The largest Greek island, Crete, has an ancient winemaking tradition that dates at least as far back as the powerful Minoan civilization. It’s very likely that Odysseus himself enjoyed some Cretan wine. But the golden age of island wine is actually right now, and today’s discovery from a pioneering family domaine perfectly demonstrates why that’s the case. The 2018 “Estate Red” from Paterianakis positively vibrates with energy and pride, driven by a deep, soulful 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—it’s a wine that has the same balance of silky fruit, savory earth, and beguiling perfume that begs comparison to Nebbiolo or Etna Rosso, but with a touch of old-school Rioja too. It’s the perfect wine for all types of occasions, 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 more recent times, devastating periods of political upheaval have slowed this beautiful, rugged island’s vinous momentum, but Domaine Paterianakis is one of several ambitious, young producers that are laboring–successfully–to make Cretan wine world class once again. 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 a combination of new and used French oak barrels to accentuate the varieties’ natural spiciness. 

And oh, how delightful those spices become after about 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 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. At six years of age and counting it’s already softening up and very easy to love, though it has plenty of backbone to age gracefully for another decade. It’s also 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, the super talented team at Paterianakis will convince you to stay!