Orealios Gaea "San Gerasimo" Cephalonia Robola (2017) has something green on the nose mixed with hints of floral. I swear this called to mind a field of wild flowers or orange blossoms. Maybe it is a little more subtle than orange blossoms. What does a lemon blossom smell like? I don't know. The wine is crisp acidic and minerally with peach and apricot in the mix.
As it warmed up the hints of herbal greenness came out more. I also immediately thought; "This reminds me of a sea breeze." I kind of discount this because I know the wine is from an island so my imagination might be running away with me. Imagination is, of course, a good thing, even when it comes to wine. Wine should spur the imagination.
This is a wine you could sit on the back porch and drink on a summer day. It would also be a nice wine to have with Mediteranean fare. I am not just saying this because it is Greek. It would be great with Greek food but also falafel. I kept thinking I wanted something with tahini sauce.
Robola is apparently grown mostly on the island of Cephalonia. I wasn't able to find out tons about the history of the grape--aside from some "they used to think it was related to this or that but now they don't." Ribolla Gialla was the mail grape that was thought to be synonymous or related. Again , apparently it isn't.
It certainly isn't a big abberration for Greek whites. It has unique qualities but has the minerality, acidity and hints of the floral you expect. As always? If you haven't heard of Ribola? Don't be afraid of it. You can get a bottle of this particular wine for under $20.