And where we thought we had tasted everything around rosé wines, and completely got the Xinomavro variety and its multifaceted personality, here comes Stelios Boutaris as a game changer with his Agathoto from the Kyr-Yiannis Estate! This rosé is from Xinomavro, it is from Naoussa, it has nerve and intense character and it reached our hands at the most appropriate time because we are talking about the absolute culinary masterpiece!
In the Gastra village, located in Naoussa and at an altitude of 220 meters, the old vineyard of Mr. Thomas Karanatsios, became the new venture of Kyr-Yiannis Estate. Of course, when we say new, we mean about 12 years of cultivation, while its real age is 50! There, the clayey soil and the constant rains gave a Xinomavro with volume, rich aromatic intensity, and a biting acidity, from where its name, Agathoto, came from! After hand harvesting and extracting the juice from the best grapes, the juice was fermented in tanks and barrels for 20 days and then left for 12 months in barrels before bottling. This vinification gave it a complex dimension with a subtle oily element, hints of vanilla aromas, and a touch of the variety's characteristic tomato aromas.
Agathoto from Ktima Kyr-Yiannis was put into a dark-colored bottle and this reveals that you can enjoy now with all the elegant meat dishes and dishes from Mediterranean cuisine, but also 5 years from now, when it will get another medal in the food pairings.
And there's only one way to find out!
