Stamatis Mylonas: Savatiano That Ages Well

I tasted Stamatis Mylonas’s 2016 Gran Reserva Savatiano during our recording, before it had even been released. Two and a half years in new French oak, then more than five in bottle. It was mineral, dry and still fresh, with acidity that stayed remarkably high. I had never tasted a white wine that old that was still this fresh. It comes from Attica, the region around Athens.

The Winemaker

Stamatis is the third generation at Mylonas Winery. The family has been making wine since 1917, and he says his grandfather’s grandfather was already a winemaker. His grandfather and father sold everything in bulk to tavernas in Athens and on the islands.

He studied chemistry and oenology, then took the WSET courses up to Diploma level. He took over the winery in 2000, and the first Mylonas bottling followed in 2006. According to Stamatis, they now export to more than 20 countries and make around 200,000 bottles a year.

What set him on this course were old bottles his father had kept in the cellar, from 1990, 1992 and 1995.

“After 30 years, the wines were still alive, fresh, beautiful, complex, with a huge bouquet. And they were still young. And I said, ‘Wow, this is something very, very unique.’ And I said, ‘I’m going to invest in that and I’m going to try to show the world what this grape can do.’” Stamatis Mylonas

Soil, Sea and Old Vines

Mylonas is on the mainland, on the Attica peninsula, about 35 miles south of Athens by Stamatis’s reckoning. There is sea on three sides. Summers are hot, and the sea breezes cool the vineyards.

Stamatis says the area is protected by UNESCO and that its soils are unusually rich in minerals: of the roughly 5,500 minerals known worldwide, he cites research putting 750 of them in this region. Further down the peninsula lie ancient mines where the Athenians dug for silver, and according to Stamatis that money paid for the Parthenon and the Acropolis.

The Old Bush Vines

Most of the vines are over 55 years old. Phylloxera reached the area in 1955, and everything was replanted on American rootstocks between 1955 and 1965. Mylonas still works with those plants: unirrigated bush vines with low yields.

The winery works about 35 hectares, of which 17 belong to the family; the rest comes from growers. With bush vines, almost nothing can be mechanised. The one job done by tractor is weeding, with high tractors driving over the rows, because they don’t use pesticides. Pruning, leaf removal and harvest are all by hand.

“The magic happens in the vineyard,” Stamatis says. “The roots go down to find the water, and on their way down they meet different soils, different layers. And they take out of them the characteristics, the minerals, everything which is bottled afterwards.”

Savatiano, Attica’s Grape

Savatiano has been grown in Attica since ancient times and, according to Stamatis, covers almost 80% of the region’s vineyards. Mylonas also grows Assyrtiko, Malagouzia, a little Aidani, Merlot, Agiorgitiko and Limniona.

The grape’s reputation suffered because of retsina. PDO Retsina, Stamatis explains, can only come from Attica or Viotia and is made from Savatiano, so growers sold their grapes cheaply.

He doesn’t flatter the variety. “Savatiano is a variety with high yields, it doesn’t have very high natural acidity,” he says; low to medium, in fact. Old, unirrigated vines change that, in his view: “The acidity of these wines is different from the typical Savatiano acidity. It’s higher, it’s more crunchy, and it’s giving the wine a very long life.”

The Three Wines

Oenopolis sent three wines. In the recording I mentioned 15 to 20 euros a bottle in the Netherlands; check the importer for the current price of each.

1. Mylonas Savatiano 2021

The entry-level wine, from the “young” vines of around 35 years, which yield more than the older plots. It is fermented in stainless steel at low temperatures and then spends six months on its lees. Stamatis describes peach, citrus, grapefruit, melon and lime. His point is that it is still fresh after three or four years in bottle: even the entry-level wine can age, he says, and bottles from 2014 and 2015 that he opens now are still in good shape.

2. Mylonas Rosé

A blend of Savatiano, Agiorgitiko and Limniona. Stamatis mentions cherries, strawberries and watermelon, and says himself that it isn’t a complex wine. It’s made dry, with 2 to 2.5 grams of residual sugar per litre for a little roundness. An everyday bottle for salads and light food.

3. Mylonas Gran Reserva Savatiano 2016

A single-vineyard Savatiano, aged for two and a half years in new 225-litre French oak barrels, then more than five years in bottle. From the same vineyard, Mylonas released the 2008 in 2015 and held the 2011 back until 2021. The 2016 was due out in the year we recorded, eight years after harvest.

Stamatis describes huge minerality, ripe stone fruit and citrus, and oak that has almost disappeared into the wine: “It gives you this buttery feeling without being buttery.” I tasted it during our conversation and found it very mineral, dry, with some ripe fruit, the oak almost gone and the acidity still high. I only had it at one moment, at around 12°C, and Stamatis himself says it shows different aromas as it warms up.

Price and Burgundy

The Burgundy comparison is Stamatis’s own.

“Imagine going to Burgundy and buying a white wine at, let’s say, 15 to 20 euros,” he says. “You cannot find that kind of quality that you can find here in this wine with 8 years of aging in a Burgundy at that price.”

That’s the producer talking, and he has an interest in it. In the conversation I agreed with him, and at 15 to 20 euros I thought the wines were good value. I haven’t tasted them side by side with Burgundy, though.

Growers and Oak

To get growers a fair price, Stamatis set out to make wines that could travel further than the local taverna. He asked growers to green-harvest in summer, keeping yields below 50 hectolitres per hectare. Some mornings he’s out in the vineyards at six o’clock, pruning alongside them. “So they see that I respect what they do,” he says.

In the cellar he uses stainless steel, 225- and 500-litre French barrels, and for one wine four 1,500-litre casks. Many of the barrels are eight to ten years old.

“The terroir, the grape variety and the hard work at the vineyard should be the main character in the wine,” Stamatis says. Oak can help a wine mature, he believes, but it shouldn’t dominate. He’s thinking of buying foudres of 2,000 litres or more.

Great Greek Wines

Three Mylonas wines are on the Great Greek Wines list curated by Yiannis Karakasis MW: the Savatiano 2021, the Savatiano Old Vines from vines over 60 years old, and the 2016 Gran Reserva. That list is how I found Mylonas, and how I found Oenopolis, who import the wines into the Netherlands.

“Whoever nowadays is interested in Greek wines will go to this list,” Stamatis says. The wines, he explains, are tasted by Masters of Wine and other people from the trade, and Karakasis takes them to cities such as Paris to show sommeliers and importers.

The Future, According to Stamatis

“The future is the indigenous grape varieties,” Stamatis says. “Imagine that we have more than 300 indigenous grapes. People may know until now mainly Assyrtiko, Xinomavro and Moschofilero and Agiorgitiko, but now Malagouzia, Savatiano, Limniona are coming behind. So there’s much to discover.”

He thinks Greek wine suits people who drink less but better and who want something new for their money. I recognise that: Greece keeps showing me grapes I didn’t know.

How to Get These Wines

In the Netherlands, Mylonas wines are imported by Oenopolis. They sell through their webshop and to restaurants, and work closely with sommeliers.

To learn more about the winery and its full range, visit Mylonas Winery.

Food Pairings

Stamatis suggested a match for each wine:

Savatiano 2021: grilled fish, octopus, calamari, prawns.

Rosé: salads and light dishes.

Savatiano Old Vines: richer dishes, such as fish with lemon sauce, or chicken.

Gran Reserva 2016: lobster and rich seafood. He says it can also stand on its own, without food.

What I Took Away

I tasted one bottle of each wine, and the stories of thirty-year-old Savatiano come from the producer himself. What I can vouch for is that the Gran Reserva was still fresh after eight years.

As I always say: drink less, but drink better. Discover something new.

Listen to the episode

Sources

• Mylonas Winery (official, Attica): mylonas-wines.gr
• Wines of Greece (EDOAO): winesofgreece.org
• New Wines of Greece: Savatiano grape: newwinesofgreece.com