Domaine Sigalas Santorini Mavrotragano 2023
£62.75
The wine
Deep ruby red. Expressive and well balanced between red fruit and oak, with cherry to the fore.
Mavrotragano is a Santorini red that came within a handful of vines of extinction, revived from the 1990s and now the island most sought-after red. The name means black and crunchy. Santorini is a volcanic caldera with almost no rainfall, and the vines are trained in *kouloura*, coiled into low baskets on the ground so the fruit sits protected inside from the wind and the sun, with moisture drawn from sea mist. The island was never reached by phylloxera, so the vines are ungrafted and some root systems are centuries old.
The producer
Domaine Sigalas
View all Domaine Sigalas winesOn the volcanic island of Santorini, Domaine Sigalas is one of Greece most celebrated estates. Farming ancient vines trained in the island distinctive basket shape, it captures the raw energy of this dramatic Aegean terroir. Sigalas has done much to bring Greek wine to the world attention.
The vineyards grow on black volcanic soil, without rain for much of the year, giving wines of extraordinary intensity and minerality. Careful, modern winemaking preserves the fruit purity and the searing freshness that defines Santorini. These are wines of real character.
Assyrtiko is the star, a white grape of thrilling acidity and saline depth, alongside rare local varieties and the red Mavrotragano. Each bottling is a vivid expression of volcano and sea.
To pour a Sigalas wine is to taste the Aegean at its most electric. Mineral, saline, and gloriously distinctive, these are wines for the curious and the connoisseur alike.
