Heliopoulos (illiopoulos)

Antonis Illiopoulos and advisor Nutshell... Company Name:   Heliopoulos (English spelling) Vineyards     Location:   Santorini, Aegean Islands     Winemaker:   Christofoulos Karamolegos     Importers:   US: Stellar Imports     Products:   Santorini       "Oak Aged" Vinsanto Quote of note: "As a winemaker, I don't care whether I make money or not; I have a successful hotel. Quality is my only concern, and the cost of achieving quality is not an issue." To contact this company click here       "Street" scene with Megalohori beyond Antonis Illiopoulos is Santorini's gentleman vintner. This well-educated scion of a notable shipping family had the bold idea of developing the family's summer estate on the island into a luxury hotel unique for its reflection of Santoriniote architectural tradition. The hotel, Vedema (Venetian Italian for harvest) is built on a spot that had been the center of local wine production, a series of underground cellars bordering the village of Megalohori on one side, and vineyards on the other. Because the design of the hotel is exceptional and because its concept is inextricably tied to wine production, a brief digression seems appropriate. The hotel consists of a complex of villas, small houses hand-crafted in the traditional style of the island. Adjacent to the vineyards and part of a complex seamlessly integrated into one side of the village, they are built over and around the cellars. each cellar has been renovated and fulfills an important hotel function. A poolside restaurant and bar and a sunken street which accesses the cellars are the architectural foci of an extraordinary village within a village. The cellar complex includes a beautiful restaurant of medieval feel, a private dining room for two, a spa, an exercise room, a meeting center, a jewelry store and, not least, a wine tasting room well-stocked, not only with Illiopoulos' own products, but with a well-chosen selection of international wines. Wine tastings are conducted at dusk every day during the summer (it is a seasonal operation). Vineyards and ocean beyond When the family first bought the property, the harvest from the seven hectares of vineyards was sold to the local cooperative. After the hotel was built, Antonis had the idea of producing wine for sale in the hotel. With the assistance of the cooperative's chief winemaker Christofoulos Karamolegos and a n experienced local local vineyardist, the maiden vintage was bottled in 1995. It soon became clear that the market extended beyond the walls of the complex. In 1997, the wines achieved national distribution. Illiopoulos currently produces three traditional Santorini appellation wines: a Santorini, a barrel-aged Santorini and a Vinsanto. As dictated by tradition (and appellation), the wines consist of blends of Asyrtiko, Athiri and Aidani Aspro. Like other Santoriniote wines, they suffer little from inconsistency of vintage. We arrived at our meeting with Antonis just as Wine and Spirits magazine had reviewed two of his wines. His Santorini had earned a 91, his barrel-aged Santorini, an 88. Either achievement would have been a source of satisfaction for any Greek winemaker. For Illiopoulos, the 88 was a thorn in his side, a painful dose of reality that called his preconceptions about his own wine into question. In fact, the best barrel-aged Santorini, a highly localized premium product, will likely never appeal to the American palate. The 88 is probably as good as it gets. At age 37, Illiopoulos has plenty of time to formulate a strategy to deal with that issue. Dining room for two The wines: Santorini 2000 Asyrtiko provides 70% of the must for this wine, Athiri 20%, Aidani 10%. It is medium-bodied by Santorini standards, 13% alcohol. It is both less ripe and less full than some, a tradeoff of strength for finesse, since Aidani, which ripens after the other two varieties, is vinified earlier rather than blended later. It is a crisp wine with mineral depth. the finish just slightly suggesting its hot Aegean origins. "Oak Aged" 2000 Vedema bungalows   Aware of a national (and local) tendency towards dogmatic use of oak, Heliopoulos professes moderation and a purely aesthetic criterion for determining the amount of contact. "You don't decide beforehand how long a wine is going to spend in oak," he says, "you taste it, then you decide when it is best." This wine spends 9 months in French oak, a slightly heavy dose for the chemically sensitive Asyrtiko. In their review, Wine and Spirits, perhaps unaware of the of the strange reaction of Asyrtiko to oak, wrote, "this hasn't absorbed all the oak, and it may never, but what it lacks in togetherness it makes up in charm..." The wine is made from select, super-ripe grapes, achieving a sturdy alcohol level of 14%. The high alcohol may contribute to another consequence of oak contact, a slight yellowing that clearly distinguishes it from its stainless steel counterpart. The trick in Santorini seems to be less contact, older oak. Despite the fact that this wine has just crossed the line into oak territory, the charms are indeed obvious. It is rich, well extracted wine, with more aroma and finish than the Santorini. One advantage to its oakiness is a subtle smoky aroma. This bodes well for the quality that can be achieved in future, less oaky, efforts. Tasting room   Vinsanto 1996 In spite of the amazing quality of dry white wines on Santorini, our most memorable recollections were of Vinsanto. Every producer on the island has a distinct philosophy and product. While the practice among premium producers has been long aging, economics and natural impatience seemed destined to create shorter spans in barrel. In many cases, this would be rightly viewed as a compromise in quality. To its advantage, however, the Heliopoulos version spends a mere four years in oak. The result is a clean, modern style in which many of the best features of the raisined grapes are still identifiable. The flavor is reminiscent of tamarind, lush but fresh, and accented with tart, lemon zest. This is a very stylish wine for which we suspect there would be a considerable market in America among dessert wine aficionados. There is much stronger Vinsanto on Santorini, but at 10.5 % alcohol, this is really the traditional brew. Its moderate strength actually contributes to its exciting flavor profile and allows the tart fruit to dominate its substantial sweetness. Illiopoulos has succeeded in creating a truly exceptional version. Efforts to ratchet quality upwards will continue. Illiopoulos has no intention of increasing production. His products should be available in the U.S. soon. Even so, the pool bar at the Hotel Vedema may be the best place to sample his wines.

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