Crete’s new growers embrace ancient varieties
Anyone who has holidayed on the island of Crete will have discovered its wonderful feta cheese, fruits and olive oil – and a small collection of modern Cretan wines which are now among some of Greece’s finest.
Greece’s largest island has a long vinous history, as far back as 5000 BC when ancient Persians and Arians planted vines. Vineyards were abandoned when a tsunami in 1450 BC devastated Cretan vines, when nearby Santorini island erupted, but later the Minoans revived them and Romans continued with cultivation. By medieval times, the island was famous throughout Europe for its sweet malvasia-based Malmsey wine.
The phylloxera louse arrived late on Crete in the 20th century, devastating vineyards as recently as the 1970s, so some winemakers abandoned vines or replanted with international grapes like sauvignon blanc or merlot to cater for the tourist trade. But now the Cretans are realising their island’s own vinous potential is in quality wines made from old native grapes.
The pace of change here is slow in its four wine PDOS (appellations) but a handful of wineries are making the most of the limestone soils and Mediterranean climate. It might sound like an idyllic place to make wine; but summer days can be intensely hot and like other Greek islands, shelter is at a premium with winds blowing across the Aegean.
What makes Crete exciting is its indigenous grapes, many of which have been recently rescued from extinction by Crete’s new winemakers. About 70 per cent of Crete’s wines are white and are their best, thanks to interesting native grapes like dafni, vidiano, plyto and thrapsathiri. The best known of these is white dafni, which owes its name to the bay tree as it shares similar botanical aromas.
The revival of these ancient grapes is largely due to one man, Bart Lyrarakis of Domaine Lyrarakis, who is passionate about Crete’s wine history. He is one of those changing the face of Cretan wines, establishing his own winery in 1966 south of Heraklion city in the Peza wine appellation and bottling his own wine from 1992.
Lyrarakis has revived the 14th century stone presses in his vineyards as he believes they make the best wines. These date from the time the Venetians owned the island, which they called Candia, from 1205-1669. At that time the malvasia grape was well known across Europe, so this is one of the grapes Lyrarakis focuses on.
He has rescued and rehabilitated the laurelscented dafni and herbal citric flavoured plyto grapes, which grow well on his high altitude vineyards over 500 metres on the mountain slopes of Alagni.
Lyrarakis is not the only winery to sell its wines abroad. The wines of Zacharias Diamantakis, who focuses on the aromatic white vidiano grape, are also worth seeking out. He plants in very high altitude vineyards over 500 metres in the north east of the island where his family own 26 acres of vineyards.
Dessert wines have been made here since ancient times, so in keeping with tradition, Lyrarakis also makes a wonderful sweet wine using ancient sun-drying techniques from a blend of malvasia, plyto, vidiano, vilana and dafni grapes, matured in oak for 12 months. With a moderate alcohol of just 11.5 per cent it is a charming, honeyed, apricot delight. Sadly, this Cretan sweet triumph has proved so popular, having won the Best Greek regional wine trophy at Decanter’s World Wine Awards, that their UK importers Berry Bros & Rudd have currently sold out, but watch for more of this wonderful wine arriving soon.
Drywhite Dafni Psarades Vineyard 2015 Domaine Lyrarakis
Herb and floral aromas with distinct pine undertones, very zesty citric fruit with a tropical fruit note palate from a single vineyard in the Heraklion hills.
£10, Marks & Spencer
Ocean Thrapsathiri 2015 Idaia winery
The thrapsathiri grape was formerly used to make sweet wine, but now makes perfumed crisp whites with a rich soft palate, from vineyards in Vererato in northern Heraklion. £14, www.wineandthevine.co.uk; £16, www.spiritedwines.co.uk
Dafni 2016 Domaine Lyrarakis
Herby and piney with an interesting ginger spice note and rich textured fruits.
£12.50, Berry Bros & Rudd, www.bbr.com
Assyrtiko Voila 2016 Domaine Lyrarakis
Assyrtiko is better known on nearby Santorini island, but Crete grows a few vines of its own. A very attractive fresh style with grapefruity flavours and minerally undertones from eastern Crete.
£7.19/£11.99, Majestic Wine; Berry Bros & Rudd
Red Okto Red 2013 Domaine Lyrarakis
The depth of colour and firm tannins of Crete’s best red grape, mandilaria, is softened with spicier lower acid kotsifali. Crete’s appellations stipulate that these two native grapes are blended together to create the best cuvée – and here syrah adds gamey plummy notes. ■
£11.95, Berry Bros & Rudd, www.bbr.com