Thalassitis Oak Fermented 2008 - Gaia Wines

Vassilis Papadopoulos was born on December 18, 1978 in U.S.A. and currently lives in Athens – Greece. He is a sommelier & wine consultant, working freelance with restaurants, wineries, magazines and websites. He is a co-owner of the “Kazakos Drink Bank” (wine and spirits stores in Athens) administrating more than 1.700 different worldwide wine labels and thousands bottles which lie in the cellars of the stores. Also he is the president of the “KWC”, a Greek wine club which has more than 400 active members and organizes wine tastings, wine dinners, wine trips and more. You can contact him on: vaspa78@hotmail.com

Brand: Thalassitis Oak Fermented

Winery: Gaia Wines

Vintage: 2008

Appellation: Santorini A.O.C. (Greece - Aegean island)

Varietal: Assyrtiko

Winemaker: Yiannis Paraskevopoulos

Oak: 6 months in new 225 lit French oak casks from the Nevers forest

Average Price: 15€

Alcohol: 13,5%

Number of cases: 6.018 (bottles)

Category: Classic! A "banker"; the epitome of its class or ranking, region or country, grape or style

Rating: 4,6 (on a 1 - 5 scale)

Tasting notes:

The Greek island of Santorini produces some of the world's greatest white wines. This wine could be seen as the meeting point of a traditional Greek wine-grape variety with a typically French wine-making technique. Is an Assyrtiko varietal comes from 40 – 80 years old vines. Bright pale yellow color. Aromas of fruits with smoky notes and citrus hints. Creamy apple fruit. In the mouth the wine is full bodied, dry and crisp with a long finish finishing with lime notes. Perfect value for money. A white wine that has great aging potential, it will further develop towards a complex wine under careful storage. Drinking window: 2009- 2014. Best served at 10 –12 ° C.

Winery Notes: GAIA WINES was founded in 1994 in Santorini island (Greece) by Leon Karatsalos (Agronomist, University of Thessaloniki) and Yiannis Paraskevopoulos (Agronomist, University of Thessaloniki, Ph.D of Oenology, University of Bordeaux II).

Vintage Overview: 2008 was a very good to excellent quality for Aegean Islands (Limnos, Paros, Rhodes, Santorini). The heat wave of two years ago influenced this year's harvest in quantity. In addition strong winds have depleted the crop. (Santorini). However, the cool summer gave grapes full of vividness and health. The prices have an upward trend. In Santorini the price reached 1,35€/Kgr. which is a record. However, the low yields had a negative balance for the winegrowers.

Food Pairing Suggestions: sea food, salad, grilled fish, chicken dishes.