Thanks.
I’m no help here - sorry Chris. Wish I could have been on the island to taste those crisp and delicious whites on release though 
! CHEERS
I know nothing about the vintages but Sigalas makes a great assyrtiko in almost every vintage. You can’t go wrong.
I think the weather stays pretty consistent during the growing season such that I would not expect much in differences for fresh non-dried grape wines. Here are weather dashboards for 2012 and 2013 … Santorini Airport Climate, Weather By Month, Average Temperature (Greece) - Weather Spark and Santorini Airport Climate, Weather By Month, Average Temperature (Greece) - Weather Spark . Doubt any age able reds or sweet wines area ready for release.
I’m actually pretty curious to see any insight on this, because the 2012 Sigalas was one of my favorite yet and I didn’t find out until afterwards that it was apparently a freakish high-alc vintage.
Are you talking about the blend or the straigh Assyrtiko, Keith? I love the '12 Assyrtiko, found it a lot more accessible on release than other recent vintages. It’s always pretty high in alcohol, right? Do you know what feakishly high means compared to what it usually is?
The assyrtiko. I believe the '12 hit 14.5%.
2012 has a great reputation locally. Higher alcohol levels than usual (Sigalas “Ktima”, Santorini Assyrtiko, normally clocks in btw 13 and 14% but not above). But then, they are not ones to shy away from high alc levels on Santorini: Hatzidakis’ wines (even the entry-level Santorini, although there really is no such thing as entry level with Hatzidakis) regularly fall in the 14-15% range. I happen to be as averse to high alcohol % as the next guy, but I find that most of these wines are wonderfully balanced.
When the 2013s started hitting the shelves, it struck me as possibly an even better vintage. Not that it really matters: I think both vintages have given us excellent wines. (I do believe Gaia did a much better job in 2013, though: the Thalassitis and the Wild Ferment are positively electric).
Sigalas unoaked assyrtiko(100%) with a 12.5% alc level is a perfect wine for me.
Having visited the wineries of Santorini this year and also last year, I wanted to weigh in here.
2012 was indeed a broader, bigger vintage than 2011, which often brought forth wines that were more lifted. 2013 is between the two, closer perhaps to 2011. The difference here can be understood by the temperatures around August, which is the time of harvest. In 2011 the temps were cool and there was a longer window for harvest. In 2012 it was the opposite. This becomes important for Santorini because so many of the vineyard parcels are owned in small lots by people who have other job pursuits. Harvesting the fruit isn’t always their first job priority. Cooler temps give a longer window. 2013 may seem light to those who liked 2012s, or a bit fat to those who liked 2011s.
Argyros is particularly strong in 2013. If you like Sigalas or Hatzidakis you won’t be disappointed with their 2013.
Looking at the numbers for the past few vintages, I don’t see anything below 13%.
Great first post, thanks!
We visit Santorini each June and have just returned from 10 days there. We drink Assyrtiko (or a blend in which it dominates) daily. I prefer '13 to '12 in general because I find that the '12s are too fat. In '13, I like Argyros and Hatzidakis, then Sigalas. Sigalas has generally been among my favorites of the three, but not in '13. I agree with Levi’s general assessment of the three vintages. It is so hot on the Caldera that we want the Assyrtiko that we drink there to be bracing and refreshing, which is why I prefer '13. We also drank '12 Sigalas barrel, which I did not like as much as my wife (but I generally don’t like it much). The one bottle of '13 Gaia that we drank was excellent. We also liked '13 Alpha and Sigalas Roses quite a bit, too. We can’t wait to return next year.
Quick update: We returned to Santorini on Thursday and thus far have had a bottle each of 2014 Sigalas and Argyros Assyrtiko and based on this small sample like them very much and, at this point, equally. 2013 Hatzidakis Assyrtiko Mylos is a revelation. 100 year old vines, (12 hrs?) skin contact, then aged on the lees for 8 months in steel. A layered Assyrtiko, showing the salinity, minerality, and bracing acidity that I look for in Santorini Assyrtiko with a complex (but by no means excessive) fruit profile added. Hard to describe, but I loved it last night with the special lobster pasta at Sunset Taverna in Ammoudi Bay.
More later.
Thanks Mark for the heads up. Fantastic pictures.
I just tasted through many recent Santorini releases and the 2014 vintage seems very promising.
Great post and pics. I love the island very much and think time to revisit!
Drank '14 Hatzidakis Assyrtiko last night (13.5% abv on the label) and it was also delicious. Like sucking on an oyster shell. 2014 seems very promising, indeed, from our small but growing daily sample size.
Drank '14 Gaia Assyrtiko Wild Ferment last night. On opening, dominated by the combination of new Acacia, French and American Oak barrels. I’m not generally a fan of barrel fermented/aged Assyrtiko, preferring them crisp and snappy, without the wood aromas and flavors, which tend to dominate and soften the wine. However, after an hour in decanter, the wood receded a bit and the Assyrtiko profile I prefer started to emerge, at which point the wine became interesting and pretty tasty. I imagine that this will be a very good wine with a few years in cellar. I prefer it to barrel aged Sigalas, or at least I did last night. I may even buy a few to see how they develop in a few years, as my wife loved it.
I think both Thalassitis (the unoaked version) and the Wild Ferment are excellent wines and very interesting to follow over the mid-term. I always keep some bottles to track their evolution over, say, five to seven years after the vintage. I just wish Gaia stopped using Normacorc.