2017 Karanika Xinomavro Brut Nature Extra Cuvée de Réserve

Community Tasting Notes (3) Avg Score: 87 points

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  9/12/2023 - thesternowl wrote: 90 Points

  2023 Greek Adventure; 9/11/2023-9/22/2023 (Crete, Milos, Athens): Popped and poured; no formal notes. Continuing our commitment to only drinking Greek wine on this trip, this Blanc de Noir made from Xinomavro was a fun way to start our meal at Salis. The zero dosage was…obvious and the phenolic bitterness was about as much as I can recall in a wine. But with some grilled octopus, this blossomed. Notes of stone fruits, underripe raspberry and loads of minerals. Acid was off the charts. Disgorged December 2022

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  5/17/2023 - forceberry wrote: 84 Points

  100% Xinomavro from ungrafted vineyards. Whole bunch pressed, vinified without any sulfites in 2000-liter foudres. Bottled in January 2018, disgorged in November 2022 after 70 months of aging sur lattes. 12% alcohol, 0,4 g/l residual sugar, 7,9 g/l acidity, pH 2,77 and free SO 0,6 mg/l. Total production 7500 bottles.
  
  Rather pale and neutral whitish-yellow color. The nose feels somewhat restrained and a bit stuffy with slightly closed aromas of herby greenness, some leesy tones, a little bit of yeasty autolysis and a sweeter hint of ripe white peach. The wine feels bone-dry, rather neutral and quite mouth-puckering on the palate with an ample, crisp and persistent mousse and crunchy flavors of grassy herbal character, rather pronounced phenolic bitterness, some pithy lemon character, light angular notes of stony minerality, a little bit of tangy salinity, a sharp hint of key lime and a faint red-toned touch of tart lingonberry. The racy acidity makes the wine feel rather lean, shrill and high-strung. The finish is brisk, austere and bone-dry with a medium-long aftertaste of pithy lemon, some incisive steely mineral notes, a little bit of apple peel bitterness, light saline mineral notes, a tart hint of key lime and a touch of grassy greenness.
  
  A quite austere, lean and unapologetic bubbly that is surprisingly dominated by the bitter flavors typical of Xinomavro. Although these bitter notes work quite well in a red wine context, I feel the bracing acidity and angular mineral tones don't work that well with those bitter nuances, making the wine feel aggressively sharp and austere. However, this is a very recent release, tasted only half a year after the disgorgement, so I can imagine it's possible we just opened the wine way too early and it will pick up depth, complexity and sense of balance as the wine ages. At the moment the wine is just too harsh and understated for my taste to be the flagship bubbly of the winery - thus it feels somewhat expensive for the quality at approx. 34€.

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  12/13/2022 - kostaslonis wrote:

  Sampled at Oinoscent, bottle provided by distributor. Xinomavro harvested 15-30/9/2017, bottled 01/2018, 0 RS, 12.50%
  -/-
  The wine shows more depth, nutty frame, brioche notes, the fruit is riper, almonds notes, citrus, a few pear notes.
  In the palate, the wine is more vibrant, high carbonation, citrus, lime, yellow apple notes, medium to full body, high acidity, tropical notes, medium finish.
  It feels a bit uneven

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