Greece is the word for ‘diva’ grape xinomavro

Naoussa in northern Greece is one of the wine world’s most underappreciated wine regions – home to just one grape, xinomavro.

This region is off the beaten track for many Greek tourists, but is relatively accessible if you fly into the coastal city of Thessaloniki. Head 60km west from the coast towards the south-east slopes of Mount Vermio of northern Greece.

Naoussa is the name of a town and it sits in a sheltered arc of mountains protected from north winds with ample rainwater from the melting snowcaps.“xinomavro is seen as the diva of the grape growing world,” explains Matthew Horsley, The Wine Society’s Greek wine buyer who took me on a voyage of discovery through the nuances of Naoussa. This region has seen a wine renaissance since 1980s, with a new generation of growers now bottling their own, such as Apostolos Thymiopoulos who produces first rate quality wines.

At our tasting Horsley highlighted subtle differences in xinomavro styles across Naoussa’s subzones, from more structured wines of Gastra subzone and minerally saltytoned wines of Pole Nera in the north – down to the richer fuller styles of Trilofos in the south.

Now a fascinating range of six different Naoussa xinomavros are on offer at £105 from www. thewinesociety.com, showing that this grape can produce exquisite aromatic sensuous wines.

Xinomavro literally translates as ‘sour black’ which does not do it justice. Imagine instead a wine with the ethereal bouquet of fine mature pinot noir from Burgundy with the body, structure, brooding high alcohol and firm tannins of nebbiolo from Barolo.

If you are new to xinomavro, it might be worth starting off with an introductory wine like Thymiopoulos’ Jeune Vignes (£11.50, The Wine Society), his standard xinomavro (£11.99/14.99, Majestic Wine) or even cheaper Thymiopoulos’ xinomavro and mandilaria blend (£9.50, Marks & Spencer).