History buffs apart does anyone care if Mandilari has been grown for thousands of years in the southern Aegean islands What readers in these pages are interested in are what new and exciting they can enjoy in their glass
In a recent in depth visit to Crete I came across several unexpected suprises Searching for terroir usually ends returning to base with not much to show for This time persistence paid off Clocking 1200kms on Greeces largest in size island made it more than worthwhile In addition to the reviewed wine the discovery of a heritage terroir on a new to me topsoil is one in once in decade stuff This DNA bank is a major find The un grafted Vidianoa promising white grape is 98 years old More importantly this name place of the still largely unrealized potential of the Cretan vineyard has as a modern cosmopolitan profile It will stand anywhere Look out for future postings
It is timely to reveal a long held fascination with Mandilari My gut feeling kept telling me that something special was lurking beyond those unattractive green vegetative notes and mouth puckering drying tannic structure 7 years ago while visiting on Rhodes I got a sneak preview when then flying winemaker Angelos Iatridis was experimenting with a smaller berried clone of Mandilari for the Emery winery Iatridis analysis findings were revealing The potential was way above my empirical hunch The chief culprit for the less sexier Mandilari varietal and blends about is that it still by in large planted in the wrong place and over cropped
It took the focused team of Lyrarakis technicians to locate a potentially promising terroir The Plakoura vineyard is on sandstoney soil slope They are low yielding 17 year old bush vines Agronomist Nikos Somarakis with oenologist Myriam Abuzer are realists They both admit that it still is an ongoing struggle to unlock all of its potential in every vintage They are on to a good thing From my vantage point it has been years of patiently waiting to taste such Cretan Mandilari Bravo
Very dark red Viscous Summer herbs with a telltale Aegean vinosity Broad shouldered Attractive balancing freshness with robust mouthwatering tannic bite Seamless cask Polished Intense and demanding Best 20102018
Wine: Mandilari Plakoura vineyard Lyrarakis
Year: 2007
Link: http://www.lyrarakis.gr
Score: 16.5
Type: Red
Variety: Mandilari
Area: Crete