Sclavos Robola of Cephalonia 'Vino di Sasso' 2022

Now that Santorini Assyrtiko is not the little-known fine wine bargain it once was, Greek wine aficionados are having to look elsewhere for the next great thing. Happily, the beautiful island of Cephalonia has its own unique, top quality grape variety - Robola.

Like other great grape varieties, Robola produces fine wine only from superior sites. The Sclavos family’s Vino di Sasso (wine of the stone) comes from a single vineyard in one of the best areas of the Robola of Cephalonia PDO. The vineyard is on limestone soils, 700m up the slopes of Mount Ainos, planted mostly with ungrafted bush vines that are around 30 years old. Farming is certified organic and biodynamic, giving fruit of exceptional quality, and the winemaking is kept simple. Fermentation takes place in tank with wild yeasts, and the wine is bottled unfiltered with a very low sulphur addition.

The result is a mouth-watering wine with aromas of citrus and pear. On the palate, a core of stony minerality runs right through the wine, giving it a long, saline finish. Delicious now, this wine also ages like Chablis, and should become increasingly complex up to ten years from vintage.