Coravin sample. A more detailed note will be written when I get to taste more of the bottle in a few days, but in the meantime.
Medium yellow colour. On the nose, aromas of oak, lemon, minerals. On the palate, the attack is frank and concentrated, though appears less striking than the unoaked version. I've read some comments that say that the oak is well dosed, and this may be the case depending on tastes, but personally, the addition of the oak doesn't bring much but removes the "typicity" of the wine. That being said, a good length and similar intrinsic qualities to the unoaked tasted a few days earlier, but with clearly less character than the unoaked. 88-89
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The oaked version of santorini assyrtiko is different from the standard inox version. More creamy and buttery with tamed acidity and mellow aromas of candied lemon, raw nuts, apricot and smoke. I think you don't have to wait as long as the inox version. You can drink the barrel aged assyrtikos faster and wait for the inox siblings to grow. Still a great wine that pairs beautifully with grilled fish or typical santorini dishes like fava with grilled octopus.
Ps. How long do you think that assyrtikos from santorini would be in the price tag that are today??
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A different take on assyrtiko, with clear barrel time evident in the rich nose and palate filled with oak characteristics and a weaker expression of the varietal's customary acidity and freshness. Still enjoyable and worth trying but I will tend to lean towards a unoaked statement of the grape.
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Wine tasting in Greece; 4/28/2017-5/6/2017 (Athens, Santorini and Porto Heli): 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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Tasting through some Greek wines. From the indigenous grape Assyrtiko. Medium-light yellow. Nose of apples, stone fruit, minerals, bee-wax. Full bodied palate but with nice acidity to buffer e strong fruit. From the structure this reminds me of a dry Pinot Grigio of a warmer vineyard. The freshness allows this wine to be a good companion with food.
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An Assyrtiko from +60 yo vines, aged from 6 to 8 months in 225 and 500 liter barrels, depending on the batch; 30% of the barrels were new, 70% 2nd and 3rd use.
Rather deep lime green color with some yellow highlights. Complex and rich nose with obvious oak barrel aromas: cream, sweet oak spice, some vanilla, a little dried peach, a hint of nuttiness and a slightest whiff of sweet pineapple. On the palate the wine is more rich and fuller-bodied than your typical Assyrtiko, but otherwise it is obviously a Santorini Assyrtiko, with the hallmark characteristics of lemony fruit, saline minerality and bracing acidity; obviously the oak aromas are more on the fore in the nose than on the palate. The oak aging brings nice depth and notes of some elegant nuttiness and a hint of vanilla to the palate. Lovely structure, freshness and intensity. Long, crisp and acid-driven finish with pronounced, stony-and-salty minerality and complex nuances of cream, lemon fruit, some nuttiness, a hint of roasted spices and a touch of vanilla.
Usually I prefer lean, steel-aged Santorini Assyrtikos, but Sigalas has managed to make a wonderful example of a barrel-aged Assyrtiko, which shows some obvious oak characteristics, but still lets the grape variety to play the dominant role - thanks to the quite moderate use of new oak and inclusion of bigger barrels. Still a bit too oak-driven (the wine was bottled only some month or two before the tasting), but I can imagine the wine will show wonderfully after some years in the cellar. Once the oak settles completely in the background, the wine has some real potential to be something wonderful. Even though I usually score the steel-aged Assyrtikos over the oak-aged ones, I make an exception this time. In its current state the wine is a little too pricey at the winery (24,20€), but it will be worth it after some years in the cellar.
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11/17/2018 - ChristopherB wrote: 88 Points
Coravin sample. A more detailed note will be written when I get to taste more of the bottle in a few days, but in the meantime.
Medium yellow colour. On the nose, aromas of oak, lemon, minerals. On the palate, the attack is frank and concentrated, though appears less striking than the unoaked version. I've read some comments that say that the oak is well dosed, and this may be the case depending on tastes, but personally, the addition of the oak doesn't bring much but removes the "typicity" of the wine. That being said, a good length and similar intrinsic qualities to the unoaked tasted a few days earlier, but with clearly less character than the unoaked. 88-89
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10/2/2017 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
Salty minerality, the oak seems to calm the salty minerality down.
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9/3/2017 - fat.metheny Likes this wine: 91 Points
The oaked version of santorini assyrtiko is different from the standard inox version. More creamy and buttery with tamed acidity and mellow aromas of candied lemon, raw nuts, apricot and smoke. I think you don't have to wait as long as the inox version. You can drink the barrel aged assyrtikos faster and wait for the inox siblings to grow. Still a great wine that pairs beautifully with grilled fish or typical santorini dishes like fava with grilled octopus.
Ps. How long do you think that assyrtikos from santorini would be in the price tag that are today??
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5/8/2017 - quaffnov Likes this wine: 89 Points
A different take on assyrtiko, with clear barrel time evident in the rich nose and palate filled with oak characteristics and a weaker expression of the varietal's customary acidity and freshness. Still enjoyable and worth trying but I will tend to lean towards a unoaked statement of the grape.
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5/1/2017 - retired_and_roving Likes this wine:
Wine tasting in Greece; 4/28/2017-5/6/2017 (Athens, Santorini and Porto Heli): 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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10/22/2016 - forceberry wrote: 91 Points
My previous tasting notes still apply.
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8/20/2016 - Collector1855 wrote: 89 Points
Tasting through some Greek wines. From the indigenous grape Assyrtiko. Medium-light yellow. Nose of apples, stone fruit, minerals, bee-wax. Full bodied palate but with nice acidity to buffer e strong fruit. From the structure this reminds me of a dry Pinot Grigio of a warmer vineyard. The freshness allows this wine to be a good companion with food.
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7/24/2016 - forceberry wrote: 91 Points
An Assyrtiko from +60 yo vines, aged from 6 to 8 months in 225 and 500 liter barrels, depending on the batch; 30% of the barrels were new, 70% 2nd and 3rd use.
Rather deep lime green color with some yellow highlights. Complex and rich nose with obvious oak barrel aromas: cream, sweet oak spice, some vanilla, a little dried peach, a hint of nuttiness and a slightest whiff of sweet pineapple. On the palate the wine is more rich and fuller-bodied than your typical Assyrtiko, but otherwise it is obviously a Santorini Assyrtiko, with the hallmark characteristics of lemony fruit, saline minerality and bracing acidity; obviously the oak aromas are more on the fore in the nose than on the palate. The oak aging brings nice depth and notes of some elegant nuttiness and a hint of vanilla to the palate. Lovely structure, freshness and intensity. Long, crisp and acid-driven finish with pronounced, stony-and-salty minerality and complex nuances of cream, lemon fruit, some nuttiness, a hint of roasted spices and a touch of vanilla.
Usually I prefer lean, steel-aged Santorini Assyrtikos, but Sigalas has managed to make a wonderful example of a barrel-aged Assyrtiko, which shows some obvious oak characteristics, but still lets the grape variety to play the dominant role - thanks to the quite moderate use of new oak and inclusion of bigger barrels. Still a bit too oak-driven (the wine was bottled only some month or two before the tasting), but I can imagine the wine will show wonderfully after some years in the cellar. Once the oak settles completely in the background, the wine has some real potential to be something wonderful. Even though I usually score the steel-aged Assyrtikos over the oak-aged ones, I make an exception this time. In its current state the wine is a little too pricey at the winery (24,20€), but it will be worth it after some years in the cellar.
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7/7/2016 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
Smells kinda like a barrell, but like a really heavily salted piece of butter. Clean finish, tasty.
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