Gaia Wild Ferment Assyrtiko
Even before I visited one of Estate Gai’a‘s wineries I was a fan. While I went to the winery in the Nemea, Gai’a also has a winery in Santorini and it was the Assyrtiko from this winery that began my love affair with them.
In addition to the winery’s Thalassitis, a more traditionally made Assyrtiko wine, Gai’a also crafts a wild ferment Assyrtiko. The grapes for the wild ferment come from the winery’s Pyrgos vineyards, part of the PDO Santorini. Here vines grow in the traditional ‘kouloura’ (basket) in the island’s low nutrient pumice soils. Water is often scarce but humidity is retained by and fed back into the vine through the porous soil.
Gai’a Wild Ferment Assyrtiko, 2016
After undergoing a 12-hour skin contact cold soak, the grape must is placed in small 1,000 liter tanks, new 225 liter French and American oak barrels, and acacia barrels where the must undergoes spontaneous fermentation. The blending of the final wines creates a complex Assyrtiko with a unique personality.
Bright and intensely straw-colored in the glass, the wine had a surprisingly earthy aroma. Yes, plenty of Assyrtiko’s hallmark citrus and minerality revealed themselves in the nose. However, aromas of smoke and sun-soaked hay fields not only joined but kind of stole show from the citrus!
One thing unchanged was the grape’s racy and mouth-puckering acidity. Once my mouth unwound itself I tasted vibrant lemon juice and orange peel. Following the citrus came layers of acacia blossom, fresh hay, and that hint salty sea spray I so love in Assyrtiko. Medium-bodied with 13% abv and a long finish.
Maybe not my favorite Assyrtiko ever but certainly an interesting and unique wine. One I would happily drink again!