Mallee Estate Káti Állo Assyrtiko 2025 Review
Santorini, by way of Renmark.
Assyrtiko is a Greek grape, best known from Santorini, and this one grows in the Riverland. Jim Markeas grafted it in honour of his parents, Peter and Eleni, who migrated from Greece in the early 1960s and bought their first block in Renmark in 1968. The family has run Mallee Estate since 1998 and, until recently, ran Eleni's Restaurant on the property, a sound use of a Greek mother and a kitchen.
Jim says it is one of only two assyrtiko plantings in Australia, so the family is still learning the variety, which is an honest thing for a winemaker to admit. The grape asks for less water than the usual Riverland varieties, a point in its favour in a region where water is a regular topic.
The 2025 has collected a swag of medals with gold at the Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show, Best Organic Wine in Show and Best Single Vineyard Wine in Show at the 2025 Riverland Wine Show, and Best Mediterranean White and Grand Champion Wine at the 2025 RASQ Australian Mediterranean Varieties Wine Show. Assyrtiko is consistently the most notable wine in the family's alternative range.
The sea breeze arrives first, as it should with this grape, then grapefruit and jasmine. The palate is dry and lean, bright with citrus and a faint toasty edge, and the acidity is chalky enough to keep everything in line. The minerals do the talking and the fruit lets them.
Serve it properly cold. The winemaker suggests fava and paximadia, seafood or chicken, and a plate of garlicky prawns would not be refused. I'd opt for a plate of fried whitebait, zucchini fritters or any amount of mezedes. At about $30 it is a fair argument for looking beyond the usual Riverland list.
The Wine Scoffer drinks on principle. No samples were solicited. Opinions are entirely their own.
RRP $30
SA | 2025 | Riverland | 12.5%
Comments