Standing on high vineyards to my right postcardperfect snowcovered Lefka Ori 2300m To my left the Cretan sea shimmering with reflections of platinum winter light As far as the eye can reach rolling hillsides covered with olive trees vines and maquis Natures sketch rendered in pointillism The entrance to the impressive Manousakis Winery lies hidden by the darkgreen foliage of orange trees This bucolic tranquillity made me think of wine tourism on Crete Focus should shift to the winter period This has now received a welcome boost with lowseason weekly flights from Norway Interestingly our modernday Viking visitors overwhelmingly prefer red to white wine
Beyond the Rhone Ranger grape mix on this estate there is another connection to the valley in the South of France Laurence Fraud of Domaine du Pegau at ChteauneufduPape has been advisor and good friend to longstanding manager Kostis Galanis It was after a visit to Chteauneuf that I realized that with Mourvdre farming needs to achieve phenolic ripeness His son Yiannis Galanis appreciates the contribution of the Mourvdre spine to the Nostos SMG blend Why Rhne Well sun and windhardy grapes was the thing to do in the 1990s as phylloxera had devastated the historic vineyards in the 1970s and 80s One of the winerys specialties paleskinned Romeiko more suited to sundried aged dessert wines The no longer produced OSTRIA by the defunct Kissamos Coop was one of the finest of its kind The wine was caskaged overlooking a bay Think of an IsleofSkye distillery on a westernCrete lapislazuli cove
Back to the present Though the oldest of the Manousakis vineyards date from the early 1990s the recently completed winery has clearly played a role in hoisting the wines up a notch Noted new arrivals are a vertical press and large wooden uprights In tasting 2014s and 2015s there is a lighter touch a softer riper bright fruit expression More eloquent and precise
Nostos an archaic word for the journey back to ones roots is a metaphorical template on their labels Alexandra Manousakis was born in the US After a career in real estate she moved to the place of her father Teds origins the charming village of Vatolakkos inland from Chania Urbane Alexandra is one of the islands winetourism pioneers She developed cellardoor sales From these visitors several export markets have sprung Alexandra also met her husband Afsvin Molavi a Swede of Iranian origin Both have brought a broader vision and new energies the complete label makeover and further marketing synergies smartly packaged olive oil and handgathered sea salt
Their latest creation is a clear grape spirit from another Rhne grape Roussanne Molavi who studied food science in Sweden has also worked as a sommelier His investments include partnerships in highend coffee houses and Salis a restaurant on the Venetian harbour of Chania His cosmopolitan wine list includes Spanish pearls such as Mencia from Bierzo
On many fronts Crete continues to change Thankfully little remains of the state of play on my earlier visits Now a growing number of richly diverse wines and their stories command international attention gaining deserving traction on the world stage Herein lies a unique opportunity Whoever packages Cretes culinary landscape and takes it to the world will have a terrific success story on their hands large as the birth of a Supernova
Fragrant floral aromatics and spice Elegant fruit concentration balanced by textured tannins Pervading vivacity offers lift Longscented juicy finish Fine vinosity The most varietytrue effort to date Decanting recommended Best 20162022
Wine: Manousakis Winery Nostos Syrah
Year: 2014
Link: http://www.manousakiswinery.com
Score: 17.5
Type: Red
Variety: Syrah
Area: Crete