A swath of (mostly) Santorini (mostly) Assyrtiko

WINE TALK
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Been living in Cyprus for the last three months and while there is a really dynamic and growing wine scene on the island, I will frankly admit that the blowing-up of access to the top tier of Santorini has been the most exciting for me. A good portion of these wines were bottles consumed while my mother-in-law fed me fish lunches, so my scores might be skewed up (but they aren’t.)

Grouped by producer and I grouped repeat notes on the same wines. Weirdly low on Hatzidakis this time around, I just realized.

At the end are a couple of non-Assyrtiko of note. And a special carve out for a non-Santorini producer whose wines are truly spectacular.

Posted from CellarTracker

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Great notes thank you.
Have been buying a ton of Hatzidakis as it is such an incredible wine with shellfish, but I am going to widen my choices when I look to rebuy.

I see one wine from 2013, which seems to have aged nicely. Have you tasted any with more bottle age?

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I’ve not had other older wines this trip. I know a restaurant with a nice stock (where I got the 2013 - and they thought it was at peak) but didn’t go out a lot during this winter season. I had a bunch of wines delivered to me and mostly just chilled at home and shot the shit with fam. More in summer when we will entertain and/or go out.

I am unsure on aging, tbh. Ten is where I am max comfortable, but I just can’t say how much is instrinsic and how much is that it was about 10-12 years ago that producers started to think about aging in a more coherent fashion. On the converse, I am also unsure how much these micro cuvées are going to be to the detriment of the basic wines and that will be a shame if so.

One last bottle of Argyros Nycteri tomorrow before I head toward home.

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Great post and notes. My type of wines and what sounds like relaxed tasting setting over lunch across weeks. Envy sets in . . . I’ll try to be satisfied with the vicarious reading pleasure and some imagination. Thanks.

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Andrew thanks for the notes, reading this reminded me of our trip to Santorini where we drank a ton of great Assyrtiko. I will say that finding any shop with a significant selection in the U.S. is dam rare, it’s been sad to watch some of the prices rise on the retail side ie Siglas but It was a fun read, enjoy your time there.

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Great notes. I have single bottle of the Hadzidakis 2014 Mavrotragano. Had no idea about when to open it. I will do it sooner rather than later now!

Also have some 2014 Sigalas and 2016 Hadzidakis Assyrtiko i think i need to check in on!

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Andrew,
Comprehensive and interesting notes about a grape I love.
Unfortunately, many of the better bottles mentioned are stunningly expensive in the States.
I envy you this chance to try them.
Best, Jim

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Great notes, Andrew. My wife and I started visiting Santorini in 2009 and have been back every year since until and except for the pandemic years. Argyros and Hatzidakis (RIP Haridimos) consistently make the best Assyrtiko, with Argyros being my current favorite following the tragic death of Haridimos in 2018. Sigalas is also excellent; however, I dislike their (and everyone else’s) barrel aged Assyrtiko. I dislike Assyrtiko that spends any time in wood.

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Rush at your own peril :-).

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You are correct. We visited him in June '17 and he died in August. A tragic loss.

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No hurries. With my (limited) experience with aged Assyrtiko, they do perform wonderfully at around 10-15 years of age. Have yet to taste an older vintage, unfortunately.

Why? Some of the best Assyrtikos I’ve tasted have been aged in wood, including the stunning barrel-aged Argyros. Most of their top cuvées see some wood.

I can understand if one dislikes Assyrtikos that show obvious new oak qualities (I know I do; Assyrtiko and new oak flavors really don’t go hand in hand) but the breadth and subtly oxidative elements an old oak barrel brings to an Assyrtiko does nothing but good to the variety.

I also heartily suggest to check out Artemis Karamolegos. In a relatively short span of time they’ve become some of the most interesting producers on the island. Just check out some of Andrew 's notes on their wines - they really are that good.

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Different tastes Otto. In my opinion, Gaia ruins very good ‘wild ferment’ Assyrtiko with wood. Sigalas Barrel is another that I avoid, except when my wife, who likes it, sees it on a menu. I consider it to be an abomination.

I want Assyrtiko to be seashells, seaspray, and rocks. Not rounded by wood.

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I can understand the point with Gaia Wild Ferment and Sigalas because they show obvious new oak qualities.

However, have you tasted that Barrel-Aged Argyros? They used to make it in newer oak barrels a decade ago, but they have used old, neutral large-format barrels for a decade now. Tasted blind, you’d never guess they’ve seen oak - they’re all about lemon, salt, rocks and seashells. Tasted next to the regular Argyros Assyrtiko, the difference between them is noticeable, but you still wouldn’t guess if either of them saw any oak.

After all, I’ve always been an anti-oak proponent here in WB and more often than not I heavily dislike any oaky qualities in Assyrtiko. I’m not encouraging you to drink any of those rich, creamy lemon butter bombs - because I dislike them as well - but instead some of the most fantastic wines Santorini has to offer.

Oak is not the enemy of Assyrtiko. New oak is.

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Like Hatzidakas Mylos? Perhaps my all time favorite Assyrtiko when Haridimos made it.

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Thanks you for the terrific write up Andrew.

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Unfortunately it’s hard for me to tell, having not tasted it.

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Hi all. I’m heading to the Cyclades in 3 weeks and have never had Greek wine. My wife and I strongly prefer reds so I’m curious if people have thoughts on the best Mavrotragano makers (we are spending a week on Santorini in addition to 8 days spread between Folegandros and Milos).

Should I focus on Hatzadakis , Sigalas, Gaia? We are also heading to a winery on the island of Sikinos while visiting Folegandros.
Thx

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Xinomavro for reds!
And this is where we ping @Otto_Forsberg because he have tasted a lot more than me when it comes to this wonderful grape.

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Well, Xinomavro is more of a continental Greek thing. You don’t see that much in the Cyclades. Mandilaria and Mavrotragano reign supreme there.

While Mavrotragano is technically the more “impressive” grape, I often like Mandilarias more - too often Mavrotragano is vinified into this extracted, oaky monster wine, whereas Mandilarias are clean, brisk and lively. Also, quite often heady with its unique varietal aromatics.

As I said in an another thread, I’ve never been to Hatzidakis, but if I were to visit Santorini again, it’s definitely a place I’d go.

Gaia has a wonderful little seaside spot and it is worth a visit, but they make Assyrtiko exclusively. You’re not going to find any red wines there.

I’ve visited Sigalas, but apart from their few top wines, their range is pretty lukewarm compared to the other producers. Plus they were expensive already back then - probably even much more now. I’d love to re-visit many producers again, but Sigalas not so.

Instead I’d go and visit Artemis Karamolegos and Argyros. They are located within a stone’s throw of each other and both make some of the most thrilling wines in Santorini. Again, Argyros makes mainly whites, so very little for a red wine fan there. However, 90% of Santorini’s production is white, so the island is probably not the best place to visit wineries if you’re looking for red wines! :sweat_smile:

Anyways, there are two other wineries near Argyros and Artemis Karamolegos:
Art Space by Antonis Argyros - a tiny and very unique producer making some of the most atypical Santorini whites. Quite stuff impossible to obtain due to their tiny production numbers.
Canava Roussos - if you want red wines, go there. This is the oldest extant winery in Santorini and they have a few red wines. The wines can be somewhat rustic, but they are very honest and I find them quite attractive for what they are.

But in restaurants do check out if they have Xinomavro from the appellations of Naoussa or Goumenissa. Some of the best Greek reds come from there.

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