This weekend I attended a tasting of Santorini wines - not only Assyrtiko but all sorts of other fun stuff as well. Before this tasting I had only tasted a couple Assyrtikos and knew that it was a volcanic island. Serendipitously Steve Slatcher over on Winenouspublished an introduction to Santorini just a day before I got to taste through these wines so I finally got a vague theoretical idea of what is going on and then got to try it out in practice.
Artemis Karamolegos Aidani 2015 - PGI Cyclades; 13% abv
Our first white is one the "bland" and neutral blending grapes: Aidani. It lacks the assertive nature of Assyrtiko and indeed was a bit sweet and gentle and candied. Soft and neutral with a bit of bite on the finish. Not bad but I do understand why Assyrtiko is the famous white grape from this island.
Gaia Thalassitis 2014 - PGO Santorini, 100% Assyrtiko; 13% abv
This is a lovely wine. Very open and aromatic but quite sharp. It is tight, acidic, with so much grip it's almost as if it had tannins. Austere with a salty tang. Pretty much everything I understood Assyrtiko should be. Lovely.
Hatzidakis Oenos 2013 - Santorini; 100% Assyrtiko; 13% abv
A Hatzidakis release for some French company, hence the French label. A "natural" producer, this is a much softer and riper style than the Gaia above, but it is still really lovely. Though a richer style, it still has really good acidity and, as with the Gaia, there's an illusion of tannins due to so much grip. Persistent. Very good.
Sigalas Santorini 2015 - 100% Assyrtiko; 14,5% abv
Barrel aged and it shows: it smells of oak of the sweet, coconutty type. High acidity, tropical fruit flavours and wood. There's some mystery as to whether Sigalas is organic, but apparently the organizer of the tasting contacted them directly and received a terse reply: "no organic!" I guess that must mean the grapes aren't carbon-based so perhaps they're from silicon?
Boutari Selladia 2008 - A blend of Assyrtiko, Aidani and Athiri; 13% abv
Corked.
Boutari Kallisti 2006 - 100% Assyrtiko; 13% abv
Now this is a lovely aged wine. It smells a bit peachy and oxidative like a white Musar. It still has good acidity but it has lost the sharp, austere brutishness of the younger ones like Gaia. I love wines at this stage of evolution where they still show varietal character yet have obvious aged sensations, too. No doubt many will find this too old, however.
Koutsoyannopoulos Nikteri 2007 - Santorini; 13,5% abv
This is an old style producer and so I guess this is the old style of Nikteri - made from the best grapes into a huge, dense style of wine. This smells predominantly of rancio so of course I fell in love with it. It is raisiny as if from very ripe, maybe even dried grapes, yet the oxidation turns that raisiny aroma to magic. Huge, intense, dry, powerful and weighty. Interminable. I love this: it's like a cousin of Sherry.
Argyros Ktima 2004 - Santorini; 13% abv
Smells of old Champagne: mocha and orange peel and earth and something sharp/citric. Dry, intense, high acidity but has calmed down and has become a bit more gentle than the punch in the face that was the Gaia above. Very nice!
Artemis Karamolegos Terra Nera 2009 - Mandilaria and Assyrtiko; 12,8% abv
A rosé but a blend of the red Mandilaria and white Assyrtiko so it's against EU rules. And since the rules were broken, might as well go the whole way and put 12,8% abv on the label instead of rounding it to the nearest 0,5%. It's quite a delicious pink wine, however. It smells of Assyrtiko with a bit of age on it. Big, sturdy, acidic, deliciously bitter. Considering how well the white Assyrtikos aged, I can understand how a "rosé" from 2009 is still going strong. Really quite refreshing and delicious.
Artemis Karamolegos Terra Nera 2014 - 100% Mandilaria; 13% abv
A red from the native Mandilaria grape. No oak, fresh and refreshing, aromatic and a bit peppery - rather like a hypothetical mix of Syrah and Gamay. Light, lively, juicy and fun. Beaujolais fans would like this.
Sigalas Erythros Mm 2014 - A blend of Mandilaria and Mavrotragano; 13,5% abv
Really lovely and open aromatics: fresh and floral, red toned/cherry fruit. Very tannic and robust but very fresh and refreshing and just a great deal of fun. Needs some fat on the plate to work with such tannins. I love it.
Canava Roussos Mavrathiro 1990 - 100% Mavrathiro (= red variant of Athiri)
To finish, we tried a couple sweet wines. This is a murky brown colour. It smells of brown sugar and something lifted and herbal (mint?). Super-sweet, intense, nicely aged with some savoury and oxidative notes surrounding all that intense raisiny sweetness. Nice!
Gaia Vinsanto 2005
Brown. Volatile and naughty aromas in addition to all the raisiny sweetness expected. Very sweet and supremely intense. A cousin of Madeira. Amazing stuff.
