Growing Conditions
Sculpted by ancient lava flows, Santorini is located in the Cyclades on the 36th parallel in Greece’s South Aegean Sea.There are no words to describe the magnificence of Santorini, whose wines are a delight to savour and, like the island’s sunsets, draw applause and appreciation.Wine has always been part of life on Santorini that prides itself on having some of the oldest vineyards in the world.
Thanks to the young volcanic soil, the island’s endemic vines have been spared from the ravages of the phylloxera plague, and till this day they still sink their roots directly into the island’s ground. This permits replanting and renewing vineyards, just as in antiquity, via the kataboladi method. This is a layering technique in which a grower buries a cane from a living vine in the bare earth in the place of a dead vine to generate a new plant. It remains supported by the connected parent vine for a few years until it sprouts its own root system, at which point the cane is severed.
The pruning system used in windswept Santorini is another ancient marvel of ingenuity. The vine shoots are woven around last year’s canes and, slowly over time, the vine resembles a coiled wreath of twigs, kept low to the ground, called a kouloura. Like a nest, this basket protects the fruit bunches hanging inside it against Santorini’s arid climate, the unrelenting sunshine and Etesian winds that howl during harvest time. It helps the vines survive in an inhospitable place born out of nature’s wrath.
Throughout Santorini, vines are planted on a white layer of earth consisting of lava, ash and pumice that have been deposited by the Minoan and other eruptions of the volcano. The deep layer of porous pumice covers the entire vine growing areas. Its spongy composition retains moisture, which is released by evaporation to relieve the vine plants during the hottest hours of the day. It is this natural force of stress on the plant that ultimately produces wines of very high quality, characterised by tremendous freshness and a profound minerality.
Age of vines: Over 50 years
Winemaking
Domaine Sigalas is known to be one of the most exacting Santorinian wineries, constantly experimenting in the vineyard as well as in the cellar with the aim to bring forth the best quality and uniqueness the Santorini’s terroir has to offer. Innovation and technical savviness coexist in a creative relationship with the ancient cultivation traditions of the island of Santorini. All winegrowing decisions are based on the guiding principle of founder Paris Sigalas, which is best phrased as a “dynamic evolution of tradition”.
Aging
Aged for six months in mostly (90%) used French oak. 30% new oak is used and the rest is of 2nd or 3rd use. Using 225Lt and 500Lt barrels.
The “sur lies” method is applied for 6-8 months.
Nose
Nuanced salty, toast and honeyed aromas.
Palate
A tightly structured, concentrated, dry white. Lots of vanilla, citrus, pineapple and melon wrapped in a mineral, salty acidity.
This wine, with the overlay of oak, seems much bigger than the big regular Santorini ...the richness seems matched by the wine's depth and overall demeanor. This rolls around the mouth and coats the palate nicely.
Food Pairing
It handles the oak brilliantly, but it is still a wine that you will really want to drink with food. Fish and seafood, white meat and fresh fruits.