A Stunning 95-Point, $25.99 White from Paris Sigalas
Plus "The Most Profound Quintessa Made to Date"
The 2016 Domaine Sigalas Assyrtiko has arrived! This remarkable white wine has been a Vin Chicago staff and customer favorite for years. Today we are thrilled to present you with the most highly rated vintage yet!
Earning 95 points from Wine Advocate and selling for just $25.99, this highly age-worthy wonder from the tiny volcanic island of Santorini is one that all lovers of mineral-driven whites must try.
Scroll down for the full story on the 2016 Sigalas and for the 2013 vintage of Quintessa, which Robert Parker also picks as their best ever! As always, simply click the Big Yellow Buttonto place your order...
Vin Chicago has a full-time opening at our Highland Park store!
Who would have thought that one of the world's most extraordinary whites would come from the island of Santorini?
"If they said 'Burgundy' and not 'Greece' on the label, you could double or triple the price."
- Mark Squires on the latest releases from Sigalas
In an epic understatement, Wine Advocate's Mark Squires writes that Santorini's Paris Sigalas is "probably the island's most famous producer." Not only is Mr. Sigalas, without a doubt, the most influential winemaker in Santorini, he is also the most famous on any of the Greek islands and, aside from George Skouras, probably in the entire country!
His 2016 Assyrtiko truly is just a baby. While it already is flipping delicious, this salty, mineral laden, highly nuanced wine will not show its full potential for at least a few more years. Linear and tart, with a substantial and quite silky mouthfeel, this wine impresses more with its nuance and long, long finish than with raw power.
The acidity and structure of this wine are very powerful. It can easily hold up to several hours in a decanter and will reward you for your effort. Even four or five days after opening the bottle, this wine will still be revealing additional subtleties.
Mark Squires' write-up is long, but his notes are quite consistent with our experience...
"The 2016 Assyrtiko is unoaked and comes in at 14% alcohol. One of the island's benchmarks, this is always in fine form these day-and always rather hard to evaluate when it is young. Deceptively, this bottling doesn't seem intimidating on first taste, but it always hides many layers. I tend to decant them or taste them again the next day when they are young. Otherwise, you tend to miss too much. Wonderfully elegant and finishing with a salty nuance, this shows impeccable balance. Its best feature is the lingering and intense finish, with plenty of tension and grip. It has far more power than it seems on a casual sip and that power doesn't go away as the wine airs and warms. I tried it the next day, in fact, and it put on weight, absorbed the salt and showed even more power. Two days later, it still preened in its power and precision, fresh as a daisy and wholly unevolved. (The salt was back, too.) The gripping finish that coated the palate was simply impressive. This is another beauty from Sigalas, something that has a lot of upside potential still. Granting that I do not have them side by side, this might even be superior to the 2015. It's hard to overlook the superlative combination of concentration and intensity. If nothing else, it is a worthy competitor to the 2015 and fully its equal. While I am leaning up on it today, it is all about the potential as not many whites are this tightly wound. Try this again at the beginning summer 2019, and you will no doubt have a better experience. You can dive in now, if you insist, but I suspect this may not be fully expressive until 2020 or so. It should also age effortlessly, but let's start here and take the rest in stages. I won't be shocked if handles 20 years or more well, but let's be conservative for the moment.
2017 - 2029.
"
- 95 Points, Wine Advocate (6/30/2017)
Our recommendation is to enjoy a few bottles now and put away many more for enjoyment in futures years, and possibly future decades. For those bottles you open now - and we cannot emphasize this enough - make sure to decant!
While it was James Suckling who awarded the massive 98-point score to the 2013 Quintessa, it is Robert Parker's write-up that really hits the nail on the head. If you've liked Quintessa in the past, you're probably going to LOVE this one...
"The 2013 Proprietary Red Wine has always been good, but I think they have re-positioned themselves at a much higher pinnacle with the 2013. This is a Cabernet Sauvignon-dominated blend but has important component parts such as Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot from their gorgeous vineyards just off the Silverado Trail in Rutherford. The wine has a dense bluish/purple color and a beautiful nose of black raspberries, blueberries, lead pencil shavings, and touches of oak and spring flowers. The complexity of the fragrance is followed by a wine with terrific body, stunning purity, wonderful balance, and great depth and richness. This is certainly the most profound Quintessa made to date and should evolve gracefully for at least 20-25 years."
- 96 Points, Wine Advocate (October 2015)
"This is really fantastic on the nose with blackberry, blueberry, lavender, and violets. Even sage. Full body plus extremely integrated tannins that are polished and refined. The balance and harmony is phenomenal. Goes on for minutes. Beautiful now but will satisfy for decades."
- 98 Points, James Suckling (May 2016)
Online prices in Illinois range from $175 to $200. As usual, we're a few bucks less. Only a few cases available.
Vin Chicago Price: 169.99
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