The Douloufakis Winery is located in the village of Dafnes, a few kilometres south of the Cretan coastal city of Heraklion, in a rural village setting. The region has a long viticultural history and has been established as a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) for Cretan wines of the ancient grape variety Liatiko for many years. Family owned since the 1930s with third generation winemaker Nikos Douloufakis calling the shots in the vineyards and winery today, there is clearly a lot of passion invested into the accomplished range of wines.
Their privately owned vineyards are situated on hillside slopes at an altitude of 350 meters and the cultivation is mostly done by hand as well as by mechanical means. They cover 20 hectares and are located within the vineyard region of Dafnes. There are plantings of several grape varieties, including indigenous Vilana, Vidiano, Muscat White (of Spina), Malvasia, Mandilari, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Liatiko, Kotsifali, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese and Syrah. Apart from the privately owned vineyards, grapes are also sourced from smaller farmers in the Dafnes area, with whom the Douloufakis Winery has a long partnership with. These vineyards cover 25 hectares and are under Nikos Douloufakis’ direct supervision ensuring consistency of quality fruit.
While the Douloufakis Winery was not on my original Cretan itinerary, several very strong recommendations from ex-Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate writer Mark Squires persuaded me to pop into their winery and taste a selection of wines, with the Femina a must-taste white expression.
An enticing pale lemon bronze yellow, the aromatics are jam packed full of exotic fruits, ripe peaches, apricots, nectarines and lychees which intermingle with subtle notes of potpourri florality, pink musk, peach rock candy and delicate white chalk nuances. On the palate the wine is rich and textural, revealing a deliciously fleshy concentration of peaches, apricots and a medley of joyous fruit salad notes. The richness of fruit is accompanied by a vibrant acidity and layers of pithy phenolic spice that lingers long into the finish. An attractive dry, pithy, floral expression of Malvasia Di Candia Aromatica that will undoubtedly gain extra layers of complexity with further bottle ageing. Another top-class effort.
The ALS Assyrtiko is an exceptional terroir driven dry white wine creation from three young Greek winemaking talents in Yiannis Papaoikonomou, Ilias Roussakis and Alexis Kolovos. Yiannis Papaoikonomou studied oenology in Athens before coming to Santorini in 2009 to work at Domaine Sigalas, where he worked as a vineyard manager and as an assistant winemaker. In 2013, Yiannis left Santorini to go to Chile, New Zealand and France for further work experience and in 2015 he finally returned to Santorini, joining the Vassaltis Winery, helping to build it from scratch with Ilias Roussakis.
The ALS 2021 was produced from a manually picked cluster selection in the vineyards. Harvested very early in the morning, the fruit from Santorini was then transported to Syros in a refrigerated truck where it underwent direct pressing with racking after 12 hours. After fermentation, the wine saw bâtonnage for four months and then lay “Sur Lie” for circa 12 to 13 months.
Tasting the ALS with Yiannis in London recently after his return from working a harvest in South Africa.
ALS Extreme Terroir Assyrtiko 2021, Santorini, 13.5% Abv.
The 2021 vintage was an extraordinarily difficult vintage across the island of Santorini. All the more reason for the ALS team to put in the extra effort to deliver a wine with excellent purity, tension and freshness. The aromatics are subtle but complex, boasting notes of peach skins, wet straw, oatmeal, sweet herbs, oyster shell and basaltic stony minerality. The medium bodied palate is cool, lean, and taut, bristling with a vibrant acidity and tightly packed flavours of white peach, green pear, toasted almonds, and a subtle tangerine peel pithiness. The wine shows a fine balance and a delicate salinity with a certain “maritime affinity,” finishing with bright acids and a sleek textural precision. Not quite the intensity and power of previous releases, but certainly a great success for the vintage. Drink on release and over the next 5 to 8+ years.
(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Wine is available cellar door for circa £65 per bottle. Currently imported by Flint Wines.
OENO P was founded by Paris Sigalas in the old wine cave (canava) of his family on the island of Santorini in the Greek Cycladic Islands, after he sold his long-established winery brand Domaine Sigalas. This new venture is located right next to the sea, in the area of the Kolumbo volcano, in Baxedes-Oia.
The focus of Paris Sigalas and his new OENO P winery is on small production (up to 20,000 bottles per year) of very high-quality boutique wines, with each vineyard being vinified in separate amphorae. A pioneer of modern Santorini winemaking, Paris continues to push the boundaries of what is possible by producing premium landmark Santorini white wines for ‘educated Assyrtiko connoisseurs.’
After several very hot and dry vintages on Santorini, culminating in a very challenging 2021 harvest, the high quality 2022 vintage finally brings some well needed respite for wineries and growers that have been confronted in many instances by rising costs and falling quality – a less-than-ideal scenario for wineries looking to build premium brands in the global market. The wines of OENO P are decidedly premium in price, but equally, they are among the finest premium Assyrtiko whites I have tasted from Santorini.
OENO P Tria Ampelia 2022, PDO Santorini, Greece, 14.5% Abv.
This is certainly one of the most ambitious Assyrtikos from Santorini that I’ve tasted in a long time. The grapes come from three different vineyards all over 60 years old, in Fira, Akrotiri and Megalochori. The wine was fermented and matured in 750 litre and 1,600 litre clay amphorae for 16 months and then left on its fine lees with no oak usage. The aromatics are strikingly rich and exotic but always showing some telltale stony, mineral hints from the amphorae, over complex notes of grapefruit marmalade, white peach, fig preserve, lemon rind, lemon tart, honeysuckle, oystershell and subtle talc nuances. The full-bodied palate has all the Paris Sigalas hallmark richness and ripeness, intricately interwoven freshness and notes of oatmeal dough, wet basalt, white peaches, honeycomb and a savoury leesy intensity. The concentration is such that the intensity of fruit almost resembles a dry botrytis wine, layered, textural and wonderfully glycerol in the mouth. This is undoubtedly a wine for Assyrtiko connoisseurs. Drink now or allow it to age gracefully for 8 to 10 years.
This Nykteri Assyrtiko, in its most extreme form, perfectly expresses the uniqueness of Santorini’s volcanic terroir, inspired by the underwater volcano known as Kolumbo, which the locals of Oia used to call “Akulumbo”. This cuvee is a full bodied, hedonistic white wine made from 100% Assyrtiko grapes from an “overripe harvest”, picked mid-September, or around a month after the regular Assyrtiko harvest. The grapes were then fermented and matured on their fine lees in a 1600-litre amphorae for 24 months. The result is a uniquely local Santorini expression of Assyrtiko, characterized by an exceptionally rich body, long aftertaste, and a higher alcohol content. This “Akulumbo” 2022 certainly boast a heady, opulent aromatics of wet basalt and petrol over complex notes of grapefruit preserve, ripe peaches, crystallised lemon slices, apple crumble, honeysuckle and grated tangerine peel. The 2022 vintage expresses an exceptional breadth and depth, assembled with the most impressive harmony and balance, with the extra ripeness and richness perfectly balanced by refreshingly tangy acids, leaving the higher alcohol almost imperceptible. Despite the 24 months ageing on its lees in amphorae, the purity of fruit is extraordinary, emphasizing just how great the 2022 vintage really was. Power, balance and intensity in perfect synergy. Drink now and over the next 8 to 10+ years. (1,800 bottles produced)
(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
OENO P Tria Ampelia Pithari II 2022, PDO Santorini, Greece, 14.5% Abv.
Pithari II is one of the amphorae used for the Tria Ampelia 2022 blend made by Paris Sigalas’ new winery OENO P, originating from a single vineyard in the village of Akrotiri. Fermented with native yeasts, leaving some residual sugars, and matured sur lie for 18 months. Inspired by the distinguished nuances emanating from its complexity and subtle RS, the wine was bottled unfiltered from amphorae, in a very limited production run, designed to represent, as Paris explains, “a weird and stimulating Santorini expression aimed at mainly friends of Santorini’s various Assyrtiko styles.” On the nose, the aromatics are indeed incredibly precise and focused, delivering a tight-knit assemblage of crushed basaltic minerality, pithy grapefruit, lime peel, white blossom, warm buttered white toast, green Rooibos tea, and delicate peach fruit nuances. The palate is sleek and suave, boasting a massive dry extract concentration underpinned by zippy, well-integrated bright acids and a sophisticated level of wound-spring textural tension. But above all, it’s the elegance and pristine harmony of the overall wine that leaves the greatest lasting impression. Undoubtedly, one of the finest premium expressions of Assyrtiko I have ever tasted from Santorini. Drink now and over the next 8-10+ years.
(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Wines are imported into the UK by http://www.Musigny.wine and are available retail at bottle prices ranging between £80 and £110 per bottle.
ALS is the exceptional terroir driven dry white wine creation from three young Greek winemaking talents in Yiannis Papaoikonomou, Ilias Roussakis and Alexis Kolovos. Yiannis Papaoikonomou studied oenology in Athens before coming to Santorini in 2009 to work at Domaine Sigalas, where he worked as a vineyard manager (under the guidance of a consultant) and as an assistant winemaker. In 2013, Yiannis left Santorini to go to Chile (Vina Maquis), New Zealand (Oyster Bay) and France (Chapoutier) for further work experience and in 2015 he finally returned to Santorini to literally help build the Vassaltis Winery from scratch with Ilias Roussakis.
After working the 2023 harvest in South Africa, Yiannis returned back to Santorini to focus on his various projects including the magnificent ALS extreme terroir white wine. What makes this wine special is the way it retains all the characteristics that have made Santorini Assyrtiko great and certainly world famous – Salinity, acidity, nervy freshness, volcanic minerality, and its maritime influences both on the nose and palate. Top Santorini Assyrtiko whites are expensive wines to buy these days, but I can’t help feel than so many of the top names have struggled to reach the heights of quality seen in exceptional vintages like the 2017s. Nowadays, the wines just seem fatter, riper, oilier, less fresh, less mineral, less nervy, less saline and generally less volcanic… all the features that should set these great wines apart from other Greek white wines, especially the ones from the mainland. But then you taste wines like the ALS, and you realise that some producers are still making wines that resonate with quality!
The ALS 2020 was produced from a manually picked cluster selection in the vineyards on 24th August 2020. Harvested very early in the morning, the fruit from Santorini was then transported to Syros in a refrigerated truck where it underwent direct pressing with racking after 12 hours. After fermentation, the wine saw bâtonnage for four months and then lay “Sur Lie” for 13 months. The 2020 was bottled on the 10th February 2022. Production is very small, only circa 1,300 bottles, so you’ll need to be very quick if you are going to successfully buy a bottle.
ALS Extreme Terroir Assyrtiko 2020, Santorini, 13% Abv.
6.8g/l TA | 3.08pH | 0.3g/l VA
The 2020 dry white Assyrtiko from Yiannis Papaoikonomou and the Absinthos LP project is an incredibly vivid wine release that simply oozes volcanic terroir. A translucent pale straw yellow in the glass, the aromatics span the full array of mineral, herbal, and fruit notes all tightly wound under a magnificent maritime sea breeze veil. Wonderfully pure and precise, the wine reveals layer upon layer of briney salinity, basaltic rocks, roasted almonds, white toast, yellow plum, white peach, yellow citrus and green pear with a light dusting of dried green herbs. The palate too is packed full of flavour fireworks, conveying a real sense of seashore complexity, crashing waves, and volcanic beaches. This 2020 offers stunning fruit purity and a bright, salty, piercing acidity that is so integral to premium Santorini Assyrtiko. With a little more time in the glass, delightful hints of nectarine, oyster shell and hazelnuts develop, all intertwined with a delicious wet river stone basaltic minerality on the finish. Sublime balance, invigorating acids and a mouth-watering salinity make this one of the most impressive Assyrtiko’s produced from Santorini. Drink now and over the next 3 to 5+ years.
The first Assyrtiko white I tasted from South Africa was Eben Sadie’s Sadie Family Assyrtiko 2015 produced from bunches picked from his two-year-old vines planted around his winery, coming in at 12% alcohol with a bone dry 1.4 g/l RS, a vibrant 5.9 g/l TA and a lowish pH of 3.28. The wine was astonishing and had all the salinity, mouth watering tartness and savoury fleshiness you would hope for on a delicious example. Almost all the wine made from this small crop was consumed at Cape Wine 2015 during the “alternative varieties” seminar presented by Eben Sadie and Rosa Kruger. A superb tasting that was standing room only… and also featured Sadie Family experimental wines from Verdelho, Mencia and Agiorgitiko, Newton Johnson’s maiden 2014 Albarino and Bosman’s maiden Nero d’Avola 2014.
While Eben may have pulled up all these early vines and replanted them with better vine material, he continues to make an Assyrtiko from grapes from a secret vineyard on limestone soils up the west coast near St Helena Bay. The exact location is apparently a closely guarded secret. I saw a concrete egg of the 2022 vintage in October last year at the farm but was unable to taste it as it had just been topped up by winemaker Paul Jordaan. Apparently it is destined to be blended away in the Palladius. But it was the Mullineuxs, Eben’s Swartland neighbours, who succeeded in bottling the first commercial Assyrtiko along with Stellenbosch producer Gary Jordan. The Mullineux Assyrtiko was planted at their Roundstone farm along with Macabeo, Verdelho, Vermentino and a few others cultivars while Gary had already put in two large blocks of Assyrtiko and is planning a third.
Jordan’s first Assyrtiko block pictured in youth in February 2020.
With Assyrtiko famous for making vibrantly fresh white wine styles even at elevated alcohol levels, and being very drought and heat resistant, it looks set to become one of South Africa’s most popular “cult” varieties in the years ahead. For now, the Jordan Winery and the Mullineuxs are producing two exemplary examples and I recently popped the corks and tasted these two new release 2022 Assyrtikos head-to-head.
Jordan Assyrtiko 2022, WO Stellenbosch, 13% Abv.
An expressive, dusty, mineral expression that shows an almost granitic Chenin-like fruit core with plenty of maritime salinity, white flower perfume, rock salt, freshly cut fennel and crunchy white pear. But from young vines, this is a very impressively constructed wine with a cool fleshy core, tangy acids and a peachy, green apple rock candy and piquant bite on the finish. A truly wonderful expression that may still lack some of the true volcanic “island feel” of the greatest Santorini white Assyrtiko wines, but it is nevertheless an incredible interpretation of this variety considering the age of the vines. Keep a very close watch on future releases of this wine that is sure to become a South African cult collectable.
(Wine Safari Score: 92+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Mullineux Family Wines Assyrtiko 2022, WO Swartland, 13% Abv.
This beautiful Swartland expression shows a dense, mineral smoky aromatics with complex notes of crushed granite, dried kelp, clementine peel and sea breeze. The palate shows intricate textural layers, ample structure and deliciously complex stone fruit nuances with a definite liquid minerality undertone. A really impressive creation that blossoms in the glass showing tangerine and pithy lemon pastille. Like all the wines in the Mullineux range, this is yet another classy, polished varietal expression. Drink now and over the next 4 to 6 years.
(Wine Safari Score: 93+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Mullineux Wines are imported into the UK by Liberty Wines and Jordan Wines are represented exclusively by Awin Barret Siegel Wine Agencies (ABS).
If it’s not South African wines international wine critics are raving about these days then there’s a very good chance they will be writing about all the exciting new wines coming out of both the Greek mainland and its many idyllic Mediterranean islands. But that’s not where the similarities end.
Both countries have experienced a revolution in wine quality, South Africa in the early 2000s onwards and Greece more latterly. Both countries have also been quick out the blocks with their exceptional white wines, many in Greece based around the premium flagship varieties of Assyrtiko or Malagousia, just as Chenin Blanc was used in South Africa to lead the charge. For top quality red wines however, both countries have faced more of a challenge elevating wine quality across styles and varieties.
Visiting old vine vineyards in Vourvoulos, Santorini with owner Yannis Valambous and winemaker Yiannis Papaeconomou.
South Africa is now reaping the benefits of two decades of experimentation, precision viticulture and striving for terroir driven wine quality. In Greece, the greater red wine project is still regarded as a work in progress, but there are top producers like Vassaltis making steady leaps in quality with new experimental reds like this Mavrotragano blend. As so often is the case, the answer to refinement and elegance lies in making wines where less is more, built around earlier picking times, fruit purity and natural acid freshness. The revolution in quality is well underway.
This new Red is a field blend of 30% Mandilaria, 30% Mavrotragano and 40% Assyrtiko, co-fermented with some semi-carbonic on the Mavrotragano, sun-drying on the Mandilaria and whole bunch on the Assyrtiko. Vassaltis used the Mavrotragano for the aromatics, fruit and structured tannis, the Mandilaria for the glycerol, alcohol and acidity and the Assyrtiko essentially for the part of the blend that brings all these elements together to give the wine a characteristic balance and roundness. The wine saw no oak ageing.
100 to 120 year old vine Assyrtiko in the kouloura training system in Vourvoulos.
Vassaltis Vineyards Kalupi Red Blend 2020, Santorini, 14% Abv.
Made very much in the less is more philosophy, the aromatics are initially dark, mineral, basaltic and spicy before layers of sappy black berries, crushed gravel, dried herbs and notes of forest bramble berries and sun raisined cranberries. Texturally, this has more in common with the Loire, Burgundy or dare I say it, the Swartland, with a tight knit fruit density displayed with effortless elegance, weightless fruit concentration and vibrantly fresh, energetic acids. If I tasted this wine blind, Greece would be among my last possible options indicating what a paradigm shifting, well honed quality Red this wine really is. With its underlying basaltic terroir, the wine finishes with an impressively elegant, restrained classicism draped in a delicately mineral tannin veil. There is a hint of warmth on the end of the finish but is not enough to detract from the overall impression of excellence that this wine offers. Drink it slightly chilled, but certainly decanted, and the pleasure will follow. (250 bottles produced in 2018 and 1,250 in the follow up 2022.)
The 2019 vintage in Santorini was described as the “pocket vintage” with circa 1,000 tons of grapes harvested on the island compared to the normal 3,000 tons. Fortunately, quality was high and new boutique producers like Vassaltis Winery, who have already established a very high quality track record, were able to source sufficient quantities of high quality old vine Assyrtiko.
For the vintage, owner and proprietor Yiannis Valambous stated that “our source vineyards in Vourvoulos yielded approximately 50% less than they did in 2018. Yields were approximately 6 hl/ha. It is scary, but it is what it is… on the upside, quality seems to be outstanding.” I recently tasted a bottle of the Vassaltis Black Label “estate” Assyrtiko and was suitably impressed.
Vassaltis Assyrtiko 2019, PDO Santorini, 14% Abv.
Summer is in the air and this new 2019 Assyrtiko from Yiannis Valambous is another serious benchmark Santorini white. With the island’s unique volcanic terroir and old vines, you always know there will be freshness combined with a concentration of flavour and minerality. This classical rendition speaks of Santorini’s maritime terroir with a fabulously complex nose of dusty basaltic minerality, crushed gravel, salted almonds, lemon bon bons and dried summer grasses. On the palate there is impressive purity and precision, a hallmark of all the Vassaltis wines that combine a palate tingling intensity of salty, briney zest, deliciously tangy acids and a remarkable palate breath that leaves a long lasting impression. Drink now and over 3-5 years.
ALS is the exceptional new creation from three young Greek winemaking talents in Yiannis Papaoikonomou, Ilias Roussakis and Alexis Kolovos. Yiannis Papaoikonomou studied oenology in Athens before coming to Santorini in 2009 to work at Domaine Sigalas, where he worked as a vineyard manager (under the guidance of a consultant) and as an assistant winemaker. In 2013, Yiannis left Santorini to go to Chile (Vina Maquis), New Zealand (Oyster Bay) and France (Chapoutier) for further work experience and in 2015 he finally returned to Santorini to literally help build the Vassaltis Winery from scratch with Ilias Roussakis.
Ilias studied agronomy in Athens and oenology in Montpellier. He started to work in Santorini’s vineyards, working at Sigalas and Hatzidakis while he also worked at T-Oinos on the island of Tinos as chief oenologist. His broad based experience helped him to consult at wineries all around the Cycladic islands with great success. The third member of the team behind ALS is Alexis Kolovos, who originally studied agronomy and now works as a landscape architect all around the Cyclades. But his goal was always to manage a vineyard and finally with the ALS project, this has become a reality.
While sharing the same vision for Santorini’s terroir, there is also a strong friendship that connects the three ALS partners. In 2015, they finally got the opportunity to rent a vineyard in Imerovigli with a 25 year contract…. that you can find on Google maps at:
36.436530570174845, 25.423992561987845
The vineyard is 2,5ha and certainly wasn’t in a great condition when they took it on. Year after year, they started renting more vineyards and also started renting fields to convert into vineyards. They created a company which today runs 6,5ha of healthy, productive vineyards in Vourvoulos, Oia, Megalochori and Imerovigli.
While most of their grapes are now sold to wineries like Vassaltis, they just couldn’t resist the temptation to vinify a part of their own grape yields and so in 2018 they decided to make their first wine. With the help of their good friend Nikos Chatzakis, a fellow winemaker on the island of Syros, who agreed to host them and allow them to vinify ALS in a corner of his premises, their first pure Assyrtiko creation was born.
Selecting the only the very best clusters from every plant, they harvested their first grapes on the evening of the 19th of August 2018, loading a refrigerated truck before taking the ferry across to Syros. Four hours later they were pressing the Assyrtiko whole bunch grape clusters in a pneumatic press. They kept the juice in a tank for a day, with low temperatures to let it clarify a little and then racked the wine the following day. The juice was pumped gently into their small inox tank where the fermentation took place at 20-21 degrees centigrade with selected yeast. The wine stayed on its lees for 12 months with battonage for 4 months before being bottled on the 11th of July and spending an additional 16 months in the bottle before being released. The current release is still the 2018 but they also produced 1,300 bottles in 2019, 2020 and 2021. From 2022, they hope to increase their production quantity.
ALS Extreme Terroir Dry White Wine 2018, 14%, Greece
RS 2.5 | pH 2.97 | TA 6.8 | VA 0.4
This is certainly a unique expression of Assyrtiko unlike any other wines I have tasted from Santorini to date. With 12 months ageing on its lees in tank and a further 16 months ageing in bottle, the aromatics show complex layers of bruised yellow orchard fruits, bees wax, ripe pears, chamomile tea, briney sea breeze salinity and pronounced mineral nuances of crushed basalt and gravel. There are some truly alluring, dusty, leesy notes but the nose still retains impressive purity, focus and depth. The palate is broad, plump and quite glycerol with soft, creamy, spicy yellow fruits, green herbal tea nuances, spicy almonds and walnuts and then yet more savoury peachy, salty, briney maritime complexity. This certainly is a very impressive maiden release white wine with exceptional depth, palate concentration and a mellow, harmonious balance. The wine coats the palate and from the last swallow, the flavours resonate with leesy, savoury intensity and persistence for over a minute before the clean, soft acids bring the extravaganza to a final curtain call. An extraordinary creation. (Only 1,300 bottles were produced)
Greek wines, but more specifically the white Assyrtiko wines of the volcanic Cyclade island of Santorini, are continuing to see an ongoing collector renaissance not witnessed in classical Western wine markets since the mid-2000’s when now iconic producers such as the late Haridimos Hatzidakis burst onto the United Kingdom wine scene with profound unoaked old vine Assyrtiko whites from this small volcanic oasis in the Southern Aegean Archipelago.
This rising global fame has indeed led to rising demand but has also seen the island’s key growers, who supply a large quantity of the premium old vine fruit, raise their prices year on year for the last 6 or 7 years, leading to a situation where affordability has become a big issue for many producers buying in grapes. One way to counteract this supply pressure has been for producers to make more focused, niche, premium Assyrtiko wines and there are none more niche and quality focused than the impressive Vassaltis Gramina single vineyard Assyrtiko made from grapes harvested from very old kouloura trained vines.
The Vassaltis winery on Santorini
On the eve of the release of the new 2019 Gramina, I took another look at the current release 2018 to see just how it’s performing three years from vintage.
The maiden 2017 release of Gramina scored 96+/100 from The Fine Wine Safari.
Vassaltis Gramina Cuvee des Vignerons Assyrtiko 2018 Single Vineyard, PDO Santorini, 14% Abv.
Like the maiden 2017 vintage of the Gramina, the 2018 is made from 100% Assyrtiko grapes that are harvested from an old vine single vineyard in Vourvoulos. The meagre crop of the 80 to 100+ year old vines is picked in the early hours of the morning in the autumnal dark and whole bunch pressed with around only 2 to 3 hours passing between the commencement of picking and the completion of pressing into stainless steel tanks, which miraculously has an enormous influence on the structure, style, clarity and purity of the resulting juice.
Compared to most upfront Santorini Assyrtiko whites, this sensational creation captures a profound granitic, basaltic, volcanic minerality in the bouquet, which is interwoven with intricate notes of dried oregano and thymus polytrichus or wild thyme herbs. Neither overtly fruity or showy, the nose and palate is nonetheless underpinned by the most mouth watering acidity that duals with sweet sour notes of green apple pastille, crunchy white peaches and intense saline notes of brine and sea breeze with complexing nuances of dried kelp, sushi nori, dry roasted hazelnuts and bitter lemon peel pith. While never straying far from its crystalline purity and intensity, the palate texture remains bold, fleshy and long with characteristic layers of Santorini liquid minerality and oyster shell distinctiveness. A true terroir driven beauty of a wine! Released in the UK in June 2020 with almost 9 months ageing in bottle, the Gramina has to rank among the most impressive whites produced anywhere in Greece, let alone on the Cycladic islands and is undoubtedly a worthy successor to the epic maiden 2017 release.
Artemis Karamolegos is one of the most dynamic wineries on the unique volcanic island of Santorini. Led by his grandfather, who started making wine and cultivating vines as a hobby in the 1950s, Artemis founded the winery in 2004. The local variety Assyrtiko, which has become the flag bearer for quality wine across the whole of Greece, is at the heart of the estate’s production.
They own just over 3ha of vineyards (some over 100 years old) from many of the best villages to grow Assyrtiko – Pyrgos, Megalorchori, Exo Gonia, Akrotiri and Fira. Long-term leases on another 5 hectares allows them to manage and work with an amazing range of aspects, altitudes and local varieties. Their hugely talented young winemaker Lefteris Anagnostou crafts a small range of cuvées ranging from premium single vineyard wines though to multi-site blends using a marriage of modern and ancient winemaking techniques.
Assyrtiko 34 is the name of one of the Karamolegos winery’s top old vine cuvées that pays tribute to the 34 centuries that Santorini has been re-inhabited after one of the most awesome volcanic eruptions in the history on mankind. Throughout these 34 centuries, viticulture has continued uninterrupted, cultivating among other varieties, the noble and indigenous grape of Assyrtiko. Grapes for this cuvée are sourced from specially selected very old vine vineyards of Assyrtiko mainly from around Pyrgos, Megalochori and Exo Gonia.
I recently held a fascinating tasting with the winemaker at Artemis Karamolegos winery, Lefteris Anagnostou, who expertly outlined the fascinating history of viticulture in Santorini and the philosophy behind the superb wines of the Karamolegos winery.
This delicious Assyrtiko 2018 is a really masterful exercise in mouth watering wine pleasure delivery. Classic white wine vinification is employed with a percentage of pre-fermentation cold soak with only the free-run juice used, fermented in stainless steel tanks under controlled temperatures with the use of selected neutral yeast but also some wild yeasts for different tanks in order to express the pure varietal character of Assyrtiko. The Cuvée 34 shows a minimalistic approach in the winemaking process using maturation on total fine lees for at least five months with frequent stirring (bâtonnage). On the nose, this white screams Assyrtiko typicity, displaying all the liquid minerality and basaltic volcanic rock intensity you’d hope for together with rich concentrated notes of crunchy white peaches, tart green apple, chamomile tea, pear drop and a rasping saline, briney, leesy flavour of the sea. The palate also shows piercing, well defined acid freshness, a fleshy intense concentration but also ample dry extract and palate weight to make this wine into a truly exciting proposition. Fabulously long, the finish is pure liquid minerality with a hint of savoury, almond piquant spice. Drink now or keep for 2 to 3+ more years.
(Wine Safari Score: 93+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Artemis Karamolegos wines are imported into the UK by WoodWinters Vintners.
