Magoutes Vineyard Siatista Vieilles Vignes Blanc 2023

Magoutes Vineyard sits high in the stark, craggy mountains of Macedonia in remote northwestern Greece - a world away from the softening maritime influences of either the Aegean or the Ionian seas. Nestled in this rugged landscape is the town of Siatista, with a winemaking history dating back at least to 1670 (and probably even further). There, at the beginning of the 20th century, Dimitrios Diamantis’ grandfather hand-grafted Magoutes’ first vineyard (now over 100 years old) of xinomavro, moschomavro, and nigrikiotiko on the rocky limestone soils. Sadly, by the ‘70s, most of the region’s grapes had been abandoned, and only a few hardy old vines managed to survive. In the 1990s, the winery began reviving and replanting their own vineyards and buying neighboring vineyards to protect the region’s winemaking history. In addition, Dimitrios, along with his equally energetic business partner George Papageorgiou, is now campaigning to have the 200 hectares of Siatista recognized as a PDO in its own right. The Magoutes Vineyard (named for the magenta plant) is planted at 750-890 m in elevation, which assists in farming organically by reducing insect and disease pressure. In the cellar, winemaking is low-intervention as well, with fermentations taking place spontaneously. This still blanc de noir is made from 100% xinomavro, and is an absolute showstopper! Loaded with floral overtones dancing around bracingly zesty citrus and stone fruit layered over a focused mineral core, it leads into a mouthwateringly long finish. Racy and rocky, with ethereal alpine cloud-like lift, this bottling will give Chablis a run for its money! Organically grown, low-intervention/natural wine.