Lyrarakis Vilana Pirovolikes White 2019
£16.50
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Lyrarakis Vilana Pirovolikes White 2019
£16.50
Description
The 30-year old vineyard “Pirovolikes" is planted with the grape variety Vilana, and is still being pruned traditionally as a bush vine. It is considered one of the most privileged vineyards in the area. The vineyard is situated at 650m, on a medium slope with rocky soil and a southeast aspect, and gives a wine of high concentration and aroma.
At a glance
Grape
Vilana
Region
Aegean Islands
Vintage
2019
ABV
12.6%
Vegan
Grape
Vilana
Vilana is Crete's most widely planted white grape, valued for the fresh, aromatic wines it produces even in the island's warm climate. Old, traditionally pruned bush vines on rocky, higher-altitude sites — like the 30-year-old Pirovolikes vineyard at 650m — are prized for giving it extra concentration and aromatic intensity.
Producer
Lyrarakis is a family winery founded in 1966 by brothers Manolis and Sotiris Lyrarakis in Alagni, a mountain village at around 440–480m in the Heraklion prefecture of Crete — a region whose 14th-century stone wine presses testify to centuries of local winemaking. The estate is best known for rescuing ancient Cretan grape varieties from the brink of extinction: Plyto and Dafni were first replanted in the family's Psarades vineyard in 1992, followed by Melissaki in 2010. Now run by the second generation, Lyrarakis converted to organic viticulture in 2020 and continues to focus on single-variety wines from Crete's own grapes — Vidiano, Vilana, Kotsifali, Mandilari and Liatiko among them — alongside its pioneering Plyto and Dafni.