Written by Evan Saviolidis | 27 September 2010

Article Index
Greece Rising Up!
Day 3
Day 4 & 5
Day 6
Day 7
The Finale
All Pages

Day 7
Perched on one of the highest peaks over the caldera, the tourist delight known as Santos Wines awaited. Founded in 1947, Santos is the island co-op, and by law, all growers are members, regardless of size or stature. Agricultural pursuits are not solely restricted to grapes. Tomatoes, caper leaves, capers and fava are also part of the mandate.

During a brief tour of the facilities, we are told that the greatest threat to Santorini’s agriculture is its own beauty. When tourists started to arrive, many farmers gave up on the grape et al, transforming and/or abandoning the land for the easy money of hotels and restaurants. To help preserve the singular grape and vineyard heritage, a petition has been presented to UNESCO. We arrive on the mezzanine overlooking the azure sea, where five local wineries await. The dry wines were good, but my attention was drawn to the dessert specialty, Vinsanto.

Santorini has two OPAP applellations, one for dry whites and one for sweet whites. The appellation for dry wines calls for Assyrtiko, Athiri and Aidani. The sweet versions mandate Assyrtiko and Aidani. Reds are labeled as Vin de Pays. Greek Vinsanto (Vino Santorini) is much sweeter and richer than Italian version. After harvesting, the grapes are laid on the terraces from whence they were picked and left to dry in the sun between 10 and 14 days. After fermentation, extensive barrel aging occurs. There is also Mezzo, a less sweet/dried version of the famed dessert wine. My favorite stickies were the 1999 Canava Roussos (88), 2004 Santorin…i (89), the 2006 Koutsogiannopoulos (88), 2003 Kavala (88) and the 4 year old Santo Wines (87).

A buffet lunch was served outside, including another round of fabulous tomato fritters. My wine of choice was the 2008 Santo Wine Santorini Grand Reserve 2007, a barrel aged 100% Assyrtiko made from 80 to 100 year old vines. It earned a solid 90 points. The sweet feast did not end there. Arriving at Argyros for our afternoon appointment, we tasted through a whole array of Vinsantos both in bottle and barrel, looking back over 30 plus years. These beauties from the father and son team of Yiannis and Matthew Argyros offer mind blowing concentration, complexity and longevity. No wine scored under 90 points.  If any cross your path, do not hesitate to purchase. The dry white weren’t too shabby either. The 2009 Assyrtiko Argyros garnered 88 points and the 2009 Estate Argyros, 90.

Our last visit of the island was at Domaine Sigalas, with the maestro himself, Paris Sigalas. Paris originally trained as a mathematician at the Sorbonne, before turning his sights to the vine. A brilliant self taught winemaker, he started his operation in 1991. Never one to rest on his laurels, Paris is always calculating how to produce better wines. One such decision was to start bâtonnage in 2002, as a means to give more depth to his whites.

I have always held the belief that Sigalas’ white wines only show their pedigree after a few years in bottle, as they can be somewhat unyielding in their youth. We had a chance to do a mini vertical of his Santorini, going back to 2003, which proved this.  We sampled the 2009 (91), 2008 (90), 2007 (89), 2006 (90) and 2003 (92). The latter was firing on all cylinders, offering up intense honey, spice, flowers, tropical fruit, minerals and citrus.  This full bodied offering had another 10 years ahead of it. We also had the chance to try the 2003 (92) and 2009 (90) oaked versions.  Both showed an extra dimension thanks to the oak.  The best reds of our entire island visit was his 2007 (89) and 2008 Mavrotragano (90), a red grape which Paris resuscitated from oblivion. Both offered oodles of fruit and structure, but the 08 had a little more depth.  His Vinsanto’s weren’t too shabby either, the 2001 garnered 93 points and the 2004, 91.

Paris then guided us to his vineyards, to show his soil and vines, notably the crowns. He makes mention of the fact that phylloxera has never touched the island because of the high content of sand and lack of organic matter.  All vines are planted on their own roots. Propagation, when needed, involves taking a branch of an existing vine, planting it in the soil, and when roots take foot, the branch is cut away from the mother plant.

We voyaged back to Oia to catch the mandatory Santorini sunset. Is there anything more stunning? An hour to relax and we were off for our final meal on the island. Dinner at Perivoli was an epiphany. I have never thought of Greek food as fashionable, but the chef here is applying French/fusion techniques to classic ingredients, elevating the humble to the sublime. Pea soup with fava bean marshmallow, marinated sardine on quinoa, ‘Sheep's Head’ fish with calamari served on squid ink potato, and the baby octopus with feta puree and Greek salad consommé were truly magical. Thankfully, the finale was Vinsanto. Indeed, it was a more saintly way to end the evening.