'Cuvée Villages' Naoussa
Naoussa PDO · Macedonia, Greece
- 125ml
- £9
- 175ml
- £12.50
- Bottle
- £52
- Grape
- Xinomavro
- Vintage
- 2022
- Region
- Naoussa, Macedonia
The short version
The name means 'acid black' in Greek — and Naoussa is called the Barolo of Greece.
Founded by Yiannis Boutaris, who walked out of his own family's wine company — and later became Mayor of Thessaloniki.
The sun-dried tomato note is the point, not a fault — once you know that, it becomes the best glass on the list.
How it tastes
Aroma & flavour
Sell it with
10oz 28 Day Dry Aged Sirloin, Onion Jam & Herb Salad
High acid and fine tannin is a food wine's toolkit, and dry-aged beef is where it pays: the acid cuts through aged fat that would smother a softer red, while the wine's own dried-tomato, olive and thyme savouriness lands straight on the herb salad and the char rather than competing with it.
Where to take them next
The detail — if they ask
Cooled to 10°C and sorted on the belt, cold-soaked for six days, then fermented in stainless steel at 20–23°C. Twelve months in mostly French oak, 225 and 500 litre, new through to fifth fill, then a further year in bottle before release. Pale in the glass and far more structured than it looks.
Kir-Yianni
- Producer
- Founded in 1997 by Yiannis Boutaris, who left the wine company his own grandfather started in 1879 to do it his way — and later became Mayor of Thessaloniki. His son Stellios has been winemaker since 2004. In 2024 they became the first Greek winery to join International Wineries for Climate Action.
- Region
- Naoussa runs along the south-eastern slopes of Mount Vermio, with at least 25 distinct soil types and a continental climate whose wide day-to-night swing preserves the grape's natural acidity. Fruit for this cuvée is blended across the villages.
- Grapes
- Xinomavro means 'acid black' in Greek, which tells you most of it. Pale, transparent ruby with high acid and fine, iron-like tannin — routinely compared to Nebbiolo, which is why Naoussa gets called the Barolo of Greece.
Naoussa law requires 100% Xinomavro and a minimum year in oak — blend it with anything and it loses the appellation.