Barrel Aged Santorini 2021

2021 marks another terrific vintage for Vassaltis's exceptional barrel-aged assyrtiko, a wine of relentless waves of flavour, interminable acidity, impressive density and depth. I love the ripe orange peel, the creamy tropical and grapefruit flavours, the quince paste, the exceptional length. Make no mistake, this should be counted among the world's most distinctive white wines, also surely very ageworthy, especially if you prize a more mature, bronzed fruit profile. Top notch. Best 2024-2030.

Vassaltis was the dream and now life’s work of Yannis Valambous who resurrected his father’s vineyards and turned them into some of Santorini’s finest tracts. As of 2012 the project has taken root, launched forward and come to a most profound and exciting place. The consulting oenologists are Elias Roussakis and Yannis Papaeconomou who along with Valambous drill down into the island’s volcanics to create haute assyrtiko with the greatest sense of place. The barrel aged style is of course Burgundian but it is impossible to smother Santorini and fully assimilate assyrtiko. Richness abounds, intensity magnifies and here assyrtiko takes on a whole next level of purpose. The methodology does allow for movement not wholly restricted to the salty and the mineral but the wine shows no lack of those elements. In the end this is about as big and rich as the grape will get. Drink 2023-2028.

I often find more expensive, barrel aged editions of usually unoaked varieties to be disappointing. Texturally they are excellent, but the oak can replace some of the finer aromatic nuances with all too common French oak spice and vanillin. This also has a fudgy note. There is still some yellow fruit and fresh herbs but less distinctive than in the unoaked peer. It is full bodied, creamy and richly textured with alcohol heat, good acidity and excellent length. That is trade off - aromatic precision vs texturally gratification.