Boutari

92 Boutari 2010 Santorini Kallisti
Santorini as thirst inspiring as a salt lick, this barrel-fermented assyrtiko is deeply savory, a dense symphony of salted butter, creamy nougat and savory honey flavor wrapped around a core of orange flavor. It still has some youthfully aggressive edges to its powerful acidity, and needs time in the cellar (two years at the least; ten wouldn’t hurt) for the structure to relax.

92 Boutari 2012 Pallini Matsa Malagouzia
The heat of the 2012 vintage is evident in this wine’s deep golden hue, about two shades darker than usual. And then there’s the scent –pineapple and toasted almonds, chamomile and kumquats. It handles the vintage well, the cashmere texture carrying the flavor effortlessly, the combination of briney minerality and acidity adding succulence. It’s a powerful white for pork tenderloin basted with oranges and honey.

93 Boutari 2008 Naoussa Grande Reserve
Year in and out, Boutari’s Grande Reserve sets the mark for Naoussa in a traditional style. The 2008 excels in a vintage memorable for a summer of drought and heat spikes: The wine is moderate in its fruitiness, balanced more toward fresh mushroom than cherry. The earthy and herbal notes give it a complexity that’s riveting for minutes after each sip; the tannins are firm but fine, giving the wine a gauzy finesse.

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92 Boutari 2012 Santorini
This smells like Santorini in the spring, before the heat, while the flowers are blooming and the grasses still green. It’s ripe and effusively aromatic, the lemon and gardenia notes firmly ensconced on a base of chalk. Approachable now –the balance spot-on- it also has the backbone to age well over the next five to eight years.

90 Boutari 2012 Mantinia Moschofilero
Like many 2012s, this is very ripe, redolent of honeysuckle, roses, orange and white pepper, but it stands apart for its balance, a combination of fullness of texture and bright, clear freshness that lends the wine balance and precision.

88 Boutari 2009 Naoussa
This is refreshingly light, the flavors as translucent as the color. With its see-through hue and flavors that run more raspberry leaf than berry, this is a classic Naoussa. The tannins hold it firm and the acidity keeps it crisp, making it a terrific pick for meaty vegetarian dishes as well as any sort of pork preparation.

Last week Lynn Krielow Chamberlain — the “Wine Fairy”, radio journalist and wine commentator — featured Boutari wines and Christina Boutari on her show, iWineRadio, the only wine program on iTunes.

Click here to listen to the interview with Christina Boutari.

From the April 2013 issue of Wine Advocate #206, Mark Squires reviewer

The Boutari winery on Santorini, where Vinsanto is made.

92 POINTS 2008 Boutari Vinsanto

The 2008 Vinsanto was bottled in 2012 from sun dried grapes (90% Assyrtiko, 10% Aidani) after two years of barrel aging. For what amounts to fairly young Vinsanto, this is superb. This is not terribly concentrated or rich, but the acidity is mouthwatering, making this invigorating and often exciting as well as delicious. It is zesty, very fresh and perhaps even a touch shrill when too cold. But there is an utterly scrumptious and very intense finish, with the acidity ramming home the sugar and fruit, dribbling their pure flavor and sweetness over the palate as the mouth waters. Ultimately, I liked this a lot. German wine lovers may gravitate to it, given that tension between fruit, sugar and acidity. The 14.5% alcohol gives this some wallop at times, but that may be an issue for the future, if it is one. There were 3,333 cases produced. Drink now-2025.

90 POINTS 2009 Boutari Naoussa

The 2009 Naoussa, Boutari’s regular Xinomavro, has been a very nice value of late, sometimes seeming like quite a deal. So it is again—although take note of some differences this year. It generally receives modest oak aging (around 12 months in 225L French oak, used 3 to 4 times), which tends to help the Xinomavro shine through. Granting that sensory memory is a fragile thing, this seemed to me rather different at this stage of its life than recent prior vintages, less round and civilized, a bit tighter, earthier, less fleshy, a trend I think that I have seen in some other 2009s. Indeed, Chief Oenologist Yiannis Voyatzis later wrote to me that the vintage led to wines with a bit more astringency and a bit less color and roundness. If you don’t mind a little rusticity (or even prefer it), this worked it all out quite well. The oak was beautifully integrated early on, hardly affecting the wine at all. The light color, purity and earthy nose give this a very Nebbiolo feel, a very old world, old school sensibility, with fine acidity and intensity. It is excellent, traditional and well done in its own way and style. Some may prefer it; some might prefer the riper style of, say, the 2007. You may like both. I did. It should age well and be great as a food wine, too. You can approach this if you must, but it really needs a few years of cellaring to come together. Drink 2015-2024.

90 POINTS 2011 Boutari Malagouzia Matza

The 2012 Malagouzia Matsa is from the Attica region and a vineyard originally known for Savatiano. Tank aged for 3 months, it is typically a very interesting Malagouzia. This year’s version is certainly quite invigorating, while never losing its footing. Of the Malagouzias in this report, this is piercing and focused wine is likely my pick, if only by a slight margin. Bright and relatively full bodied for the grape, but not particularly lush, it has a crisp and moderately intense finish, with modest herbaceous notes in the background. Focused and fresh, this drinks beautifully and should age for a few years. It will provide a wake-up moment in warm weather. It will always be at its best young, though, so don’t think this must be cellared. There were 2,667 cases produced. Drink now-2015.