2017 Assyrtiko Cuvee Monsignori Santorini

Full bottle 1,420 g. pH 2.85 is on the front label! This cuvée is, according to the producer, 'Argyros’ vision of what Santorini Assyrtiko can actually be. Excessively old Assyrtiko vineyards, at least 200 years old, giving minute yields. Fermented, partially uninoculated, in stainless steel, at cool temperatures and aged for ten months in stainless-steel tanks on fine lees. A wine of breed, extract and length, that needs about four years in bottle to unfold and can be confidently kept for more than a decade after vintage.' The first bottle I tasted seemed to have been matured, dulled and robbed of fruit perhaps by this summer’s punishing heat during transport. But a second bottle was a revelation. So intense with steel, minerals, citrus in great concentration with real structure and bite but no shortage of enticing fruit. Like essence of Assyrtiko. Really wonderful. (JR)

The 2017 Cuvée Monsignori comes from the estate’s oldest vines. I find its aromatics lacking a bit of complexity and personality compared to its peers. The palate is lively and citrus-driven on the entry, but then in the second half it just falls a little flat. I appreciate the slight nuttiness on the aftertaste but it needs more tension.

The 2017 Cuvee Monsignori Santorini is all Assyrtiko, unoaked, dry (2.3 grams of residual sugar and 7.42 of total acidity) and comes in at 14% alcohol. This bottling (with no accent on the "e" of Cuvee on the label), says the winery, is their "vision on what Santorini Assyrtiko can actually be. Excessively old Assyrtiko vineyards, at least 200 years old, giving minute yields. Fermented...and aged for approximately 10 months in stainless steel tanks on fine lees." The winery says it needs four years in the bottle just to unfold, and then it can hold for another decade. It seems to be unfolding rather well. I wouldn't say it is head-and-shoulders above the regular Santorini this issue (the 2019 and 2018), but the extra age certainly helps, if nothing else. It is beautifully textured, elegant and precise. Argyros is always about balance to me, and this epitomizes that rather well. It has flavor and ripe fruit but always in a controlled fashion, the acidity balancing the fruit and lifting it on the finish. It leans more to freshness than big fruit. While showing off its finesse, it certainly does a respectable job of filling the mouth and coating the palate. It should continue aging well, probably for the rest of the decade.