At the southern tip of the Cyclades, Santorini offers assyrtiko an unrivalled growing environment: volcanic ash soils, the breath of the wind, and as its sole source of moisture the anedosa, that nocturnal mist rising from the Aegean Sea. Yet this heritage is going through a challenging period. The progressive disappearance of the anedosa, combined with increasingly severe heatwaves, has caused yields to drop by up to 80 %. The land pressure exerted by the rise of tourism further aggravates the situation, with vineyards receding every year in the face of property development projects.
Faced with this scarcity and the price increases it brings, we have chosen to refocus our selection around a partner whose deep roots in the island are a guarantee of both the quality of its wines and the sustainability of our offering. That partner is Gavalas Winery.
Established in Megalochori for more than three centuries, the Gavalas family today embodies, through its fifth generation, one of the oldest winemaking heritages in Santorini. Vagelis Gavalas, supported by his father George, cultivates 17 hectares spread across forty plots at altitudes ranging from 40 to 200 metres, on vines most often exceeding half a century in age. This historical depth, combined with a relatively large surface area, allows the estate to maintain a continuity of production that very few Santorinian winemakers can still afford.
Two assyrtiko cuvées mark the beginning of this collaboration. The Santorini, born from old vines, combines generous opulence on the palate with a precise acidity, and stretches into a long and lingering finish. The Santorini Natural Ferment, produced in only 4,200 bottles through the estate's indigenous yeasts, develops a creamy texture and a minerality of striking depth, enhanced by a partial five-month ageing in barrels.
Two complementary expressions of the same terroir of ashes and wind, to discover without delay in our selection!
