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Sometimes a winery becomes so iconic that it defines an entire country’s fine wine scene. Chateau Musar did that for Lebanon, Catena Zapata for Argentina and Vega Sicilia for Spain. In Santorini, that role belongs to Estate Argyros. Through its old vines, volcanic terroir and world-class Assyrtiko, the estate has become the benchmark producer for Greek white wine on the global stage.

Argyros  Estate

“This is one of the best bottles to emerge from the exciting Santorini wine scene and is representative of today's stylistic approach to Assyrtiko”

- Wine Advocate on the 2022

Estate Argyros is the benchmark producer of Santorini Assyrtiko (Grape Type), crafting some of Greece’s most mineral, age-worthy and terroir-driven white wines. Founded in 1903, the estate farms ancient ungrafted vines rooted in Santorini’s volcanic soils, with old bush-trained vineyards shaped by fierce winds and arid conditions. Under Matthew Argyros and Dimitris Motsos, the wines combine saline freshness, volcanic minerality and remarkable texture with world-class precision.

Estate Argyros Santorini Assyrtiko is one of the purest expressions of Santorini, combining citrus, orchard fruit and sea-spray minerality with remarkable tension and freshness. Sourced from old ungrafted vines across the island, the wine balances creamy texture with bright acidity and volcanic salinity. Wine Advocate called it “one of the best bottles to emerge from the exciting Santorini wine scene”, praising both its precision and ageing potential.

Argyros Cuvee Monsignori 2022 is a profound and intensely mineral Assyrtiko sourced from some of Santorini’s oldest vineyards. Aromas of citrus blossom, wild herbs, crushed stone and volcanic ash unfold into a tightly wound palate of remarkable tension, salinity and concentration. Produced from low-yielding old vines in the village of Megalochori, this is one of Greece’s great white wines, with Wine Advocate awarding an impressive 95+ points.

Together, these wines capture everything that makes great Santorini Assyrtiko so compelling: piercing freshness, volcanic minerality, saline tension and extraordinary ageing potential.

Argyros remains one of the clearest benchmarks for world-class Mediterranean white wine..

Argyros Assyrtiko 2023

€33.95 inc VAT per bottle

ETA 2 weeks

Fine Wine Library Tasting Note:

Estate Argyros Santorini Assyrtiko 2023 is a beautifully pure and mineral expression of Santorini, bursting with aromas of lemon zest, white peach, sea spray and crushed stone. The palate is tense and saline, combining bright citrus fruit with smoky volcanic minerality and a textured, almost creamy mid-palate. Fermented in stainless steel with lees ageing, the wine balances precision and weight effortlessly. Long, fresh and intensely terroir-driven, this is world-class Assyrtiko with excellent ageing potential.

94 Points | Wine Advocate - On the 2022 Vintage

This is one of the best bottles to emerge from the exciting Santorini wine scene and is representative of today's stylistic approach to Assyrtiko. The 2022 Santorini Assyrtiko is softly creamy and rich with orchard fruit, pastry cream and Golden Delicious apple. The wine's rich texture acts as a sounding board to those pretty fruit flavors, and you definitely get the salty mineral tones that are typical of the island. This is a terrific wine, with good phenolic maturity and balanced acidity, and it promises more years of bottle evolution.

Fruit is selected from various vineyard sites and aged in stainless steel with a brief two to four months on the lees. "The grapes come from 120- to 130-year-old vines, so not so old," laughs Director Dimitris Motsos.

The PDO Santorini does not allow screw-cap bottles, but this estate has been experimenting with screw caps since 2015 because they believe these are better closures for Assyrtiko. In fact, we tried this exact same wine at the winery with one bottle under cork and the second under screw cap. To no one's surprise, there was a big difference between the two, with the corked bottle showing a more accessible personality and the screw-cap bottle offering a reductive approach, with crisp tropical notes, which mirrors the reductive winemaking approach employed at the winery. To me, the perception of freshness and length appeared superior in the screw-cap bottle. "Our goal is to make textured wines," he says.

Argyros Cuvee Monsignori 2022

€54.50 inc VAT per bottle

ETA 2 weeks

95+ Points | Wine Advocate

This wine will be released in March 2025, and I tasted the 2022 after the older 2019 and 2020 vintages in this mini vertical. By tasting this youngest wine last, you get a sense of how fresh and pungent Assyrtiko can be in its youngest years. The Estate Argyros 2022 Santorini Assyrtiko Cuvee Monsignori has a busy bouquet with caper leaf, citrus blossom, thyme and wild sage. Those soft herbal notes cede directly to crushed stone and ashy mineral. Sensations of minerality are sometimes enhanced in the warm vintages, says Director Dimitris Motsos. This is an exceptional Assyrtiko that is young now and will benefit from more bottle time.

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