Orivatis Old Vine Savatiano
Orivatis Old Vine Savatiano is Vasiliki Akriotou’s argument for taking one of Greece’s most underestimated grapes seriously. The fruit comes from old Savatiano vines around Plataea, at the foothills of Mount Kithairon. Here, altitude, low yields and vines reaching 40 to 60 years old give a very different version of a variety too often associated with simple, high-volume wine.
The vines are traditionally Gobelet-trained, rooted in the limestone-rich soils of the area at around 300 metres elevation. Savatiano handles the dry Central Greek climate naturally well, but old vines and restricted yields change the equation. The wine becomes broader, more concentrated and much more articulate.
A short period of skin contact is followed by cool fermentation in stainless steel and three months on the fine lees with bâtonnage. No oak. The result combines ripe peach, quince and grapefruit with ginger, herbs and a subtle savoury edge. Textured rather than heavy, fresh rather than sharp. A very useful introduction to what serious Savatiano can actually do.
| Vintage | 2024 |
|---|---|
| Type | Dry White |
| Unit Size | 75cl |
| Country | Greece |
| Region | Central Greece, Sterea Ellada |
| Primary Appellation | PGI Slopes of Kithaironas |
| Plot Size / Plot Elevation | Plataea, foothills of Mount Kithairon, approx. 300 m |
| Soil | Limestone-rich soils with clay and loam |
| Age of vines | 40-60 years |
| Farming | Traditional Gobelet-trained old vines, low yields |
| Varieties | 100% Savatiano |
| Fermentation | 6 hours cold skin contact, followed by fermentation with selected yeasts at 14°C in stainless steel |
| Aging | 3 months on fine lees in stainless steel with bâtonnage |
| Tags | Indigenous Variety, Old Vines, High Altitude, Vegan, No Oak |
| Alcohol | 12% |
| Cork / Screw Cap | Screw Cap |
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The producer
Greek varieties come with baggage. Some are famous. Some are misunderstood. Others barely register outside the places where they grow. Vasiliki Akriotou approaches them without much interest in those old hierarchies.
Founded in 2015 after decades of work as an oenologist, Akriotou Microwinery is built around small-scale vinification and the idea that each grape deserves the right place and the right treatment. Savatiano is central to that story, particularly the old vines around Mount Kithairon, but it is not the whole story. Assyrtiko, Malagouzia, Aidani and rarer Greek varieties all form part of a wider exploration of what contemporary Greek wine can be when reputation stops dictating the result … Read more
