2018 Alpha Estate Xinomavro Réserve Vieilles Vignes Barba Yannis - Greece, Macedonia, Amyndaio (9/18/2024)
– bottle opened approx. 1 hr. before tasting –
– tasted non-blind over 1 - 2 hrs. –
Juicy red fruits, with medium+ to high acidity. Little bit of leathery funk (possibly brett), and fruit leathers; 14% alc. is well-hidden, and there is some light tannins; overall, pretty good, although seems a touch overpriced at 55 euro.
Love some Xinomavro, including from this estate, but EUR 55 seems steep.
I’ve had a few wines from this Estate, liked them but not at the top of my lists. However the 2020 vintage of this bottling is available in the U.S. for $30. That seems fair.
$30 strikes me as very fair, and I would buy at that price if it were on the shelf in front of me.
OK now, gotta ask:
In what country are you buying in Euros where the price is double that in upstate New York???
I’m a big fan of Xynomavro. I imported some Greek wine for a while, a few decades ago.
To me, stylistically, Xynomavro wines are under a big tent that includes Pinot Noir and Nebbiolo. Admittedly, I’ve never had one that could compare with DRC, Rousseau, Conterno or Giacosa.
But move down a tier or two and the best of them are comparable beverages, for a whole lot less money.
Greece
αυτό είναι γελοίο
σύμφωνος
All correct, but there should be at least a malaka thrown in there somewhere.
Funnily enough I ran into this bottle in a wine bar in Chicago last night. $75 seemed fair given the discussion here- about 2.5x the $30 referenced above.
No shit Sherlock! 
It’s been 60 years since I last studied Greek (ancient), almost 20 years since I’ve been there, so I’m a little slow.
Glad I could help.
I know no Greek at all but being around Greeks, that’s what I reckoned was badly missing in the conversation 
I have two Greek friends, and if I had a dime for every time I heard them say “malaka” I could have long ago retired. So they’d say it was missing too!