2009 BLANC DE ROSE

TRY ME IF YOU LOVE: This isn't really like anything else....

ABV: 13.5%

GRAPES: Xinomavro, Malagousia

TASTING NOTES: A genuinely unique and fascinating wine: a rosé that has lost its colour and gained body and layers of complexity with years of ageing. It has a gorgeous, honeyed apricot aroma and a long, dry finish.

PAIRS WITH: Asian style salmon / prawns, Mediterranean style chicken dishes

SERVE ME: Slightly chilled, let it breathe for half an hour and don’t drink it too cold.

Apostolos Thymiopoulos is Greece's best red winemaker - a master of the Xinomavro grape variety in all its styles (many of which he pioneered). The core of the range is a series of Xinomavros from Naoussa, each of which offers a unique take on this world-class grape variety. His ageworthy Rosé de Xinomavro is one of the most complex and compelling rosés you will ever taste. Occasionally, Apostolos releases an aged version. Last year we had the 2013, this year it's the turn of 2009. But this is a vintage with a difference.

In the cold winter of 2009, fermentation stopped. Apostolos decided to wait, leaving the wine in tank to age on its lees. Six years later, in 2015, he added some fresh Malagousia (an aromatic white Greek variety) to restart fermentation and transferred the wine to 500l oak barrels. It was eventually bottled in 2020 before further ageing in the Thymiopoulos cellars. Now, a full 15 years on, it has been released.