and make the wines on my own with my philosophy in the next year. My wine won. Now he is happy that he is not responsible for the vineyards and the cellar any more and I´m happy as well (but of course both my mum and my father support me a lot and I´m thankful for this!). Also the philosophy of my parents changed – now we already work the first vineyards organically and my father is proud of this way!’

Groiss is particularly grateful for the ‘gorgeous’ vineyards planted by her granny. ‘Most of them are 50 years and older and in these times people put much more focus on which varieties fit on which appellations and on which soil. I´m also proud that I still have many old autochthonous varieties in my gemischter Satz vineyards like Hietl Rote, Silberweisse, Weisse Vöslauer and Graue Vöslauer (varieties that where planted everywhere in Weinviertel but now nobody knows them any more). And of course I learnt a lot from my granny (there are sooo many things you cannot learn from a book – it´s things you learn from a real long life and lot of experience). She couldn´t sit at home – she always wanted to go in the vineyards with me.’

Winemaker Notes

Deep purple colour with intense aromas of red and black fruits, crushed violets and a touch of mocha. The palate has generous ripe fruits and a plush, velvety texture supported by vibrant acidity, with fruits and spices that linger on the finish. Extreme refinement.

Critic Notes

Jeb Dunnuck writes:  The 2019 Le Petit Ducru De Ducru-Beaucaillou is also Merlot-dominated and includes 36% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Petit Verdot. It offers classic Saint-Julien elegance and purity in its darker currant and cherry fruits as well as notes of tobacco, violets, and lead pencil. With medium-bodied richness on the palate, it has wonderful tannins, a balanced, layered mouthfeel, and outstanding length. It needs air to show at its best and is just a charming, elegant, layered 2019 to enjoy over any time over the coming decade.  Drinking 2022 to 3032.  - Jeb Dunnuck 91

Georgina Hindle writes:  Lovely, fresh, delicate and fruity nose; smells quite rich and ripe. Good push of plush fruit, bright cherry straight away then darkens to something more serious and sensual. Tannins are overpowering, just so abundant, covering the tongue and cheeks but they're soft - you need that structure to give it life. Feels sculpted if a little excessive right now, but good freshness and drive, and round on the mid-palate with no angles. Some spice at the end. From the western part of the appellation, a parcel of about 25ha purchased in the 1970s. 10ha in the process of being replanted - so 15ha in production. This is the third wine and receives declassified fruit from the higher wines, although produced with the same philosophy.  Drinking 2023 to 2031  - Decanter 90

Antonio Galloni writes:  The 2019 Le Petit Ducru de Ducru-Beaucaillou is plush, creamy and open-knit, all of which give it considerable immediacy, not to mention tons of charm. Succulent dark cherry, plum, mocha and licorice lend nuance in this racy, Merlot-based blend. The Petit Ducru is a new wine meant to be the third selection from the château.  Drinking 2025 to 2029.  - Vinous 92

Producer Description 

This new red wine blend is produced from Suisun Valley, a remarkable AVA that has become the Wagner family's second home. A 30-minute drive from Napa, Suisun has ideal soils and climate for a variety of grapes. The Walking Fool is named after a long-ago relative who was often seen traveling by foot - thus earning this affectionate moniker. Featuring Zinfandel and Petite Sirah, this wine is smooth and lively, with juicy raspberry, notes of espresso and softly fine tannins.

Producer Description 

The white grape varieties Xarel.lo, Macabeu and Muscat from our Penedès vineyards are the base for the Marta Violet elaboration. It’s fresh, fruity and floral white wine. The violet bottle is the unique violet glass bottle in the world.

It presents a beautiful pale yellow color. Aroma: It’s fresh with fruity and floral notes.
Palate: It has a good balance with smooth palate and pleasant finish. Gastronomy: It’s recommended for aperitif, assorted salads, pasta, rice and fish dishes. Enjoy anytime of the day.

Producer Description 

The red grape varieties Garnatxa and Samso from Els Guillamets vineyards are the base for the Siana Terrer 2022.

On the nose it presents an intense and elegant aroma of ripe red fruit and jam, with hints of anise, delicate touches of new oak and mineral notes. Palate: In the mouth is well-rounded, pleasant, lingering and powerful. Long finish which brings out its special spicy character.

Gastronomy: Recommended with any white or red meats (fowl, wild game, stews, roast lamb, beef...),with stewed legumes and cured and blue cheeses.

GOLD MEDAL – INTERNATIONAL WINE AWARDS 2024
90 POINTS – TIM ATKIN MASTER OF WINE 2024

Producer Description 

The Pizarra vineyards are found on red metamorphic slate soils, which are unique to the village of Cebreros, folded into the mostly granitic mountain range. This slate soil makes Cebreros unlike any other village within the Sierra de Gredos region. Pizarra soil is located above 950 meters, up to 1200 meters, mainly with an eastern orientation. 

The wines from here have a signature expression: they are always fresh, complex, direct, and profound. Pizarra is a limited production wine produced from over 60-year-old, bush-trained garnacha vines, yielding 15hl/ha from the vineyards of Arrebatacapas, La Redonda, La Curva, Fuente Fabian, and Presidente. The farming at Pegaso is organic, and the wines are made with low intervention and minimal sulfur at bottling.

Producer Description 

Cebreros is both the name of the village and the appellation of origin in the southeast of the province of Ávila, within the greater Sierra de Gredos region, the mountainous area located on the continental divide of Spain. The region is unspoiled, wild, rustic, full of energy and light, and as authentic as it gets. It is a transitional zone where northern Spain gives way to southern Spain. The wines from the Sierra de Gredos mountains to the west of Madrid (aka Vinos de Madrid) have finally begun to claim their rightful place alongside other top wine regions focused on producing world-class garnacha. For many insiders, the region is now leading the conversation about this Mediterranean garnacha grape, now understood to be indigenous to Spain. 

Whole clusters are picked by hand in small boxes, with a strict selection made in the vineyard. The clusters are de-stemmed, crushed, and fermented spontaneously with native yeasts in stainless steel tanks and large neutral French oak foudres. The wine is then aged for 18 months in new and used 600L French oak barrels sourced from different forests.

Producer Description 

Bright ruby red. Clean and complex on the nose, Harmony of fruit with notable hints of fine oak. Well structured on the palate, savory and balanced. The wine shows great character and has a long persistence. Complex retro nasal, elegant with notes of quality wood toasts.

Producer Description 

Fine aromas of matured red fruits, red berries, cassis and toasted notes , sweet spicy nose  with a mineral touch. Pleasant and warm entry in the palate,  shows elegant earthy red fruits with a touch of well integrated oak, round tannins, finishes long and will go improving.

Drinks beautifully now and through 2026, and will gain in complexity and fineness with age. 

Producer Description 

Very modern white wine, made with the oldest vineyards of chardonnay and viura rioja. A well balanced wine, very fresh and fruity to enjoy ar any time of the year.

IrROSSO is the result of the union between Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon (85% Sangiovese & 15% Cabernet Sauvignon): it gives the idea of a young red, significant but with easy drinkability and is linked to the characteristics of its native territory, with an unforgettable Casanova di Neri stamp.

James Suckling 94 Points: Blackcurrants, spiced cedar and dark spices with bark undertones. Full-bodied with very fine, velvety tannins. Textured and compact with a firm, lingering finish. Tight at the end. Needs time to open.

Wine Enthusiast 94 Points: This powerful, densely packed wine bursts with aromas of late-picked blackberries, blueberries and cassis that give way to bold black fruit and dark-chocolate flavors accented by cloves, black pepper and cedar. The tannins are full and firm, needing several years to mellow for best enjoyment.

The Wine Advocate 93 Points: There should be around 30,000 cases of the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon. Tasted as a final blend, taken from tank, it reveals plenty of cherries, plus a backdrop of darker, riper fruit flavors, like cassis and blueberry. There's the requisite cedar and vanilla, from aging in oak, but it's balanced. In the mouth, the wine is medium to full-bodied, silky-velvety smooth and easy to drink, plush without being creamy or overdone, with a long, mint-accented finish.

Wine Spectator 93 Points: A freshly plowed humus note pokes out first, with further coaxing in the glass revealing dense black currant, fig and blackberry paste flavors. On the back end, bittersweet cocoa and espresso crema notes give this a dark, slightly rugged persona, but should smooth out with some brief cellaring. For fans of the toasty style. Best from 2025 through 2040.

Jeb Dunnuck 92 Points: Coming mostly from the estate (70 acres), the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley is based on 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Petit Verdot, and the rest Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Merlot. Bottled in March of this year, it has a deep ruby/purple hue to go with a pure, ripe, seamless, medium to full-bodied profile as well as ample cassis and darker raspberry-like fruits, classic tobacco, and spicy, chocolaty oak. 

Winemaker Description

Glazter’s vineyards are predominately South-facing and are all around the village of Göttlesbrunn, where the Pannonian microclimate and loess-rich soils were already used to cultivate wine in Roman times. Here you will find a combination of sandy loam, gravel with clay and sand. 

Producer Description 

Located in the cool Russian River Valley, the DCV Block 10 vineyard tends to ripen slowly, providing grapes that are deliciously balanced.  This balanced Chardonnay carries aromas of peach, green apple and lime with notes of candied ginger, allspice, cream soda and a touch of minerality.

The palate is full of intense, rich flavors of Asian pear, mango and Meyer lemon, with striking nuances of ruby grapefruit, honeydew melon and vanilla bean. 

Traces of spice from its brief barrel aging contribute to its harmonious and bright mouthfeel. Excellent immediate drinkability, although the wine does have potential to age well for 1–3 years." 

Producer Description 

Our Napa Valley Merlot opens with lively bright red fruits and a soft, lush texture. Delicate floral aromas combine with ripe blackberry, milk chocolate, wet stone and barrel spice. The finish is bright and spreads out on the palate to reveal mineral notes that support the silky tannin structure.

Deep ruby in color, the 2019 Napa Valley Merlot features a tempting nose with hints of violet, ripe cherry and warm baking spices. The palate is supple in texture with luxurious layers of brambly red fruits, cocoa, and dusty tannins. This classic Napa Valley Merlot finishes long and vibrant with lingering notes of graphite.

Producer Description 

Our 2023 Sauvignon Blanc has aromas of grapefruit, lime zest, white flowers, white peach, lemon grass, and orange peel. On the palate are aromas of pineapple, guava, tropical fruit, Asian pear, candied lemon, and green melon. The wine has a bright acidity and wonderful texture on the mid-palate.

 While the core of this wine is Sauvignon Blanc, the Musqué, Sémillon, and Viognier add a lot of floral notes and viscosity to this vintage. We captured these wonderful floral notes by fermenting each variety separately in concrete eggs, stainless steel drums, and tanks.

The French oak barrels, in which 10% of the wine aged in, were very lightly toasted to preserve the delicate fruity aromas and provide a creamy texture to the mid-palate of the wine.

Producer Description 

Look: very dark ruby red. Nose: dark fruit, plums and cherries. Palate: deeply fruited, with hints of coffee and cocoa. Very well balanced.

Excellent as an after-dinner wine, or to go with red meat, game, quails and richly-flavored dishes. Very good with well-aged cheeses, such as parmesan, pecorino and gorgonzola. 

Expert Reviews 

Wine Advocate 97 Points | Basket pressed and vinified in traditional oak and stainless steel, the 2020 Vogelsang Kabinett is pure, bright and fresh on the highly delicate and flinty nose that shows precise and elegant fruit intertwined with the serious, flinty minerality of the gray and red slate soils of the domaine plus coolish vegetal nuances of nettles and mint. Round and intense yet light and filigreed on the palate, this is a pure, lush and round yet also very mineral, beautifully playful and palate-tickling Kabinett with less reduction than Molitor's Kabinetts usually show at this early stage. The sweetness is discreet and counterpointed by the immense mineral and saline drive. The finish is spectacularly long and tensioned, extremely complex and stimulating even at this age. This classic Kabinett reminds me of finest Scharzhofberger Kabinetts from Egon Müller. It is straight, sustainably saline, aromatic and charming. Even though they have been produced since 2017, the 2020 Rieslings from the steep Vogelsang site in Serrig (Saar) are the first that Markus Molitor has brought to market under the name "Ehemalige Domäne Serrig." The former Prussian state domaine, built in 1904 as a model domaine at the time of Emperor Wilhelm II—i.e., 20 years before the Domäne Assmannshausen in the Rheingau, which specializes in Pinot Noir—had its heyday until World War II (including the 1921 Trockenbeerenauslese) but went to the dogs after the war. The privatization at the end of the 1980s did nothing to change. (v.2020).

James Suckling 95 Points | Very fresh and delicate nose of an entire garden of herbs, yellow grapefruit and pomelo. Juicier than the nose suggested with stacks of white tree fruits and citrus zest freshness on the medium-bodied palate, this is a youthful and very elegant riesling for the 2020 vintage. Emphatically dry and long for this theoretically off-dry category, but also finely etched. This has just reached its best youthful drinking form, but the party has only just begun! Drink or hold. (v.2020).

Vinous 95 Points | The 2020 Riesling Serriger Vogelsang Kabinett is subtle on the nose, opening with smokier hints of slate that still clouds lemon and riper, juicier notions. It is on the palate that the full playfulness of that fruit becomes apparent: this is a Kabinett in a classic sense, off-dry rather than outright sweet, with tender notions of sweetish Mirabelle, citrus blossom and mandarin juice, encompassed by a stony, citric verve. Such lightness, such elegance, such poise, such brightness. The finish flickers with an overtone of pineapple, as befits the sunny 2020 vintage, but retains tone, tension and, above all, flavor. (v.2020).

Producer Description 

The wine is a crimson-hued garnet red. Elegant and refined, the nose exudes floral aromas, going on with airing to develop notes of blackcurrant and licorice root. The full and smooth attack reveals an alluring and complex array of flavors in which ripe fruit is magnificently set off by notes of toasted cereals and violet. The mid-palate is underpinned by high-quality close-knit and creamy tannins, leading into a saline and slightly minty finish which lingers on hints of chocolates.

Expert Reviews

James Suckling 96 Points | Aromas of crushed stone, blackcurrants and blackberries. Full-bodied with extremely well-crafted tannins that are chewy and layered, yet polished and fantastic. Love the finish. 72% cabernet sauvignon, 25% petit verdot, 22% merlot and 4% cabernet franc. (v.2019).

Wine Enthusiast 94-96 Points | Dense and rich, with a high proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon, this is another great vintage from the estate. Its black fruits ooze concentration alongside firm tannins that promise a potential for long aging. The aftertaste has opulent black currant richness. (v.2019). 

The Wine Advocate 95 Points | The 2019 Clerc Milon is a real success. At more than 70%, this blend contains one of the highest proportions of Cabernet Sauvignon in the property's recent history, and the result is a wine of real nobility. Offering up aromas of violets, wild berries, licorice, loamy soil and cigar wrapper, it's full-bodied, layered and multidimensional, with notable depth at the core, lively acids and ripe, powdery tannins that assert themselves on the finish. From clay-limestone soils rather than the sandy gravels that characterize d'Armailhac, this is by some margin the more structured and serious of Mouton-Rothschild's two Pauillac stablemates.(v.2019).

Decanter 95 Points | The wine has the highest levels of Cabernet Sauvignon since the 1980s, and even on the nose you can feel its impact in terms of the depth of tight black fruit. Extremely good quality with fine tannins that build, build, build over the palate, and grip on, forcing you to slow down and pay attention. Beautiful spice with menthol, slate, pencil lead, blackberry and blackcurrant. An exciting wine with real energy and forward motion, helped to withstand the summer heat by its position by the river, and the fact that the average age of the vines at Clerc Milon is almost 50 years. 2% Petit Verdot completes the blend. Jean Emmanuel Danjoy's last outing doing the full vintage at Clerc Milon before he heads over to Mouton as technical director. (v.2019).

Wine Spectator 93 Points | Presents a very fresh core of cassis, red cherry and damson plum fruit flavors that meld nicely with a racy iron streak, while light savory and floral details run along the edges. A very pure and bright version that should age well. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Carmenère. (v.2019).

Jeb Dunnuck 93 Points | Another beautiful effort from this team, the 2019 Château Clerc Milon is 72% Cabernet Sauvignon and the balance Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot, from vines just across the street from Château Lafite Rothschild and Château Mouton Rothschild. Brought up in a mix of new and used barrels, it has a healthy ruby/plum color to go with a great nose of ripe red and black fruits supported by some classic Pauillac lead pencil, tobacco, and spice box notes. I love its overall balance, it's medium-bodied, has silky tannins, and the fresher, elegant style of the vintage. I wouldn't call it mid-weight, but I compared this to the 2014 on release, and I still think that comparison holds, although there's a touch more length and intensity in the 2019. This will drink well today with a decant (I followed this bottle for two days) and will shine for a good two decades.(v.2019).

Producer Description 

The style of the wines being made by Mittas is broadly traditional. Low-intervention farming (the vineyards are now fully converted and licensed as organic) and wine making are the general rule. Tannin management incorporates only periodic—twice daily—manual punchdowns and 500-liter French oak barrels while the fruit, acidity, and alcohol levels are reminiscent of Naoussa wines from 40 years ago. Mittas’s wines reward on release and don’t necessarily need long aging because of their elegant nature.

The grapes for this bottling undergo 15 days of skin contact, with twice-daily pump-overs. The wine is aged for a year in French oak barrels, 25% first use, and then for an additional year in bottle. On the nose, the wine shows red and dark fruit, plum, and spice notes. The wine is medium bodied, and the tannins are well integrated with the fruit. The wine opens beautifully with a bit of time in a decanter. Enjoy it with your favorite lamb dish.

"Oenos Mittas is owned and operated by Yiannis Mittas. Yiannis' family is one of the oldest in the northern Greek region of Naoussa, and while his family has been in the wine industry for generations, Yiannis is the first in his family to make and bottle his own wine. After graduating with a degree agricultural technology, he purchased a 1.8 hectare plot in the famous Paliokalias vineyard — considered one of the best Crus in Naoussa — in 2018. Planted in 1971, Yiannis' Xinomavro vines (average age of 25 years) are planted in soils of clayey-limestone with some sand; the vineyard is in the process of organic conversion. Winemaking is traditional and minimal intervention is used in both the vineyard and the cellar.

The Oenos Mittas Xinomavro is aged for one year in French oak (25% new), followed by one year in bottle. The wine displays a deep ruby red in the glass, offering aromas of dark berry and stone fruits mixed with notes of cedar, licorice and tapenade. The palate is medium-bodied and elegant, exhibiting flavors of red plum, macerated black cherries and blackberry with notes of earth and leather. There is just the right amount of acidity that interplays with this Xinomavro's moderate, yet approachable tannic structure. The finish is pleasing and persistent. This is an ideal pairing for any lamb dishes... from traditional gyros to kebabs, rack of lamb to hearty stews."