In 1831, the French scholar and diplomat Esprit Marie Cousinery wrote that ‘The wine of Naoussa is to Macedonia what Burgundy wine is to France. I am in a position to say that the wine of Naoussa is the best in the Ottoman Empire.’
Naoussa is a hill town to the west of Thessaloniki, overlooking the plain of central Macedonia. In myth, the area was home to Semele, the mother of Dionysus by Zeus. When Semele perished, Zeus stitched the foetus Dionysus into his thigh, whence the Dionysian epithet dimētōr: ‘of two mothers’, or ‘twice born’.
At the nearby temple of the Nymphs, Aristotle tutored future leaders including Ptolemy, Cassander, and, most famously, Alexander the Great. It is said that Aristotle prepared for Alexander a special edition of Homer’s Iliad, which inspired the young prince to model his life on that of the demi-divine Achilles.
The 500ha of Naoussa are the spiritual home of the most noble black grape of Greece, Xinomavro (or Xynomavro, ‘sour black’). Vineyards are interspersed with orchards at altitudes of 150 to 400m on the southeastern slopes of Mount Vermio (2050m). The soils are far from uniform, and include patches of limestone, clay, loam, and sand. Although summers are hot and dry, autumns are rainy and erratic, and winters cold and snowy, leading to considerable vintage variation. Sheltered, sloping, and south-facing sites are favoured to protect against spring frosts and maximise sun exposure.
If the soft and rich Agiorgitiko is a courtesan, then Xinomavro is a hermit, and a very prickly one at that. Yields are capped at 70hl/ha, but ambitious producers might aim for half of that. Like the light coloured Barolo, with which it is often compared, Naoussa is structured and savoury with high acidity and tannins, although, as with Barolo, there is a more modern style that requires less time in cask and bottle. I haven’t tasted a large enough sample of Naoussas, but so far the wines that I have tasted seemed more herbal and more ‘churchy’ than either Barolo or Etna and with a more pronounced tomato note.
The Xinomavro of Naoussa can be compared with that of Amyndaio 20 miles to the west, which, owing to higher altitudes, is typically fresher. Other PDOs that use Xinomavro are Goumenissa to the northeast, in a majority blend with Negoska; and Rapsani on the lower foothills of Mount Olympus, in an equal blend with Stavroto and Krassato.
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