Dry Red 
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Winemaker's Note
The color is intense, almost blue. The nose is inviting with loads of black fruit and vanilla. The mouth is explosive, dense, and velvety. Concentrated, full-bodied, hot, and viscous. Although youthful, the balance is there with tannins that are ripe and refined.
Varieties
Syrah, Merlot, Xinomavro, Cabernet Sauvignon
Production
250 cases
Ageing
12-15 years
Cellaring
14 months in new 225-lt barriques for each of the separate varieties, additional 4 months in new 225-lt barriques for the entire blend –aging in bottle for 6 more months.
Origin
Selected vineyard blocks of the Kir-Yianni Estate in Yianakohori (#1 and #2 for Syrah, #24 for Merlot, 9 for Xinomavro, and #6 for the other varieties)
Food Pairing
Intense, robust, with warm alcohol and dense texture, Ble Alepou is a wine destined for bold food pairings, either with dishes of the classic French cuisine or dishes with a more creative twist.
Analytical Data
A year that was rather peculiar, full of changes, filled with hope and despair, with beneficial rains in spring and hot days in summer and rainy again by the end of the harvest! Patience, close monitoring of the vineyard and careful selection on the vine and then in the winery were the main features of a vintage that started out with the best of omens, developed as a moderate year in terms of quality, but, overall, a very promising and full of surprises one. Rating:***
The Kir-Yianni Estate vineyards in PDO Naoussa are located at an altitude of 120-280m on the Eastern foothills of Mt. Vermio. The zone’s climate is marked by abundant precipitation during the winter and spring, and moderate drought during the summer. The site spans over rolling hills with medium to high slopes and southeastern exposure. Its soil type is a mixed limestone ranging from clay to loam and sandy loam. Due to this diversity and complexity of the site the vineyards are established in 30 separate blocks –each one with its own particular characteristics and viticultural practices. In the Ble Alepou blend we used Syrah grapes grown on the loamy limestone soils of blocks #1 and 2, Merlot from the loamy limestone soils of block #24 and Xinomavro from the clay-limestone soils of block #9. All these blocks face southeast. A generous vine spacing of 3,500-4,000 per hectare is in place for optimal vigor and canopy management. The resulting yield is less than 80 hectoliters per hectare.
The winemaking objective for Ble Alepou is to highlight the terroir of the Kir-Yianni Estate and its potential for world-class wines. To that end, Ble Alepou is a blend of the best examples of the basic varieties grown at the Estate, selected according to their technical characteristics, such as acidity, alcoholic degree, phenolic ripeness, intensity of aroma and color. After strict selection in the vineyard and on the sorting table, the grapes of each variety are cold soaked separately at 9-10°C in a reductive environment for a period of 5-7 days. For each variety a different fermentation temperature is applied. Fermentation for Merlot takes place at 27-28° C, followed by a post-fermentation extraction period of 8-15 days. Xinomavro ferments at 22°C in open-top tanks. A monitored hydraulic pigeage is used in order to avoid the breaking of grape seeds and the extraction of undesirable tannins. Grape skins are removed before the end of fermentation. The wine is aged in new 225 and 500-lt French oak casks.
