"A bone dry wine, with an explosive mineral core surrounded by delicate notes of fresh lemon zest and floral hints. Refreshing with a crisp, mineral finish. 100% Assyrtiko
Decanter.com 95 Points - Top scorers - Wines of the Year 2023
Tasted by: Tina Gellie, Anne Krebiehl MW, Michaela Morris
Gaia Estate is one of the pioneers of the modern Greek wine revolution, founded on the Aegean island of Santorini in 1994 by winemakers Leon Karatsalos and Yiannis Paraskevopoulos (who also opened a winery in Nemea, on the mainland, in 1997). Made since the island winery’s inception, Thalassitis challenged the standards for dry Greek wine, and today remains one of the standard-bearers of the indigenous Assyrtiko grape. Fruit for this wine is sourced from very low-yielding, self-rooted 80-year-old vines on volcanic slopes of up to 250m in Episkopi, Akrotiri and Pyrgos. It is unoaked to accentuate the fruit purity and distinctive minerality, sees no malolactic fermentation in order to retain freshness, and is left on lees for four months with regular stirring to add texture and complexity. Tina Gellie: Minerals galore. Like the smell of rain, the taste of wet slate, with a briny oyster shell tang. When the fruit shows through it is all fresh lemon juice – crisp, bright and bitey. Takes you straight to Greece and the sea and salty air – just needs sun and some grilled octopus. Anne Krebiehl MW: Slightly lemony, bright, but also with a waxy edge lending richness and texture to a salty, slender, stony wine. Michaela Morris :A slightly wild leesy funkiness to the aromas, yet clean and brilliantly unoaked. Fruit purity shows through. The palate is confident with lemon pith, green scrubby herbs and stone. Very steely, stately acidity with a belting finish. Drinking Window: 2024 - 2040"
One of the pioneers of the modern Greek wine revolution Gaia Estate was established in 1994 by Greek winemakers Leon Karatsalos and Yiannis Paraskevopoulos. Operating two different wineries they make cutting edge wines in both Nemea and Santorini.
This wine is made from the island's indigenous variety Assyrtiko, which is renowned for combining full flavoured maturity whilst retaining considerably high acidity. The grapes are produced exclusively from vineyards in the Episkopi, Akrotiri and Pyrgos regions, where the vines are almost 80 years old and have a particularly low yield which does not exceed 25 hectolitres per hectare. The vines are cultivated in volcanic soils which are porous with a high mineral content.
The hand-picked grapes were cold macerated for a period of 12 hours at controlled temperatures of 10°C. Fermentation took place in stainless steel tanks at 16 to 18°C with selected yeasts. The wine did not undergo malolactic conversion, to retain its characteristic crisp style. This wine was produced in an unoaked style preserving its freshness and purity of fruit. It spent four months in stainless steel tanks on its lees with frequent bâtonnage or lees stirring, imparting texture and complexity.
