We had no idea 10 years ago that Estate Argyros would become such an important part of the Clark Foyster Wines portfolio, but here we are, a decade later, having just received the latest cuvée in their series of Estate wines, Cuvée Palatia, as well as the return of Cuvée Monsignori.
The volcanic island of Santorini presents wine lovers with a fascinating environment to explore: rugged and spectacularly beautiful where dense, heavy black basalt and super-light, white porous pumice soils lie side by side. Arid and dramatically windy, the vines get their water from the morning dew that condenses inside the traditional basket shaped crown vines, designed to protect against the island’s strong wind. The total absence of clay from the soil makes this a phylloxera-free island and, as a result, many of the vines are well over 100 years old, some even over 200 years old, all ungrafted. Assyrtiko is the indigenous grape of Santorini with a marvellous ability to produce strong but vibrant, crisp, energetic and mineral wines which really belie the hot, windy and arid conditions of the island. The dry wines show freshness with phenomenal concentration.
Argyros Estate, founded in 1903, run now by the fouth generation, Matthew Argyros and his team, finally moved to a new purpose-built winery, just in time for the 2015 harvest. They had outgrown the old premises some years before and it is a wonderful place to visit for anyone holidaying on the island. They now enjoy temperature control, juice movement by gravity, laser sorting of individual berries at harvest, new filtration equipment and more. The estate owns 120 hectares of vineyards; some of these are recently planted, but many are of an age rarely found anywhere else, and the grapes from these vineyards are used for the Estate wines.
Cuvée Palatia, or “The Palaces of Monsignori”, derives its name from the area where Monsignori is based and is the new wine of Estate Argyros. The average age of the vines here is 120-180 years. Intense manual work in extreme weather conditions and very selective harvesting is followed by fermentation in stainless steel with native yeasts. The wine then rests on its fine lees for 9 months with regular bâtonnage. The result is a wine that offers a more delicate expression of Santorini’s volcanic terroir, next to the structured finesse of Cuvée Monsignori.
Though not a new cuvée, the return of Monsignori certainly feels new after a year’s hiatus. Cuvée Monsignori comes from incredibly old vines, at least 200 years old, giving minute yields. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel at cool temperatures before ageing for 10 months on fine lees, again in stainless steel.
There is no doubt that these are world-class wines, winning friends across the wine trade, as well as with private collectors eager to widen their experience of fine wines from other regions.
