Introducing Estate Argyros' new Vin Santo line

Estate Argyros is considered one of the best producers of Vin Santo on the island of Santorini.  Yiannis Argyros produced his first vintage of Vin Santo in 1974 for his own personal consumption & for friends & family.  Several  years later the first Vin Santo was commercially released.

For those that believe Vin Santo is of Italian origin, they would be mistaken.  Historically, Vin Santo meant "Vino di Santorini" - or wine of Santorini.  Several years ago, Greek Vin Santo producers petitioned the EU to protect the name "Vin Santo" as a uniquely Greek product and to stop the Italians from using the name.  After presenting documentation proving the historical roots of the term, the EU courts granted the Greek petition.  "Vin Santo" can only be used be producers of the wine on the island of Santorini.  In Italy, the wines must be named "Vino Santo di (the origin)". 

The Estate previously released two different Vin Santo dessert wines - one a vintage dated and aged 20 years in oak and the "Mezzo", a wine aged for at least 4 years in oak before release.  Several years ago the family decided to expand the series to include 3 wines - 4 year, 12 year and 20 year.  The "Mezzo" has been effectively discontinued and here in the US we are selling through the last of the remaining inventory.  By fall, we will be rolling out the new line in it's entirety across the country.  The wines in this line will be based on the average amount of years the wine has spent aging in the barrel.  For example, the 4 year Vin Santo is the average age of wines in various casks (anywhere from 3-8 years old for argument's sake).  This premise continues with the 12 & 20 year aged wines as well.

The new wines & approximate retail prices are:

Vin Santo 4 year 2006 $30 (90 Points Wine Advocate)

Vin Santo 12 year 1998 $50

Vin Santo 20 year 1990 $125 (96 Points Wine Advocate)

Look for these wines to start making their way into distribution this fall.