"Orange" wines, also known as skin-contact white wines, can be divisive, as not even some wine lovers enjoy that style. Personally, I very much enjoy orange wines, relishing their unique flavor profiles. As such, I often purchase orange wines, sometimes with knowing little about the wine other than the fact it's an orange wine.
That was the case with this wine, the 2019 Sant'Or Santameriana Orange wine. I wasn't familiar with the wine, the producer, or even the grape. However, it was a Greek orange wine, from a rare grape, and intrigued me. After tasting the wine, I'm very pleased that I bought the wine and it earns my hearty recommendation.
Sant'Or-Santomeri, a family-owned winery, is located in the village of Santomeri, in the region of Achaia in the Peloponnese. It is at the foothills of Mount Skolli, which, according to myth, Hercules had moved part of that mountain from Mount Erimanthos in the northern Peloponnese. The name, "Santomeri," derives from a 13th century, French garrison commander named Nicolas de Saint-Omer.
In 2007, Panagiotis Dimitropoulos chose to continue a lengthy family tradition of cultivating vineyards. He practices minimal interventions in the winery, and the vineyards are Biodynamic and organic. In 2019, they were the first Demeter certified Biodynamic winery in Greece. They currently produce no more than 20,000 bottles of wine annually.
Santameriana is a traditional Greek grape, with a lengthy history, but it was devastated by phyloxera in the first half of the 20th century. Santameriana is a thin-skinned, white grape, which can produce an aromatic wine, intense and fruity. In addition, during the 1960s, many Greeks began leaving the countryside, to move to the cities. So, many of the vineyards, which still had some Santamerian planted, were uprooted and planted with different crops. Santameriana survived, but it was tenuous, the vines few and scattered.
Panagiotis Dimitropoulos remembers when he was a child that his father told him that Santameriana made excellent wine. The family possessed only 10 vines of this nearly extinct grape, and when Panagiotis was an adult, he endeavored to resurrect this grape. From those 10 vines, he now has about 4000, comprising about one-third of his vineyard acreage. Sant'Or may be the only Greek winery producing a single-varietal Santameriana wine. A few other wineries use it in blends, but not all of those wines are available commercially.
The 2019 Sant'Or Santameriana Orange Wine (about $25) was made from 100% Santameriana which were fermented with native yeasts. The wine was amphora aged (the amphora being around 200 years old), with 20 days of skin contact. It was also unfined, unfiltered, with a very low level of sulfites, and is vegan. With a 13% ABV, the wine possessed a light orange color, with an intense, complex and intriguing nose of citrus, pear, dried fruits, and tea notes. On the palate, it was medium-bodied and elegant, with good acidity and a minerality streak. The flavors were complex, including orange, pear, honey, and dried fruit, with prominent tannins and a length, satisfying finish. It was also savory, not sweet, with subtle hints of herbs and spices. A fascinating wine which benefited from slowly sipping it over time, allowing it to evolve, presenting different flavors and aromas over time. An excellent orange wine and Highly Recommended.
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