Kir-Yianni The North Amyndeon Assyrtiko 2025
£14.45
The wine
Bright lemon-yellow. Intense and expressive, showing peach and apricot.
Assyrtiko belongs to Santorini, where it grows on volcanic ash, and planting it in Amyndeon at up to 280 metres in the cool north is a recent experiment that has worked. It keeps a searing acidity in almost any heat. Kir-Yianni was founded by Yiannis Boutaris in Naoussa in 1997 and is now run by his son Stellios, with vineyards in Naoussa and high in Amyndeon.
The producer
Kir-Yianni
View all Kir-Yianni winesKir-Yianni is one of Greece's benchmark estates, founded in 1997 by the visionary Yiannis Boutaris after he left the historic family firm. A lifelong champion of indigenous varieties, he did more than almost anyone to reveal the potential of Xinomavro. Today the estate is led by his son, fifth generation winemaker Stellios Boutaris.
The estate farms two regions on the slopes of Mount Vermio. In Naoussa, Xinomavro first planted in 1970 grows across 42 individually managed parcels of varied soils and aspects. In Amyndeon, Greece's coolest wine region, Kir-Yianni pioneered plantings on poor, sandy soils at 700 metres. Sustainability runs deep, and in 2024 it became the first Greek winery to measure its carbon footprint.
Xinomavro is the estate's signature, and the range reveals the grape's remarkable versatility. The approachable Cuvée Villages and the structured, age worthy Ramnista express Naoussa, while a crisp rosé and a traditional method sparkling show its fresher side. From Amyndeon come vibrant, mineral Assyrtiko in the fresh The North and the richer, barrel aged Tarsanas.
Precise, characterful and deeply expressive of place, Kir-Yianni's wines stand among the finest in Greece. They combine native tradition with modern rigour and a keen environmental conscience. This is Greek wine at its most compelling.
