The setting for many Greek myths, Crete has been steeped in mystery and magic for thousands of years. In the same way, Cretan wines have long hovered around sommeliers’ imaginations as some of the most storied and fascinating wines in the world. Today’s organically grown red blend perfectly captures that: It’s a brilliant introduction to the indigenous grapes Kotsifali and Mandilaria, as well as Crete’s 4,000 years of winemaking history.

Drinking Domaine Paterianakis means discovering a lost winemaking heritage through the lens of one of Greece’s most dynamic young producers. The third generation of the Paterianaki family, sisters Emmanouela and Nicky craft each wine with the intention of sharing the terroir of their native island with the world’s most discerning drinkers. This bottle of 2018 “Melissokipos” positively vibrates with energy and pride, driven by a light, juicy frame and spicy red fruit that captures the drinker’s attention from the very first sip. Although it’s hard to properly explain, it’s undeniably foreign yet immediately familiar—a wine that triggers the radar of sommeliers who guzzle cool, crunchy reds from the likes of Cru Beaujolais, Ribeira Sacra, Sicily, and Austria. It’s the perfect wine for the summer grilling we’re all daydreaming about, and a wonderful way to acquaint yourself with this mystical island of gods, legends...and delicious wines. 

While most wine lovers have yet to discover Cretan wine, their wine culture is among the oldest in all of Europe. This 3,200-square-mile island was producing and trading amphoras of red and white wine back in the fourth millennium B.C.! Crete’s wines were drunk as far as Egypt, a celebratory staple on the tables of the Roman empire. 

In recent times, devastating periods of political upheaval have slowed their vinous momentum, but Domaine Paterianakis is one of several ambitious, young producers bringing Cretan wine back into the conversation. And the thing is, once you begin talking about these wines it’s impossible to stop. The same goes for drinking them! Crete’s younger generation is experimenting with indigenous varieties, improving traditional methods with a sprinkling of modern winemaking. 

Domaine Paterianakis isn’t shy about their ambitions to bring Cretan wine to the world. Their restless, questing spirit dates back 50 years to grandfather Georgios, an engineer and outspoken pioneer of organic winemaking. He founded the domaine on biodynamic practices at a time when most producers on the island described his manure and cover-cropping as symptoms of insanity. Today, the winery is run by his two granddaughters Emmanouela and Nicky Paterianaki. They’ve revived long-lost indigenous varieties, pioneered new blends, replanted vineyards, and modernized the winery with state-of-the-art equipment. Their winery’s success is the island’s success, and every bottle of Paterianakis brings a little of Crete’s magic to the wider world. 

Since Crete is the southernmost Greek island, it’s also the warmest. At about 650 meters above sea level, the Paterianakis vineyards enjoy the tension between hot, sun-drenched days and cool, salty, evening winds whipped off the Aegean Sea. Vines are dry-farmed and planted in limestone and sandy loam striped with clay. Kotsifali and Mandilaria are both indigenous varieties; growing and blending them together is a traditional practice. The Paterianakis team eschews all chemical fertilizers, synthetic herbicides, and pesticides, and follows in the footsteps of old Georgios whose highest mandate was the vibrance of the surrounding ecosystem. The wine is aged in used oak barrels to accentuate the varieties’ natural spiciness. 

And oh, how delightful those spices become after half an hour in a decanter! They’re fantastically sweet and rich on the nose—allspice, cinnamon, and toasted caraway—but the palate remains fresh, woodsy, and refreshingly dry/crisp with fine-grained, well-integrated tannins. The palate is stuffed with flavors of crunchy raspberry, black cherries, plum, soy sauce, and cedarwood, accented by the lightest tickle of toasted vanilla bean on the finish. It’s soft and easy to drink, fantastically nimble for food pairings (lamb is always a must for me, here), and will continue to develop charm and depth over the next several years. While this might be your first visit to Crete, “Melissokipos” will convince you to stay.