Boutari 2016 Naoussa Grande Reserve 750ml

The 2012 Grande Reserve is a Xinomavro aged for 24 months in used French oak and comes in at 13% alcohol. Why trade up from the regular Naoussa? This has far more concentration, riper fruit, better focus and much more intensity. For Xinomavro, though, the tannins are well controlled, not overly hard. The finish is very long. This is impressive in many ways, managing to keep its balance in a vintage where some atypically leaned a little to the fruity side. Even as a late release, this will profit from several more years in the cellar, at which point it will smooth out and become more harmonious. The late release does mean that you can approach it now. I'm not sure it will age as well as some, but it will be no slouch. It's a nice value. There were 3,500 cases produced.

Score: 91+ points -- Mark Squires, Robertparker.com, Jun 2018