Estate Argyros
Estate Argyros has been established in 1903, but the Argyros family has been involved in wine production for decades before that. The Estate works exclusively with indigenous varieties and are the largest private owners of vineyards in Santorini, a four generation long investment, with vines averaging over 70 years of age, while the oldest parcels being well over 200 years old, arguably the oldest in the world. Since the beginning, there has been a focus on both wine making and vine growing, through a deep understanding that great grapes are always a prerequisite for great wines. Each generation contributed to the development of Estate Argyros wines on both fronts.
Matthew Argyros, the fourth generation of wine growers, is currently at the helm of Estate Argyros, since 2004. He has been the driving force behind the establishment of the new winery and the further acquisition of vineyard land. Matthew is travelling widely, not only for promoting Estate Argyros wines but also to see the great vineyards and taste the finest wines of the world. His acute attention to detail and his depth of knowledge of the Santorini vineyard, guarantee that the future of the Estate is in safe hands.
The Winery
The Estate Argyros Winery, located in Episkopi and established in 2015, is a cutting edge establishment, covering more than 3000 m2. Utmost care has been taken to create a most stylish and impressive visitors area, but most of the emphasis was placed in the production facilities, making sure that every stage of the wine making process can be handled with both maximum control and minimum intervention.
Santorini
Santorini is one of the most surreal vine growing environments on the planet. The island sits on an active volcano, with extremely young and infertile soils, with almost zero potassium and almost zero clay. This last characteristic makes Santorini not just Phylloxera-free but Phylloxera-immune, meaning that the Phylloxera bug will never have the chance to invade the island.
The climate
The climate of the island is hot Mediterranean, with very little rainfall during the growing season but plenty of sunlight and fierce winds. Without fog coming out of the caldera every morning, providing moisture in a most sophisticated drip irrigation system provided by nature, very little vegetation could survive in Santorini.
The “basket” prunning
The kouloura, basket shaped, training system of Santorini was developed, out of millennia of trial and error, as a response or even consequence of this bizarre growing environment. The compact shape of the basket protects inside it the flowers and later the fruit from the severe winds, while it also traps humidity. The downside of it is ridiculously low yields.
Philosophy in the vineyard
Estate Argyros works almost exclusively with old vines because only these vineyards can provide the depth, the definition and the concentration needed to produce the desired style of wine. Work in the vineyard is meticulous, with hundred of man-hours per year per hectare, since every single vine is considered a unique organism. Timing of harvest is carefully determined plot by plot, in order to pick at optimum ripeness, eschewing the problem of overripeness, a frequent Siren in the vineyards of Santorini.
Philosophy in the cellar
Estate Argyros is an artisan producer crafting small quantities of top quality wines. The recipe in the cellar is that there is no recipe, with each plot being harvested, vinified and aged separately until very late in the production process. Each plot is treated with the required sensitivity, in order to express its birthplace, while achieving purity and elegance. To achieve the quintessential Argyros style, patience is required and many wines are kept in the cellars for years or, in the case of the Vinsantos, decades, so the winery has been designed to accommodate for such a vision. Oak, mainly in the form of old and large French oak barrels, is always used to underline the character of a wine, never to create it.
Sustainability
Estate Argyros vines are farmed organically, without using pesticides. Each vineyard work is done manually, apart from ploughing, carried out by mules. The vines are not irrigated and most of the additions in the vineyard are by products of the wine making process, like composted stems and grape skins.
The Estate Argyros winery was also designed with true respect to the Santorini landscape and aesthetics, while being environmentally friendly and energy efficient.
