Yiannis Papargyriou is no ordinary winemaker. So it comes as no surprise that an Assyrtiko from Laliotis, Corinthia, bearing the title Le Vigneron Grec—"The Greek Winegrower"—is a wine that is anything but ordinary.
This Assyrtiko is being cultivated at an altitude of 800 meters in Sofiana Corinth, fermented with the skins for 10 days, without adding commercial yeast. As if that weren't enough, the wine was fermented with Muscat of Rio grape skins, which remained in contact with the must for the full duration of fermentation.
It stayed in oak 500lt barrels of first and second use where it remained for 4 months with batonage on a monthly basis. Without interference and without filtration, it was bottled in limited bottles sealed with sealing wax by hand.
Completely different than anything you have ever tried and you are accustomed to, Le Vigneron Grec Papargyriou Winery is an innovative approach to Assyrtiko. The ultimate aromatic complexity meets kicking tannins and razor sharp acidity in a wine that is still deafeningly young and not targeted to many. The limited bottles anyway had sold out even before it was released.
It is clear that staying in the bottle will definitely add to it if you can wait. Just because it deserves it.
