Wine tasting in Greece
Athens, Santorini and Porto Heli
Tasted Friday, April 28, 2017 - Saturday, May 6, 2017 by retired_and_roving with 653 views
Introduction
Weeklong vacation to Greece, with one night in Athens, four nights in Santorini and four nights in the Pelepponese. Did a day of wine tasting visits in Santorini and sampled a bunch of different Greek wines each day at meals. Thought it might be helpful to gather the notes together in one story for anyone interested in Greek wines or planning a holiday. I will break this down in five flights - the three winery visits and the various whites and reds. Am updating from vacation so will continue to add notes I have time.
Some initial thoughts:
1) Really wanted to visit Hatzidakis, but the winery was closed for visits until mid May so we substituted Estate Argyros.
2) hired a tour company to provide transport in advance and they took care of booking all the visits as per my request
3) I really fell for Assyrtiko - one of the first white wines I have really enjoyed
4) seems every winery does 3 versions of the Assyrtiko - 100% stainless, blend of stainless and oak, and 100% barrel aged - I always preferred the stainless best as it seemed to be a purer, fresher expression of the grape, but found the blends interesting and enjoyable as well. The 100% barrel aged were not for me - totally changed the wine.
5) Santorini red wines are not very intriguing - the whites are far superior.
6) basket trained vines on Santorini are pretty cool and the fact they can grow grapes in this harsh environment with virtually no irrigation or rainfall is wild. Very interesting to learn about.
7) Santorini vinsanto is delicious and worth a place in anyone's cellar.
8) The value priced red wines were not generally too my liking - a bit too fruity and lacking structure. Once we starte trying more expensive bottles, particularly from Nemea and Macedonia made from Bordeaux varietals - things started to get much more interesting.
Flight 1 - Tasting visit to Sigalas (5 Notes)
Nice winery with a pretty outdoor seating area under a vine covered pergola, set amidst the vineyard. We only did the four wine tasting, but I think it is possible to upgrade to 12 wines and taste the whole line up. In peak tourist season, they may also serve lunch with the tasting if arranged in advance.
Flight 2 - Tasting visit to Gaia - winery on the beach (4 Notes)
Loved this place, as it is right smack on the beach and a little run down as it is in an ancient tomatoe canning factory. Very laid back vibe with great wines. Don't believe grapes will ever thrive on the island, so they only do whites. They also make a great Assyrtiko vinegar which we got to try. Definitely add this one to your list.
Flight 3 - Tasting visit to Estate Argyros - new facility which is a bi modern Napa styled winery and tasting room (8 Notes)
A brand new winery, quite fancy and built for very large capacity. Beautiful views of the vineyards and mountain but not at all quaint. Loved their vin santos, but the still wine was my least favorite of the day. Would have done Hatzidakis in legit of this, but they were closed.
2016 Sigalas Aα
Greece, Aegean, Cyclades, Santorini
(5/1/2017)
Wine tasting visit at Domaine Sigalas. This is their entry level wine a blend of 75% Assyrtiko and 25% Athiri - all stainless steel fermented. The Athiri adds a slightly floral and softening element to the wine. Pleasant and easy to drink with the minerality of the Assyrtiko but in a lighter package. Nice but I preferred the 100% Assyrtiko which is more distinctive.
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2015 Sigalas Assyrtiko Barrel Santorini
Greece, Aegean, Cyclades, Santorini
(5/1/2017)
Tasting visit at Domaine Sigalas. Fermented and aged in French oak barrels for 6 months. The oaked versions of Assyrtiko are quite different, they do not demand food as the oak seems to tame some of the natural acidity of this variety. I found this to be interesting and complex on the mid and back palate but I missed the raciness of the unoaked versions. Our group of four was split, with two always preferring the oaked and two the unoaked.
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2015 Sigalas Assyrtiko Santorini
Greece, Aegean, Cyclades, Santorini
(5/1/2017)
Tasting visit at Domaine Sigalas. For me this unoaked version of 100% Assyrtiko is more preferable to the barrel aged version. Bright and clean with lemon/lime racy acidity and then lots of minerality on the finish. Perfect pairing for any food with fat content (fish, meat, cheese). My favorite wine of the visit.
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2014 Sigalas Mμ
Greece, Aegean, Cyclades
(4/29/2017)
This has an expressive nose of red fruits and earth - nice aromatics. Tastes of tart crunchy red fruits with a lot of earthy minerality on the finish. Quite nice and reminds me a bit of some Etta Rosso with its bright acidity, lighter body and minerality. Very good QPR and quite enjoyable. My first time with these grape varieties which we are sampling while on holiday in Santorini.
Also tried on tasting visit at Domaine Sigalas. Learned that they are experimenting and are the only winery on the island growing their red grapes using a trellis system. They found that the basket system was producing grapes that were too tannic. Interesting as this ended up being our favorite of the red wines sampled on the island. Mavrotagno is apparently a highly tannic grape with very thick skins, the trellis structure allows more sun exposure and breaks down some of the tannins in the skin.
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2004 Sigalas Vinsanto Santorini
Greece, Aegean, Cyclades, Santorini
(5/1/2017)
Tasting visit at Domaine Sigalas. Caramel brown color, similar to flat coca-cola. On the nose nuts and caramel and some florals. Very complex palate of mature fruit, caramel,citrus, raisins, coffee, nuts and herbs quite sweet but held up by a good backbone of acidity. Really interesting and surprising - nothing like Italian vin santo.
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