Variety: Cabernet Franc
Category: Red
Location: Cyprus
Green Scale Rating: 8
Organic farming, ungrafted vines, no added sugar or yeast, vegan friendly, unfined, and unfiltered. 

An unexpected surprise when it comes to a well produced Cabernet Franc that's not from France.  As advocates of featuring wines produced from their native varieties, we had to make this exception.  Inviting aromas, ripe berry flavors, firm textures, and a slight spicy finish.  

Makarounas is a family winery located on the beautiful village of Letymbou, 14 km east of the city of Pafos, Cyprus. The family carries a viticultural history of four generations. Letymbou is in the area of “Pafos vine-villages”, as they are called by the locals, exactly because the region is associated with a long tradition in vine growing.
 
The vineyards cover 25 hectares of land, with new plantings added every year. They are located at an altitude of 400 – 600 m and are influenced by the warm Mediterranean climate and the considerable rainfall (620 mm / year, on average). The surrounding hills, the crystal gypsum, limestone and quartz rich soils, together with the uninterrupted exposure to the winds of the valley, modify the local mesoclimate.
 
The winery has the privilege of being the only in Cyprus that sources grapes solely from their privately-owned vineyards. The family has a long tradition in viticulture and has been and still is providing fruit to a considerable number of wineries in Cyprus. The fact that the quality of the fruit is completely under the control of the family, allows for the production of terroir driven wines of high distinctiveness and personality.