Rarely is vine age mentioned on the 15 Santorini producers labels The average is 60plusyearsold and can climb to 100 and above According to the veteran farmer Nikos Pelekanos production drops off at 250 years old hence they saw off the aboveground basketshaped vine and continue weaving with the old roots How precious is this One can only appreciate the depth these roots can reach when a powerline pole goes down According to Nikos they reach 911 metres deep This perhaps explains how they can survive on so little 330ml annual rainfall In essence one can only guestimate through oral accounts the age of the vines There are 150 and 200yearold ones scattered on the island Soil specialists Claude and Lydia Bourgignon who have researched on the island claim that these are Europes oldest vines dating back 400 years The recent arrival of more wineries has pushed grape prices up renewing interest in replanting older or abandoned plots This is a positive development in this under threat from building muchdiminished in size unique vineyard
One can argue Santo Wines Union of Cooperatives politics ad nauseam What one cannot deny is the incremental improvement of their wines Chief oenologist Nikos Barbarigos continues to surprise This new departure is not a marketing gimmick It is a newly planted 45 years old organically farmed singlevineyard Assyrtiko in Episkopi Towering above it is Profitis Ilias the islands limestone mountain 535m which dates back some 45 million years The topsoil of most of the current vineyards is recent in geological terms dating from the 1613 BC volcaniceruption ashes covering most of todays crescentshaped island and a portion of the nearby island of Anafi
With the ongoing boom of wine bars in Greece the taste trends of the increasing number of wine lovers are changing The search is on for discovering and enjoying wines of character Who would have thought that sleeper Avgoustiatis from Zakynthos would have made such a splash Xinomavro was an unlikely name to be mentioned yet it now has supporters as passionate as Santorini Assyrtiko does There is a small minority who find it hard to swallow the phenolic bite and sulphur character of these mineralladen bonedry wines The gentler profile without losing its telltale sense of place of the wine under review here may be of interest It is a fascinating glimpse as vines do not have the deepreaching roots discussed above To my understanding nothing comes close to this grapey approachable polished expression Looking for some edutainment Relativity is a game that wine geeks love to play Try the delicately perfumed Santo Wines Santorini 2014 and then the Organic reviewed here Go back to your reference marker Bingo Even newtowine friends will get in on this tastingisbelieving exercise
Synthetic closure Smoky salinity with lime qualities Soft and lush broad strokes of clean grapefruit smooth fullbodied round midpalate Chalky notes with that bonedry mineral hallmark signature Fleshy and luxurious Citrustoned mediumlong aftertaste Gentle Young vine playfulness Best 20152019
Wine: Santo Wines Santorini Organic Wine Assyrtiko
Year: 2014
Link: http://www.santowines.gr
Score: 17
Type: White
Variety: Assyrtiko
Area: Aegean Islands