Winemaker Notes
The flagship white of the Gai'a portfolio, this wine is bone-dry with strong character: full-bodied, well-structured with crisp acidity, distinctive minerality and delicate honeysuckle aromas. This white wine will continue to evolve for 2-5 years, as the mineral notes soften the palate will develop more nuanced flavors of fruit and honey.
A classic pairing for seafood, fatty fish, as well as poultry and even lamb stewed in lemon sauce.
Blend: 100% Assyrtiko
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
Gaia Estate is one of the pioneers of the modern Greek wine revolution, founded on the Aegean island of Santorini in 1994 by winemakers Leon Karatsalos and Yiannis Paraskevopoulos (who also opened a winery in Nemea, on the mainland, in 1997). Made since the island winery’s inception, Thalassitis challenged the standards for dry Greek wine, and today remains one of the standard-bearers of the indigenous Assyrtiko grape. Fruit for this wine is sourced from very low-yielding, self-rooted 80-year-old vines on volcanic slopes of up to 250m in Episkopi, Akrotiri and Pyrgos. It is unoaked to accentuate the fruit purity and distinctive minerality, sees no malolactic fermentation in order to retain freshness, and is left on lees for four months with regular stirring to add texture and complexity. Tina Gellie: Minerals galore. Like the smell of rain, the taste of wet slate, with a briny oyster shell tang. When the fruit shows through it is all fresh lemon juice – crisp, bright and bitey. Takes you straight to Greece and the sea and salty air – just needs sun and some grilled octopus. Anne Krebiehl MW: Slightly lemony, bright, but also with a waxy edge lending richness and texture to a salty, slender, stony wine. Michaela Morris: A slightly wild leesy funkiness to the aromas, yet clean and brilliantly unoaked. Fruit purity shows through. The palate is confident with lemon pith, green scrubby herbs and stone. Very steely, stately acidity with a belting finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Named after the Greek word for "coming from the sea," the Gai'a 2022 Santorini Assyrtiko Thalassitis opens to ashy mineral tones with hints of petroleum jelly that give the bouquet a more neutral personality. The wine is structured and dense, setting it up for a pairing with white meat or shellfish. The mid-weight close offers a flavor of salted butter. Extra stirring of the lees was completed in order to build up the mouthfeel.
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Wine Enthusiast
Creamsicle aromas give way to minerally, beautifully tart flavors on this elegant Assyrtiko. The wine’s lovely roundness is followed by a very tart finish rich with lemon oil and pith, giving it immense food pairing potential.
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Wine Spectator
Hints of dried herbs and lemon oil accent the crunchy nectarine and pear fruit flavors in this fresh, mineral-driven white. Smoke, oyster shell and spice notes echo on the linear finish. Drink now. 7,500 cases made, 300 cases imported.
A crisp white variety full of zippy acidity, Assyrtiko comes from the volcanic Greek island of Santorini but is grown increasingly wide throughout the country today. Assyrtiko’s popularity isn’t hard to explain: it retains its acid and mineral profile in a hot climate, stands alone or blends well with other grapes and can also withstand some age. Somm Secret—On the fairly barren, windswept Mediterranean island of Santorini, Assyrtiko vines must be cultivated in low baskets, pinned to the ground. The shape serves to preserve moisture and protect the growing grapes in its interior.
