Argyros Estate Atlantis White 2016 Santorini, Greece

Produced on the Volcanic Island Santorini, this wine is made from 90% Assyrtiko, 5% Aidani, 5% Athiri. These vines were never affected by the Phylloxera louse, which destroyed vines all over the world in the late 1800s. The solution to the Phylloxera problem is to graft European vines (vitus vinifera) onto American rootstock (vitus labrusco) which is impervious to the louse. While most vines around the world are grafted these vines are all on their original rootstock. The vines are between 30 and 150 years old and are trained and woven into baskets on the ground called “kouloura” (do a google image search!)

This wine really has unique flavors, crisp and acidic with full round fruit and nice complexity, I love it!

This will go wonderfully with any seafood, I’m suddenly craving Mussels…

From the producer: “Crystal-clear yellow color, distinctively flavored with citrus overtones. The relatively high acidity of Asyrtico gives it a crisp freshness, while the vineyard’s extremely low yield offers body, structure and substance.”

Critical Acclaim
Wine & Spirits 90pts
An assyrtiko blended with small amounts of athiri and aidani, this is earthy and saline, with a touch of nuttiness that gives it a sun-warmed feeling. Gravelly and firm, it ends searingly dry, cleansed by a crisp, citrusy acidity.

Domaine Gauby Calcinaires 2015 Côtes du Roussillon-Villages

Black Grenache 15% Vines of about ten years, Carignan 10% of twenty years, Mourvèdre 25% Vines of about ten years, Syrah 50% Vines of about ten years
Grown on Limestone, clay – limestone, schists, made with all natural wild yeasts, this wine feels incredibly natural and beautiful on the palate. There’s a term “garrigue” that is used to describe the flavor of the scrubland in the south of France, this wine has it in spades! Côtes du Roussillon-Villages is in the very lower left corner of France. You might recognize these varietals as also being part of the Rhone blend, Syrah and Mourvèdre, being more recent additions to the Roussillon. This general blend of grapes can create very different wines depending on percentages and terrior, which all seem to share the ability to be very adaptable food wines. Serve this with almost anything you’d pair with a red wine. We’re about to drink the rest the bottle I’m sampling with grilled skirt steak and cauliflower. I know it’s going to be amazing.

I found this on the producer’s website, it’s been “Google Translated” to English so it’s a little wonky, but great anyhow, especially the last sentence:
Our job is to respect the environment, to take nature as an ally, a source of inspiration by referring to many cultures, leaving aside chemical and synthetic products and using herbal “home-made” preparations (more twenty) and other natural products such as essential oils, compost, etc.
A work that allows us to draw the quintessence of our terroirs and to seek elegance and freshness in our wines. The goal is to preserve the natural balance and to remain free of our choices. We are and will remain peasants.