diff --git a/satpy/tests/writer_tests/test_cf.py b/satpy/tests/writer_tests/test_cf.py
index 59f31cf0ff..0e4e442586 100644
--- a/satpy/tests/writer_tests/test_cf.py
+++ b/satpy/tests/writer_tests/test_cf.py
@@ -1450,5 +1450,12 @@ def _get_compression_params(complevel):
 
 
 def _should_use_compression_keyword():
+    # xarray currently ignores the "compression" keyword, see
+    # https://github.com/pydata/xarray/issues/7388. There's already an open
+    # PR, so we assume that this will be fixed in the next minor release
+    # (current release is 2023.02). If not, tests will fail and remind us.
     versions = _get_backend_versions()
-    return versions["libnetcdf"] >= Version("4.9.0")
+    return (
+        versions["libnetcdf"] >= Version("4.9.0") and
+        versions["xarray"] >= Version("2023.03")
+    )