Wines

85% Assyrtiko, 15% Aidani. 'Young' Assyrtiko vines with an average age of 50 years old, grown in the lower elevation areas of Santorini, combined with young Aidani grapes. The wine ages on its lees for six months in stainless steel.

94 Points! Pouring from a 500-milliliter bottle, the Artemis Karamolegos Winery 2010 Santorini Vinsanto 12 Years Aged is 85% Assyrtiko from 100-year-old vines in various villages, and the remainder of the blend is 15% Aidani. The grapes are sun-dried (for nine to 14 days) for increased concentration and intensity. This dessert wine shows aromas of caramel, brown sugar and baked chestnut over a thick and syrupy mouthfeel. That thick texture is broken apart by high acidity. It is fermented in stainless steel and aged in French oak for a very long eight years. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

From the importer: In 1998 the local co-op in the far eastern side of Crete brought over a truckload of Assyrtiko cuttings from Santorini. On the high, windswept valley of Vóila, most were planted directly into the sandy soils, while others were grafted onto local rootstock. All are susceptible to phylloxera, but the sand so far has kept the aphid at bay. The soils are based on limestone and are somewhat richer than Santorini's meager volcanic ash soils, and the vine does well here, with its fruit ripening more slowly than on its native island thanks to Vóila's 600-meter altitude. These are head-pruned vines, not irrigated, and hand-harved in the PDO (AOP in France) of Sitia, the name of the eastern providence, but not labeled as such because the grapes are made at the Lyrarakis winery outside of the appellation. It’s a wine with abundant character, and it’s pronounced a-cer-tee-ko.