Alpha Estate 2017 Xinomavro Vieilles Vignes 750ml
The 2017 Xinomavro Ecosystem Reserve Vielles Vignes Barba Yannis Single Block was aged for 24 months in new French barriques and comes in at 13.94% alcohol. By "old vines," the winery means "ungrafted bush vines" from 1919. Nervy, elegant and showing beautiful mid-palate finesse, this adds flavor and a long, juicy finish as well. The dominant feature here just now, though, is the acidity, which is high enough to cause a little initial mouth pucker while it lifts the fruit. It seems light and bright. The wine seems up to the task of integrating the acidity, but you are going to want to cellar this for a couple years to allow it to settle down and come together in various ways. The fruit needs to become more expressive. Alpha Estate is on a roll with this brand, and this looks like one of the more intriguing ones of late. That also means, as tends to happen, that this will need a little more time to show its stuff and it is not as clear where it is going. I'm bullish on this, but it needs to prove its case in the cellar.
Score: 93 points -- Mark Squires, The Wine Advocate, 2021