2014 Santo Wines Assyrtiko Santorini 750 ml

2014 Santo Wines Assyrtiko Santorini: Why We Never Play the Slots

It was the summer of 1979. Like so many American 20-somethings, we were bumming around Europe, and found the northern part of the continent too rich for our $10/day budget. We took an endless train ride to Athens, then spent a sleepless night at the port of Piraeus, fending off hundreds of mosquitoes, each waiting patiently until we dozed off.

We boarded a ferry for the Greek islands the following morning. After a couple weeks in Ios and Milos, we booked a boat ride to the volcanic island of Santorini. The boat was late — two days late. We arrived in Santorini at 2 a.m., just missing the bus into town. We slept on a bed of gravel and awoke with a thousand little indentations in our backs.

Had you asked us back then for the likelihood that 35 years later, we’d be seated at Bar Boulud at 63rd on Broadway eating Daniel Boulud’s Pâté-Grand Père, we would have put the odds at less than 5%. Had you tacked on a second condition — that the absolutely exquisite mineral white hand-selected by the #1 Sommelier in America, Michael Madrigale, had been crafted from grapes harvested on the volcanic hillsides of Santorini — our odds would have shrunk to zero.

That’s probably why we never play the slots.

Madrigale is the son of a Philadelphia butcher. As a result, charcuterie and southern European white wines run through Michael’s blood. Unlike most N.Y.C. somms, on a 20-page wine list dotted with Grand Cru Burgundy and Bordeaux, Michael pays as much attention to his “little wines” as his classics. Each Tuesday at 5 p.m., dozens of salesmen descend on Bar Boulud, all toting sample bottles. The salesmen wait patiently as Madrigale races through every wine. A placement is worth a small fortune. Madrigale is said to be “ruthless at the tasting table,” so placements are tough to come by.

The first white Michael chose was a gorgeous if obscure bottle from Portugal made from the Alvarinho grape. The second was equally unusual, still more tightly wound, mouthwateringly mineral, drawn from a manicured vineyard on the Greek island that we’d first visited while bumming around Europe in 1979.

Wine Enthusiast’s top sommelier in America gave us the lowdown.

Largely inaccessible, barren, and arid, unlike almost any wine route in the world, grape-growing in the high ground of Santorini is carried out with Old World passion and ingenuity. The most distinctive features of Santorini’s viticulture are the stone terraces, or pezoules. Carefully constructed and engineered by vineyard masons at up to 3,000 feet in elevation, the terraces are supported by dry stone retaining walls, and perform multiple functions, including sheltering vines from the wind and protecting fragile root structure, allowing mature vines to slurp up precious water reserves deep in the substrata under the blistering Mediterranean sun.

How much high-quality white wine is made on Santorini? “Not much,” Michael told us. “And most of it is destined for New York City.”

Bar Boulud’s 2014 Santo Wines Assyrtiko, as the name suggests, is drawn from 100% Assyrtiko, a wildly aromatic variety indigenous to Santorini. Brilliant green-gold in hue. Piercing aromas of lime, white grapefruit, and green apple, wound up and mineral. Chiseled and saline on the attack, finely delineated and focused, filled with a mix of ripe citrus, bitter honey, and an intriguing, almost tropical, fruit component. Crisp, vibrant, and penetrating on the finish, effortlessly cutting through the salty fats of Daniel Boulud’s Pâté-Grand Père. This is a most unusual and absolutely gorgeous white that merits serious attention from both casual drinkers looking to discover something new and experienced collectors.

$16 per bottle this morning on WineAccess. Shipping included on 6.