Kotsifali, an old red grape variety from Lyrarakis in Crete

Crete is by far the largest Greek Island, measuring roughly 260 km from west to east and 60 km north to south. It has no shortage of ancient native white and red grape varieties. One of those reds is the subject of this article, known as Kotsifali.

Like the other major Mediterranean islands, Crete was ruled by successive waves of empires. It finally joined the Greek state in 1913. In modern times, the island is well-known and loved by many British tourists. Indeed, I have fond memories of hitch-hiking as a student along the A90 many years ago. That’s the main northern coastal road linking the major towns of Chania, Heraklion, and Agios Nikolaos.

From that vantage, it’s easy to see that most of Crete is mountainous, with some flatter coastal areas. As these mountains run west to east, they form a natural barrier, offering some protection to the northern side from the intense heat blowing up from Africa. They also capture much-needed rainfall and even provide snowmelt.

These factors, plus abundant sunshine and the ability to plant vines at altitude, give Cretan wine growing natural advantages and various terroirs. It’s no surprise that Crete was one of the first places to develop wine culture, with evidence dating back to the Minoans of 2700 BC. Today, there are seven wine appellations, and wine quality has been improving rapidly. There’s a mix of old indigenous and newer international grape varieties. Although phylloxera finally got to Crete in 1972, there are still surviving vineyards of old ungrafted vines.

Meanwhile, one of the Island’s winery gems is the Lyrarakis Estate, at Alagni, near the main city of Heraklion. They have Kotsifali, so let’s go there.

Lyrarakis Wines

The Lyrarakis Terroir

Lyrarakis is the family that established the winery in 1966. This small estate of 8 ha (with another 8 ha of contract growers) is at 470 metres altitude at Alagni. It has long been instrumental in rescuing, saving and promoting historic Cretan grape varieties, often against the odds. Indeed, of their 11 indigenous varieties, Lyrarakis have saved three from extinction: Dafni and Plyto (white) and Melissaki (red).

There are 19 different vineyards, all small, ranging in size from a tiny 0.1ha plot to 1.5 ha. Some vineyards at over 900 metres contain ungrafted centenarian vines, which Phylloxera has never reached.

As sustainability advocates, they transitioned to organic viticulture in 2020 and have adopted Biodynamics in some of their vineyards. Moreover, they are now Regenerative. As part of this, they have stopped ploughing. Plus, their organic compost is from kitchen waste and pomace from winemaking and olive pressing.

Adapting to climate change, they have been moving vines to higher altitudes and replacing trellising with a lyre system.

But it’s not all ancient in the winery – here, solar power and modern stainless steel, including Ganimede fermenters, ensure that the natural qualities of the grapes are preserved during winemaking. Any wood maturation (or not) is according to the needs of the wine. Moreover, they also evaluate soil, pest and ecosystem management, air quality and community impact. All this is in their annually published reports.

Lyrakis also spreads its message to other Cretan winegrowers by forming the Saint Augustus group to share knowledge and experience. Theirs is an inspiring story, and they make inspiring wines.

Kotsifali

Kotsifali is the second-most planted Indigenous variety in Crete, and Lyrarakis grows just 0.4ha of it. It is grown almost nowhere else but Crete, so it represents an authentic taste of the island. I’m told that if you want a successful Kotsifali single-variety wine, you need to manage the grapes’ tendency to produce high alcohol, low acidity, insufficient tannins, and a pale colour that can turn brown quickly.

This is why some Kotsifali wines blend in other varieties, or use wood to add tannins during ageing. In former times, that would probably be with the native Mandilaria, and more recently, it blends well with the international variety, Syrah. Indeed, Lyrarakis also make a Kotsifali/Syrah blend in addition to their single-variety wine highlighted here.

Well, at Lyrarakis, the Kotsifali vines are high up and face north-east, and old vines have restricted yields, so all that helps retain acidity and keeps the sugars (and hence the alcohol) in check. Then, pale colour and relative lack of tannins are dealt with by extraction via grape maceration and Ganimede fermenters. The risk of colour instability is from oxidation, so picking in early morning and pressing under CO₂ helps address this.

Hence, in skilful hands, Kotsifali can make a delicious, balanced and original single-variety wine, as we shall now see.

The Wine

Lyrarakis, “Red Queen” Kotsifali, PGI Crete, 2001. 13%

Admire the label, pull the cork, and pour. In the glass, this is an attractive, bright mid-ruby colour, showing no signs of browning or paleness. And this is from the hot 2001 vintage, so no worries there. As this red wine has aromatic qualities, it’s worth lingering here. Certainly, there’s red cherry and strawberry perfumes, with a darker savoury undertow, perhaps olive, or bay leaf, or both.

Moving on, the palate offers a delightful balance between moderate alcohol, smooth light tannins and enough fresh acidity. These three elements carry the fruit effortlessly with a slippery texture. The flavour is predominantly sour cherry, leavened with a little complexity from black pepper, garrigue-ish herbs and a satisfyingly dry savoury finish.

All-in-all, a red wine of real distinction and precision, and one that effortlessly displays its sense of place. It’s drinking at peak now and will do so for another couple of years.

Food-wise, if I wrote drink with Kleftiko, Kofta or Moussaka, you’d accuse me of cliché. Drink with Kleftiko, Kofta or Moussaka! Other Mediterranean dishes, from tomato-based pasta and meatballs to a Middle-Eastern Meze, will work brilliantly too.

Superb value, at UK independent merchants including Stainton Wines, Kendal £15.95, Woodwinters £14.00, Cambridge Wine Merchants, £15.50, and Hic! £14.75.

And Finally

I’ll be exploring more wines from Lyrarakis, so watch this space!

Location

Lyrarakis wines
Arkalochori
70300, Alagni
Heraklion
Crete
Greece

P.S.: Lyrarakis also has a shop in Heraklion if you can’t visit the winery.