You can't get much further off the beaten path than Goumenissa without leaving Europe.

But Goumenissa's where you need to go to find wine this delicious — and this good at defying all expectations.

This wine is fully mature and yet shockingly affordable; super-hip and yet completely traditional; with family history as ancient as the mountains themselves and yet only a few generations old. Best of all, the wine tastes even better than its story promises.

First, the basics. Goumenissa is a small appellation in Greece's Northern Macedonia devoted to Xinomavro and the even less well-known Negoska grape. It isn't far from the Aegean sea, so the cool northern winds are moderated by a Mediterranean influence — just the kind of climate you might think would give a wine a ton of tension.

In fact, the only thing that could make it better would be rolling limestone-rich hills...which is exactly the lay of the land out there.

No wonder the wine balances bright, fresh fruit with riper, figgy notes — all in a package that combines fine tannins and acidity for a structure that has allowed it to evolve beautifully for 14 years.