To
A ssyrtiko and Beyond
Tom Hall continues in his quest to explore less-known Greek grape varieties and culls three wines that should take you beyond your ‘assyrtiko’ comfort zone
I
understand of course that the pursuit of novelty is a fool’s quest. Apart from anything else newness is no guarantee of quality and often the opposite. That said there is something horizon-widening about discovering something previously unknown. Novelty, however, is highly subjective. I have a friend who is constantly aghast at my lack of cultural references. His horror when it turns out I haven’t seen a much-loved film of his fills me with shame, a feeling which isn’t lessened when it turns out that there is only one copy of said film which is kept under lock and key and only screened once a year during the blood moon. I, on the other hand, was inordinately proud to have recently pointed a friend in the direction of a work by the little-known auteurs at Walt Disney Animation Studios (Big Hero 6, by the way, totally unmissable and readily available). See, subjective. So even as a keen consumer of wine, until a few years ago assyrtiko was a bit of a new thing for me. It wouldn’t have been an obvious choice for me on an English list and I couldn’t have told you about any producers, let alone my favourites. Having spent 18 months mostly in Greece now I feel a loving familiarity with assyrtiko that is similar to my relationship with chardonnays from Burgundy (here’s looking at you Estate Argyros, Cuvee Monsignori). They are among my most loved wines and if I don’t know anything else on a list (and don’t feel like asking), usually a fairly safe bet. But they don’t feel like an adventure and I wanted to find out more, particularly about other Greek white wines, so I turned to the passionate experts at Linou Soumpasis and Sia, tucked away on a side street in Psiri by a basket shop and a rope shop. The food is exceptional, meticulously sourced, respectful of tradition and adventurous at the same time: from a familiar plate of perfectly cooked horta served with a quenelle of whipped “roquefort” to the cod fillet wrapped in caul fat and roasted till the fat melts into a layer of umami lacquer. What follows are three of the wines that Ioanna and Demetre recommended over my last couple of trips and what I was lucky enough to eat them with.
athens insider | 114 |
