Canava Chrissou – Tselepos — Santorini 2022

The 2022 vintage is said to have been a really good year for Santorini, and the Canava Chrissou – Tselepos Vieilles Vignes 2022 offers a compelling example of the island's purist style. This 100% Assyrtiko is salty already in the nose and shows a lot of yeasty aromas. On the palate, acidity and saltiness dominate. Just a little bit of citrus and honey offer some aromatic flesh to the structural skeleton. If you love pure, mineral Assyrtiko from Santorini, this is your wine. That said, as much as I appreciate Santorini, I have come to prefer mainland Assyrtiko in many situations. The spectrum of quality may be greater in other parts of Greece, but the best mainland examples deliver additional fruit and complexity without making any compromise with respect to the wine's structure. For me — and actually quite a few Greek wine enthusiasts I talk to — a wine like this lands around 90 points. Because I know many people hold dry Santorini wines in higher regard than I do, I add a bonus point, bringing it to 91 points. At around 30 euros, Santorini's dry wines hover a bit above the 90-point range, which is of course quite a lot. Comparing Assyrtiko to Riesling, I can't avoid the impression that we are often more at the level of a really good Gutsriesling — yet you can get a Weingut Robert Weil Riesling for half the price. I am all for international comparisons when it comes to Greek wines, and they often win, but in this case it takes the story to convince. For reference, the Estate Argyros Santorini 2022, tasted alongside this wine, showed a more variegated nose and greater lushness on the palate, earning 93 points.