Mavrotragano | Oinos Erythros XirosDry Red Wine from Mavrotragano 40yo Vines (P.G.I.) - "Estate Argyros"

An Artisan Producer Crafting
Small Quantities of Top Quality Wines…

“Estate Argyros” has been established in 1903, but the Argyros family has been involved in wine production for decades before that. Since the beginning, there has been a focus on both winemaking & vine growing, through a deep understanding that great grapes are always a prerequisite for great wines. It is the largest private owner of vineyards in Santorini with current landholdings exceeding 120ha, while their Winery, located in Episkopi & established in 2015, is a cutting edge establishment covering more than 3000m². Their vineyards are old, even by Santorini standards. The average vine age exceeds 70 years, while the oldest parcels of the estate are more than two centuries old.

Santorini’s vineyards are famous for the basket-shaped vines, a highly specific training system found nowhere else, called Kouloura. Nevertheless, there are more peculiar training systems on the island, like the Koulouri or Klada, a low bush vine training system where the canes are woven into small bracelet-like shapes hanging vertically to the ground. Although Kouloura is the only choice for vineyards that are extremely exposed to winds, in areas like Akrotiri, Estate Argyros is a great believer in the quality potential of Koulouri, in all vineyards where this method is an option. The vast majority of the estate vines is trained in Koulouri since its architecture allows for better control over the canopy, a finer balance between fruit & vegetation, given the Santorinian constraints, & finally, better fruit quality.

“Mavrotragano | Oinos Erythros Xiros” is the vin de garde red of Estate Argyros. “Mavrotragano” is a rare, but very interesting indigenous red variety of Santorini. A grape once on the brink of extinction during Santorini’s tourist boom, when vineyard land was acquired by developers wanting to build hotels & apartments, it is now protected as an endangered variety by the international organization, “Slow Food”.  Forty-year-old vineyards from Episkopi, cold soaking for five days, classic red wine vinification, ageing on the lees in stainless steel for six months & then additional ageing for two years in French oak barriques. A leaner, more elegant reading of Mavrotragano’s character, that usually needs two years in the bottle to fully blossom, while keeping a decade after vintage.

Taste the Real Santorini…