The Massandra wines have a distinct place in Santomas archive collection, one of the most precious wine collections in the world. Years ago, sommelier Igor Jakomin has revealed the incredible story of vintage wines from Crimean peninsula:

"The most renowned city in the Crimean peninsula is Yalta, situated on the far south of the Russian empire on the Black sea. Nearby the summer residence of tsar Nicholas II., the "White palace" of Livadia was situated, where the Yalta conference attended by Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill took place in February 1945. During the conference president Churchill resided in Alupka Palace, built by the powerful and mighty Count Mihael Vorontsov, governor of Crimea and Bessarabia.

As the originator of regulated viniculture in Crimea, Vorontsov imported the vines and established the first vineyard with Sémillon, Aligoté, Pedro Ximenez and Cabernet Sauvignon. Delighted with initial success and favourable wines (vinificated much like Porto, Madeira of Spain in Spanish Jerez de la Frontera), tsar Nicholas ordered the construction of his own cellar.

Thus, seven three-level tunnels for storing the barrels and wine bottles were excavated in the period from 1894 to 1897. The tunnels with their constant air temperature between 13 - 14°C and 90 – 95% humidity provide year-round perfect conditions for the maturing of wines. The barrels, made of oak trees growing nearby, are about 20 to 40 years old at present, some even 100 or more years.

The Massandra vineyards stretch on a narrow, about 70 km long piece of land at 70 to 150 m above sea level, between Crimean mountains and the Black sea. The climate is almost subtropical, providing high sugar contents over 35%.
With the strong suport of his cellarmaster (maître de chai) since 1898, Alexander Aleksandrovich Jegorov, the first cellar manager prince Golitzin devoted himself to developing vintage wines. Despite his noble origin, Jegorov survived the revolution of 1917 presiding the Massandra until 1936, walling up the tunnels in the dark revolutionary years until 1929 and saving the precious wines. When the Red army stormed the Crimea, the cellar remained intact. In 1922 Stalin ordered storage of all the wines from the Tsar's palaces in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Livadia in Massandra and allowed wine growing in the Crimean peninsula again. The lack of wines of 1920s serves as a proof of those turbulent times. A.A Jegorov was greatly helped by his daughter Tatyana and son Dimitry, who was unfortunately executed in 1937.

In 1941, only 14 days prior to German occupation of Crimea on November 8th, A.A. Jegorov secured the wines again. Carefully numbered, all the bottles were hidden in an unknown location and brought back to Massandra at the end of 1944, continuing the tradition of Massandra also during the Yalta conference.

Presently, the Massandra is managed by Alexander's grandson Yuriy Legorov, selling about 13 million bottles of younger wines, mostly in the Eastern European markets.
Today, the Massandra wine collection is estimated to 3 million bottles, including the wines from other wine regions, i.e. Jerez de la Frontera 1775."

Muscat white Livadia 1905
In Crimea, the Muscat has been present 200 years, but the concentrated Muscat was quite a novelty. The grapes were harvested at a very late time of year, reaching the equvivalent of sugar contents for dry grape selection (TBA). The grapes were then submitted to a very long fementation of 36-48 hours and punched every six hours. Finally, with distilled grapes the wine was thickened, very much like the essence in Tokay.

Intense and thick caramel colour.
Perfect, intense and full grape scent with notes of orange and lemon skin, traces of white fruit, extremely rich and long aromas.
Full body, intense honey notes, confirming lemon peel, almost syruppy consistency, sweet caramel notes, still perfect harmonious acidity, intense and long aftertaste of lime honey. Very sweet.

Description: Igor Jakomin, sommelier

Madeira No. 8, 1915
Perfect amber colour with tawny reflections, intense and clean, almost brilliant.
Intense sweet notes, herbs, caramel, burned sugar, dry figs, almonds, bitter black cholocate, beautifully integrated acetone, fading away after 5 minutes of airing.
Full body, caramel taste, herbs, bitter oranges, cholocate and salt mineral notes, beautifully incorporated, intesive, long elegant aftertaste.
Perfect Madeira.

Description: Igor Jakomin, sommelier

Tokay Ai-Danil, 1923
Bright, shiny, clear, intense caramel colour, amber tone.
Exceptional fragrances of candied fruits, mature jam fruit, traces of herbs, ripe and dry grapes, extremely beautifully balanced evaporable alcohol.
Full body, fine and elegant structure, candied fruit again, fine notes of alchohol and beautiful balance. Proper Tokay acidity, long, intense sweet wane of ripe fruit.
Excellent Tokay.

Description: Igor Jakomin, sommelier