Nostos - a yearning to come home. Cretan Wine.

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to @manousakis_winery in Crete, July this year (2024).

I wanted to share the two wines we tried and purchased afterwards. They were so lush!

This is such a lovely family orientated winery, and it's got lovely vibes all round. Ted Manousakis, the owner and founder of Manousakis Winery, left Crete with his family when he was 11 to America, and came back at a later age to bring prosperity to the lands in Crete.

I just adore the name of these bottles of wine. ❤️ Nostos is the greek meaning of “yearning to come home” and this propelled Ted Manousakis to voyage back to his land of birth, and in time set up this special winery.

Since 1993, they have been planting vineyards at elevations of 350m to 650 meters above sea level. And in terms of wine making, they utilise organic techniques. You'll see from the reel coming that the fermentation tanks or wooden vessels are smaller than commercial wineries.

The UK distributors are @maltbyandgreek, should you wish to locate these! I know I'll be checking them out!

*Notos Roussane 2023 (Roussane is normally a french Rhone grape). White Wine, Crete 🇬🇷

In this case it's spent 7 months in French oak barrels.

👃 ripe white peaches 🍑, melon 🍈, honeysuckle, aromatic dried flowers, butter 🧈 and vanilla.

👅 Pretty much all the above haha 😆 and it really reminds me of a sunny climate Chardonnay! Which was why I couldn't resist this!! Probably the aromatics are what separate it from a Chardonnay in this case.

*Notos Blend 2019 (red wine), Crete 🇬🇷.

Nostos Blend blend consists of Syrah, Mourvedre, Grenache Rouge and Roussanne. Syrah is vinified in oak tanks, while the others are vinified in stainless steel. After the fermentation, the wine ages in French (75%) and American barrels (25%), for about 10 months.

👃Raspberry, plum, blueberry, sour cherry and black berry. Vanilla and violet. Liquorice too!

👅 As above, but with a few more spicy tertiary notes! It's absolutely bloody lovely, and complex.

And I cannot wait to open them both! (Confessions…now only one left since I wrote this post!).