3 | Wine | White, Greece, 86 to 90

This wine was named #90 of Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines of 2012.

"A rapierlike white, delivering apple, pear and grapefruit flavors flanked by plenty of mineral and slate notes. Ripe orange accents linger as plenty of spicy hints mark the vibrant, long-lasting finish."

"The 2011 Chardonnay “Estate” is a bit of an overachiever. It is quite lovely, juicy, but fresh, clean and bright, with pretty nice solidity in the mid-palate. It has persistence on the finish and it is hard to resist. This is a nicely priced Chardonnay that is awfully tasty and provides bang for the buck. It may not last a long time, but it drinks awfully well young."

"The 2010 Robola has evolved brilliantly with a little more time to settle down, finally showing better integration of its parts and revealing itself to be ageworthy as well. This is a rather obscure grape for most consumers and little understood. This shows what it is all about. Pulling this wine out of the refrigerator and tasting it promptly is a really bad idea. It is big and crisp. At 50?F or below, it was all acid, no fruit, austere, shrill and charmless. In the mid-fifties, I began to see hints of the wine I first saw again, and it did not really hit stride until it passed 60?F, finally becoming somewhat more fruit forward – relatively speaking. This, in short, not only remains lovely, but seems to have improved considerably, showing the ability to project both fruit and power. The finish is intense and gripping. It has somewhat grassy, but restrained nuances. It should hold better than I first thought, although I am going to remain a bit conservative, and it is not yet at peak. Just for a cherry on top, the price is nice, too."

"Solid in the mid-palate, it is a wine that handles its oak well at this point in its life, showing a fairly light touch. Bright, with some penetration on the finish, it has good persistence and it is quite tasty. For those who go with the flow when it comes to oak and Assrytiko, this is well done."

"This blend has often been nice for the price, but it certainly seems to be trending upwards. With fine persistence and intensity, this is beautifully balanced and tightly wound, with better aromatics than the winery’s regular, unoaked Assyrtiko due to the blend (5% each of Athiri and Aidani added to the Assyrtiko), if not as much depth and intensity. This is simply lovely this year, one of the finest values in this report, transparent, focused and crisp, yet caressing and accessible. If you’re looking for fruity and sweet, this is not as likely to fulfill your goals. It is an overachiever, though."

"The 2011 SANTORINI is Assyrtiko, and a rather refined and carefully crafted one that slowly evolves and unwinds, demonstrating its persistence and the ability to improve dramatically in the glass. Boutari seems to have a style, emphasizing harmony and balance, if I can add insights from what I see in Naoussa as well. This is always a more forward Santorini, without the pure power some of the others often show. If this starts with subtlety, however, it gradually becomes more impressive this year as it lingers in the glass and unfolds, showing layers, crispness and persistence that I wasn’t initially sure it had. This is a very fine performance if rather low key performance in this vintage, a harmonious, well balanced offering with surprisingly good aromatics, perhaps tinged by a hint of herbaceousness. For Assyrtiko, this has a lot of personality. I didn’t start out impressed, but it was hard to give up the glass."

"The 2011 Malagouzia “Axia” was raw and unevolved when I first saw it very early on. I wish everyone could taste it under these circumstances – so exuberant and pure, with hints of peach and grass. It was almost like a tank sample when tasted. It is delicious, friendly and fresh, if not terribly concentrated and not likely to develop much if at all with age. As I like to say with certain types of wines, however long they theoretically hold, you’ll do yourself a favor drinking them young and fresh as they may have nowhere to go but down and the youthful exuberance is one of their best features. I believe that is the case here, although the wine should hold a couple of years. It should win the winery a lot of friends this summer, though."

"This is just what you want for a dry white in the summer--elegant and refreshing, clean and crisp, marked by invigoratingly grassy aromatics. It just a bit of a nod to a Sauvignon Blanc. For all that, it shows some reasonable integration of those characteristics and seems quite harmonious, projecting a “pull up a chair and sit awhile” demeanor. You can just see sipping on this all through a summer night."