Thymiopoulos

Atma Red 750mL

A tremendous wine for the money from Apostolos Thymiopoulos, one of the most revered winemakers in Greece. It’s a blend of Xinomavro from Naoussa and Mandilaria from the island of Santorini. The Xinomavro grapes are dried outside for 3 days, which softens and concentrates the flavours and, as a result, the wine has a depth and complexity that you rarely find in an everyday red. Despite Xinomavro’s reputation as a tannic variety, this wine is anything but a brute.

In fact, it’s soft and succulent and remarkably fresh with red fruits aplenty on the nose and palate. Apostolos told us that he puts his wines through a slow and gentle maceration to tame the grape’s rustic side, while coaxing plenty of wonderful flavours out. Imagine strawberry juice given piquancy by a squeeze of pomegranate overlaid by flowers and sweet spices from the Xinomavro and white pepper from the Mandilaria. A really fresh and succulent wine that doesn’t know how good it is. Unoaked.