Welcome to lap six of the alphabet of exploration. There was a time when I didn't think we would get this far, but it helped taking a three year breather.
Delighted to have found this week's wine as it has had the effect that I had hoped all of them would have, which is that it has encouraged me to investigate not only its major grape, but also two others of which I had never heard or even read.
Week A (2019) Atlantis Assyrtiko, Santorini, 2017. M&S £12.
Santorini features on our long list of places still to be visited and, therefore, this is not a wine that carries happy memories of warm summer evenings overlooking the Aegean. Perhaps one day. Last year we did enjoy some lovely warm evenings overlooking the Ionian sea and drinking a variety of local wines some of which may have travelled well to be enjoyed again at home and others that didn't even travel very well from the supermarket to the villa, which was all of seven kilometers. But that is the fun of wine exploration, even if my holiday companions didn't see it that way.
This has travelled well, it seems. Assyrtiko is the famous grape from Santorini and is known for producing 'steely, mineral wines' (just google any review and those words will appear) and I have encountered this before. In this bottle it accounts for 90% of the contents and, under EU rules which will apply for a minimum of 23 more days, that qualifies the wine to be labeled as a single varietal wine, but the producers provide the names of the other two contributors who share the remaining 10% equally.
Delightfully, both of these additional blending partners have names beginning with A and, added to the wine's brand name, that gives us five A's in one wine. Very pleasing. The first additional A is Athiri, described in the excellent Wine Grapes book as being easy to grow and producing fresh, fruity, lemony, crowd-pleasing wines with soft acidity and moderate alcohol. The second is Aidani, described as being thick-skinned, lower in acidity and alcohol that Assyrtiko and adding floral qualities to a blend. Neither of them is often the star of the show and both are more frequently found, as here, blended with Assyrtiko.
I like Sauvignon Blanc and sometimes there are examples that underline why that grape has become such an international success, but I also like to find wines that are, perhaps, less well known and can provide a good challenge to the reigning champions. This does that, as it has all of the bright acidity of a Sauvignon but also provides the complexity that comes from the floral and mineral flavours for which the credit, apparently, goes to the minor players in this Greek delight.
Delighted to have found this week's wine as it has had the effect that I had hoped all of them would have, which is that it has encouraged me to investigate not only its major grape, but also two others of which I had never heard or even read.
Week A (2019) Atlantis Assyrtiko, Santorini, 2017. M&S £12.Santorini features on our long list of places still to be visited and, therefore, this is not a wine that carries happy memories of warm summer evenings overlooking the Aegean. Perhaps one day. Last year we did enjoy some lovely warm evenings overlooking the Ionian sea and drinking a variety of local wines some of which may have travelled well to be enjoyed again at home and others that didn't even travel very well from the supermarket to the villa, which was all of seven kilometers. But that is the fun of wine exploration, even if my holiday companions didn't see it that way.
This has travelled well, it seems. Assyrtiko is the famous grape from Santorini and is known for producing 'steely, mineral wines' (just google any review and those words will appear) and I have encountered this before. In this bottle it accounts for 90% of the contents and, under EU rules which will apply for a minimum of 23 more days, that qualifies the wine to be labeled as a single varietal wine, but the producers provide the names of the other two contributors who share the remaining 10% equally.
Delightfully, both of these additional blending partners have names beginning with A and, added to the wine's brand name, that gives us five A's in one wine. Very pleasing. The first additional A is Athiri, described in the excellent Wine Grapes book as being easy to grow and producing fresh, fruity, lemony, crowd-pleasing wines with soft acidity and moderate alcohol. The second is Aidani, described as being thick-skinned, lower in acidity and alcohol that Assyrtiko and adding floral qualities to a blend. Neither of them is often the star of the show and both are more frequently found, as here, blended with Assyrtiko.
I like Sauvignon Blanc and sometimes there are examples that underline why that grape has become such an international success, but I also like to find wines that are, perhaps, less well known and can provide a good challenge to the reigning champions. This does that, as it has all of the bright acidity of a Sauvignon but also provides the complexity that comes from the floral and mineral flavours for which the credit, apparently, goes to the minor players in this Greek delight.
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