Wine & Spirits - August 2020 - 59

with a peppery spice from alcohol. Broad
and muscular, it could use a few months (or
perhaps years) in the cellar to mellow, or a
decant now before serving with roasted fish.
(W&S 10/19) § USA Wine West, Sausalito, CA

NORTHERN GREECE
277524

94 | Alpha Estate

$34

2018 Florina Aghia Kiriaki Assyrtiko ^ You
can feel the ambition packed into this wine
as soon as you lift the extra-thick bottle. Then
you'll smell it, in the pale, creamy, spicy
scent of barrels. Sourced from a vineyard in
Amyndeon planted in sandy clay at 1,755
feet of elevation, it lives up to its packaging,
presenting assyrtiko in the style of Grand
Cru Chablis. It's rich, round and savory, the
flavors presented in shades of beige-spice,
earth, cream-with the variety's inherent
acidity pulling everything into a tailored,
precise line. It holds that line for days after
opening, the wine polished and powerful,
designed to prove assyrtiko's place in fine
dining. § Diamond Importers, Chicago, IL

277557

92 | Nerantzi

$24

88 | Ktima Voyatzi

$15

2019 Serres Assyrtiko ^ The Mitropoulou
family planted assyrtiko in a valley in Central Macedonia more than a decade ago and
winemaker Evanthia Mitropoulou finds that
it thrives in the rich loam soils; she credits the
limestone that lies underneath for giving the
wine its mineral flavors. Farmed organically,
the vines produced a small, concentrated
crop in 2019, which she vinified in stainless
steel, with minimal sulfur. The result is zesty
and invigorating, with bright acidity and a
salinity that keeps the pear flavors compellingly juicy. Those flavors broaden with time
in the glass, developing a subtle richness that
makes this very easy to drink. § Dionysi Grevenitis Selections/DNS Wines, San Francisco, CA
277488
2019 Velvento White (Best Buy) ^ A blend of
assyrtiko and 40 percent chardonnay, this has
a springtime freshness that makes it instantly
appealing. It's floral and slightly sweet in its
ripe apple flavors, and lasts cleanly. To chill
for brunch. § Celina Imports, Old Bethpage, NY

SANTORINI
277546

97 | Vassaltis

$93

2018 Santorini Gramina Cuvée des
Vignerons ^ "What would happen if the
grapes didn't sit in the vineyard after being
harvested?" That was the question that
inspired this wine. Winemaker Ilias Roussakis and his team picked this assyrtiko at
two small plots of 60-year-old vines in Vourvoulos on an early August morning, then,
immediately after the bins were filled, drove
the fruit to the winery to begin pressing-
all whole clusters, long and slow. Leaving
the must cloudy, they let it spontaneously
ferment. The first vintage, 2017, included
20 percent aged in barrel; this 2018 was fermented entirely in stainless steel, preserving the freshness and vivacity of the fruit.
Herbal, stony and breezy, it's shot through
with a bright, lemony acidity that illuminates
the wine like sun off Santorini's whitewashed
buildings: It's stunning, massive without
aggression in its alcohol or acidity, rich without being weighty. And it holds that fine, elegant line for days after opening. Masterful. §
Diamond Importers, Chicago, IL
277553

96 | Hatzidakis

$60

95 | Santo Winery

$26

2017 Santorini Skitali ^ When Haridimos
Hatzidakis died in August 2017, he left
behind a lone tank of 2016 assyrtiko that
was still resting on its lees. After tasting it,
the team was inspired to create Skitali. "It
means 'baton,'" says Constantina Chrisou,
his widow. "It was something he'd given us,
passed on." Her daughter, winemaker Stella
Hatzidakis, blended this 2017 using very ripe
fruit from Pirgos and a smaller contribution
from Megalochori; she fermented it in stainless steel and left it on the lees for a year. At
14.5 percent alcohol, it's a big wine, staunch
and meaty in build, yet entirely charming,
welcoming in its juicy pear flavors, and cheerful in its tangelo and honey notes. And amazingly, it ends clean, with a cleansing salinity.
"Haridimos loved old Santorini, especially
unoaked wines," Chrisou told me. While this
wine is delicious now, it's the sort of wine that
would have delighted him with several more
years in the cellar. § Dionysi Grevenitis Selections/DNS Wines, San Francisco, CA
277534
2018 Santorini Selection Cuvée Assyrtiko
(Best Buy) ^ Founded in 1947, this cooperative has some 1,200 grower-members, giving
winemaker Nikos Varvarigos access to a wide
variety of terroirs. For this cuvée, he prioritized fruit from Pirgos and Imerovigli, two
of the highest points on the island, where

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Wine & Spirits - August 2020

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