Oenos Mittas Naoussa Xinomavro 2022 750ml

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."