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Ktima Kir-Yianni
| News: March 20, 2003 February 25, 2003 December 15, 2002 February 18, 2003 |
During the 1980s Yiannis Boutaris, the company's head of winemaking and vineyard management, began a program of experimentation with several Greek and foreign varieties, determined to achieve international standards of wine production on the property. In the mid-1990s, a decade in which the Boutari company had become a fully diversified beverage conglomerate, a small, but state-of-the-art, winery was built in order to complete the transition from vineyard to estate. Shortly thereafter, Yiannis, eager to pursue his dream of artisanal production, exited the Boutari Group to focus on winemaking at the Yianakohori estate and other properties in Makedonia. Yiannis' son, Mihalis,
Mihalis is enthusiastic and humble. Well aware that he manages an estate of which many in Greece have high expectations, he has devoted his ample intellect and energy to establishing a plan consistent with his father's precedent of experimentation and innovation. In the case of the traditonal variety Xynómavro, this has meant dividing the property into small parcels in order to analyze and micromanage vine cultivation. "My goal", he says, "is to make sure we have a good quantity of top-quality fruit each year." His father had already determined that white varieties were more suited to the more continental climate of the Vegoritis and Grypas estates in Amyndaio, where he is steward as part of a consulting arrangement. The white varieties were therefore replanted with red at Yianakohori, and production of Oreino (mountain) Roditis, Gewurztraminer and Chardonnay at Vegoritis is now incorported under the Kir-Yianni label. This arrangement allows Mihalis to focus his efforts on matching red varieties and even specific clones of varieties to their ideal locations in the estate's vineyards. Genetic analysis is being undertaken to isolate genes that will help identifiy Xynómavro clones that are particularly suited to specific vineyard plots. Production from each parcel will be vinified separately, evaluated on its merits, then blended (or not) according to its nature. Merlot is cultivated both as ameliorateur and varietal and Syrah for solo vinification. Organic farming is an important part of the consistent production of top-quality fruit the estate is seeking to achieve. It also keeps yields naturally low. Mihalis, who is quick to proclaim his personal limitations, nevertheless displays justifiable confidence in his approach. He emphasizes the importance of a strong team, including vineyard manager Dimitris Tsoupeis, winery manager Christos Boskos and, of course, his father. Yet clearly both the science and art of winemaking are in his blood, as is a deep and poetic reverence of nature and an appreciation for the complexity and serendipity that characterize the wine making process. The wines from Kir-Yianni reflect the creed that wines are truly created in the vineyard. Honest and unabashed, their wild side is allowed expression, only balanced and framed during vinification. Therein lies their sophistication. "Tannin", Mihalis believes, "is part and parcel of the vineyard." Tannin in Kir-Yianni reds is unsuppressed in the way that the development of personality might be encouraged in a child. One of his goals is to learn more about the factors–particularly irrigation and heat stress–that affect the development of tannin. His satisfaction is apparent while swirling a glass of exceptional 1988 Kir-Yianni Syrah; "I feel we have created fireworks in the mouth." Additionally, Kir-Yianni reds are rarely fined or filtered and undergo only natural malolactic fermentation.
Yiannis Boutaris was the first to blend Merlot with Xynómavro. The result was, as Mihalis puts it, "easy on the mouth." This blend, now increasingly common in Naousa, brings out the best–and mitigates the potential perils–of Xynómavro. But really, it is foremost a blend of two highly compatible varieties, the Merlot rounding out the more harsh and thin Xynómavro. As the 1998 Yianakohori we tasted demonstrates, the quality of the fruit going into the blend has everything to do with the outcome. Although 1998 was not a great year in the region, the Merlot, which comprises 40% of the blend, is less variable and contributes a New World fruitiness to which the Xynómavro adds considerable support (body, especially), despite the weak vintage. The wine has a great finish, inspiring speculation concerning what could be expected during a stellar year. The organic approach probably has much to do with the way this wine has transcended its vintage.
We tasted two vintages of this label, the 1997 and 1998. In one sense Rámnista is Kir-Yianni's Naousa, 100% Xynómavro. Ironically, though (given the elder Boutari's role as regional icon), the progression from former to latter does little to suggest a high priority to tradition. The 1997 spends 16 months in oak and 18 months in bottle and displays all the best characteristics of its variety. It is both round and firm, delicious–but delicate. In spite of abounding tannin, the best fruit characteristics of Xynómavro shine through. The experimental, small lot 1998, affectionately dubbed "Gen X" by Yiannis, is a bold departure from regional sensibilities, a tight powerhouse enveloped in new American oak. "With this wine," says Mihalis, "we're not making great Naousa, but I feel we should try this approach, too, if we are also doing the [traditional]." Merlot The 1998 Merlot, true to its vintage, lacked a little oomph, not in body, but in depth. It must be said, however, that it lacks nothing on the nose, nor in color, nor in class. Merlot is a variety which benefits by the long and international experience of the family. Even in the 1998, it is obvious that the grape is not a 'foreign' variety. Nico Mannessis' review of the 1997 describes " a richly coloured and flavored palate" and proclaims it "the finest to date". Kir-Yianni is, and will remain, the elite producer of this variety in Greece. Syrah The 1998 Syrah we tasted sets a standard for the variety that will be difficult to better in Greece. Complete, concentrated and ageble. The General Wine Company website oddly fails to give sufficient credit to the mature fruit in this wine, suggesting, instead, that "the spice may well dominate the fruit." It is true that perceptions of the wine are inevitably influenced by tingly tannins Mihalis calls "fireworks in the mouth," delicately prickly spice that dances on the tongue. But there is much more going on, including a brilliant cherry color and elegant structure. It was as impressive a Greek wine as we tasted in 2001.
We tasted the 2000, which for all its elevation (700 meters) was surprisingly ripe and melon-like. It is a clean and fresh wine, a wonderful and subtle expression of the variety's even nature. Samaropetra 2000 The Samaropetra is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc with Gewurztraminer and Roditis. I had expected far more complexity from this wine, but realized upon tasting it that the goal of its manufacture is balance and harmony. I had no sense of distinct varietal aromas or flavors. The wine is even-tempered, seamless from start to finish, round but seemingly more full-bodied than its alcohol level (12.5%) would suggest. It is an elegant blend of fruit, not gratuitously stylish, as it might have been, but a legitimate effort to create a harmonious and structured wine. Acidity is probably substantial, but plays entirely a selfless role. Amyndaio Rosé This tart rosé from Xynómavro supports Mihalis' assertion that the variety "has a green side." The acidity in this wine, however, is exclusively married to flavors of wild strawberry. A light and true rose color is extracted during a 12 hour maceration. The wine has some body, but for all its depth—and it exhibits plenty—it is still somehow light as air. Xynómavro produces some of Greece's most appealing rosés, but this treatment is unique. Now that the shuffling is over, the Boutaris' are getting down to serious business in both the Yianakohori and Amyndaio vineyards. A portfolio which will crown the long career of Yiannis Boutaris is finally taking shape. The reconfiguration and consolidation of the Naousa and Amyndaio properties is the first step. The second step will be the establishment of a second label that will provide a strong position in the value-for-money category. General Wine Company, meanwhile, looks to be adding additional quality producers to its distribution, a sign, no doubt, that this new venture is on solid ground. |
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