A Guide To The Grape Assyrtiko
Interlude
Welcome to this post about the grape variety Assyrtiko, the pride and joy of many great greek wines. One that many know of but might not drink on a regular basis. Well hopefully this post will change that and open your eyes to the greatness of this grape. In the last post we covered the grape Arinto, a grape from Portugal that makes some really fresh and exciting expressions.
We are trying to cover all of the famous and important grape varieties around the world to become more confident in the world of wine. We will, like all other posts, go through the history of the grape, the style of wine it makes, climate and geography and also of course some recommendations or places to look for it. So without further ado, let’s get started.
History of The Grape
The grape variety is of Greek origin and comes native to the island of Santorini. This is also where the best wines are made, but more on this further down. The grape variety has likely grown here for many thousands of years or at least centuries. It has played a huge role in establishing Greece as a great wine country and still does to this day as it is for me at least the signature grape of the country. It has been traditionally grown on the volcanic islands in the country.
Santorini is the spiritual home island but many others like Paros also see great cultivation. It is not uncommon to find vines on these islands that are over 70 years old. As because of the volcanic soil in which it grows it has with time developed an almost resistance to wine blight. Which is really rare to find with grape varieties. It can be credited to the very long history of cultivating on volcanic soils. We mentioned that the grape has played a big role for Greeces wine production, it has for sure helped them establish a deep rooted viticulture.
The country is actually one of the oldest in the whole world, only being beaten by the likes of Moldavia and some countries in the Middle East. The greatest care and respect is taken into account when making these wines. But it is not for everyone as the style is quite special but more on that in the next segment. It can be summarized thought that the grape is a one of a kind and not only a important grape to Greece, but a stepping stone for establishing a great viticulture all around the world,
The style of wine made
The grape has made a name for itself for being incredibly versatile and easy to make it express the terroir. The traditional style has been fresh wines with a signature minerality as it is grown on islands. The volcanic soils make the wines borderline salty which is very interesting.
What it also contributes is a certain oily texture to the wine and in some of the higher end wines, notes of biwax. Made into sweet dessert wines they instead show off nutty flavours and with a little bit of oak it will be more leaning towards baked fruits.
This is the signature style that I mentioned before that has made it such a unique grape variety. Oiliness mixed with great minerality and a crisp acidity. We said that the vines are very often very old. The effect this has on the wine is that the yield often becomes lower and therefore quality and care has to play a much bigger role if the wineries want to still be around. For the consumer this is just a big plus as the generall quality of the wines keep a high standard.
This makes for some very complex and age worthy wines coming out from the island of Santorini. I also want to mention that Assyrtiko is very easily affected by oxidation. With this in mind, the winemakers have the ability to control the level of oxidation the wines succumb to, to then create some darker wines with notes of figs, coffee and chocolate. A very unique factor to white wines.
Climate and Geography
The climate on the islands where it is grown is very windy but can also technically be classified as a desert. The soil is made up of almost entirely volcanic soils. An interesting technique that has been developed throughout the years is training the vines into growing like baskets. This has the effect of protecting them against the harsh winds. It takes time for them to grow into this, which is also why the medium age on the vines is very high.
Being that the soil is also very dry, the vines are kept apart to not have them compete too much with each other and give a general and even supply of water. The grape has like we mentioned its origins on the island of Santorini, but has since many centuries ago spread into almost every region of Greece, or at the very least every winemaking island. Most notably the island of Paros and inwards in the country the region of Chalkidiki.
Recommendations
So what kind of wines do I tend to buy when looking for great Assyrtiko? Well my absolute go-to is wines from Santorini. This is the go-to for many other people as well. The wines are just so interesting and one of a kind.
The signature oiliness and fresh minerality is outstanding. I also have an interest in the sweet wines made with Assyrtiko. Especially the ones made into a slightly darker one with aromas of coffee and chocolate, A unique style that I find very age worthy. If you are more into fresh styles I would suggest going after a younger vintage that still has that liveliness to it, otherwise they tend to be rich after just a few years of being bottles,
Last words
That’s a wrap for this post about the grape variety known as Assyrtiko. A truly unique one and I hope that you now feel more interested in going out and buying a bottle. In the next post we will cover the grape variety Chardonnay, but only the ones grown in the US to start off with. Stay tuned for that!
