Ktima Kir-Yianni – Ramnista 2010

Ramnista is Kir-Yianni's benchmark Xinomavro, the first wine Yiannis Boutaris launched after leaving the family business, a single-varietal Naoussa often called the Greek Nebbiolo, and at around twenty euros a fairly priced classic. I know the wine across many vintages; in 2024 I had the 2006, the 2017, the 2018 and the 2019 in my glass, scoring 86, 90, 90 and 88. The 2010 itself is rated only middling by the estate, three of five stars, a difficult, cool and damp year, which nonetheless turned out well for Naoussa overall and above all fresh and age-worthy, with Ramnista scores around 89.

Sixteen years on, it smells wonderfully true to type, overripe tomato, a touch of dried strawberry, along with cedar wood, and in colour and aroma doesn't seem all that old. On the palate, though, it is somewhat disappointing. It surely still has two good decades ahead of it, but I don't think it will ever attain polished elegance. It is quite astringent, has plenty of fruit, unlike the 2006, which recently was already well past it, and the thirteen-and-a-half percent alcohol sits pleasantly in balance with the acidity. Yet the finesse in the mid-palate is missing, as is the reverberation that would give the parched mouth another burst of colour. A few slight off-notes come on top of that.

For me this is 88 points. Once again a Ramnista that didn't really convince me.