Much like Spain’s Albariño, Greece’s Assyrtiko has taken the wine world by storm over the past decade plus, expanding its reach way beyond the neighborhood Gyro spot and onto award winning wine lists at the hottest restaurants. Also like Albariño, the assumption is that the best Assyrtiko hail from the islands, especially the tourist mecca of Santorini. That was certainly my assumption, but turns out I was wrong. One of the most refreshing, citrus and sea salt laden versions to hit our table of late is actually from the mainland–specifically Keratea, a few miles south of Athens and a stone's throw from the Aegean Sea. And since the winery isn’t fighting for space with luxury resorts and gorgeous B&Bs (a la Santorini), the price is incredibly reasonable. This really is the best value in authentic Assyrtiko I’ve seen in a long time, and as such you should definitely stock up because spring is just around the corner!
Though grape growing and winemaking wasn’t born in Greece, you could say that it grew up there. Certainly this Mediterranean nation deserves the lion’s share of credit for the history and culture of wine, and though there is some dispute as to which part of the loose collection of ancient city-states and regions initiated the millenniums long love affair with fermented juice, most scholars think it was likely in the hills that surround Athens, a region known as Atikka. The areas north of the city, heading into the mountains, can produce robust–and often internationally styled–reds and whites, but to the south the soil, sun, and sea produce the perfect ingredients for crisp, saline, mineral driven, coastal white wines. Assyrtiko is just as at home here as it is on the Cyclades islands that lie a few miles offshore.
It is here, just outside the village of Keratea, that you’ll find the expertly designed, modern winery of Mylonas. But don’t be fooled by state of the art trappings, the three Mylonas brothers who run the family business are third generation vignerons whose grandfather first established a winery here back in 1917, and their roots as farmers and grape growers go back centuries. After their father passed, unexpectedly, in 2000, Antonis, Tasos and Stamatis took the helm and were able to raise the funds necessary to finally build the winery that their father and grandfather could only dream of. Today the brothers are laser focused on using their clean, modern facility to showcase the beauty of this ancient terroir.
The Assyrtiko vines are planted on hills overlooking the sea at about 200 to 300 meters of elevation. Everything is harvested by hand during the cool, early morning hours and then transferred immediately to the winery for a cold pre-soak before fermentation in small stainless steel tanks, and then three months of aging on the fine lees. The idea is to trap all that freshness and minerality, all that coastal terroir in the bottle so that it’s ready to burst right after you pull the cork. I would definitely serve this energetic beauty nice and chilled, though as it warms a touch in the glass more complexity will emerge: Peach skin, lemon-lime zest, white flowers, bay laurel, and hints of rosemary are all wrapped around a core of pure sea salt minerality. Greek style grilled octopus is an instant classic for pairings, but in the colder months it also goes great with seafood pastas, stews, and roasted vegetables. There’s so much mineral laden wine here for the money it’s a bit outrageous . . . stock up!
