One of the greatest thrills for us is when we get to sample wines from varieties we've never tasted or producers we've never heard of. On even rarer occassions, we taste a wine that inspires us to dig deeper into a region. Today's offer fits all of the above criteria!
Aori Winery is in the Southern Greek island of Crete. Despite Greece's enormous influence on wine and wine culture, its regions and indigenous grapes are far from being household names. We recently sampled the wines in today's 2 pack offer and were instantly enamored with them. But before we share Aori's remarkable story, let's revisit Crete's rich history.
Crete's winemaking tradition is ancient, dating back to the Bronze Age Minoan civilization 2700 BC. The island was a prominent exporter of wine across the Mediterranean, and under Venetian rule in the Middle Ages, Cretan Malvasia wines were highly sought after throughout Europe. Despite major setbacks caused by colonization, phylloxera, and war, Greek wine as a whole experienced a major leap in quality towards the late 20th century. Today, the modern Cretan wine industry is thriving with a focus on its unique indigenous varieties. Furthermore, there is now an appellation system in place that act as useful compasses when navigating Greece's unique wines.
The word Aori means "mountain" in the local Cretan dialect, a fitting name for a winery that is driven by high-altitude, remote vineyards in western Crete. Founded in 2021 by former sommelier Aimilios Andrei and winemaker Dimitris Skouras, Aori is dedicated to minimal-intervention winemaking and local indigenous varietals.
Andrei's journey began with a remarkable discovery while pheasant hunting near the village of Spina: a forgotten parcel of ungrafted Muscat vines at 2,780 feet above sea level. Despite his initial skepticism about the aromatic grape, he recognized the exceptional quality of the old, densely planted vines and schist soil. This discovery led to the establishment of Aori, and a mission to create site-expressive wines using old vines, high altitude, and restrained winemaking. They employ a low-intervention approach that prioritizes respect for the vineyard's ecosystem and a "less is more" philosophy in the cellar, ultimately allowing the unique qualities of the mountainside site and indigenous grapes to be the star of the show.
2023 Aori, Muscat of Spina - This s an outstanding example of the winery's philosophy. On the palate, it delivers a complex array of flavors, including notes of lemon, peach, apricot, and floral hints, balanced by a vibrant minerality and persistent salinity. The winemakers' minimal-intervention approach allows the unique character of the old vines and schist-driven terroir to shine through, resulting in a vibrant, intense, and remarkably focused wine. Its high acidity gives it a refreshing and mineral-driven character not often associated with other strains of Muscat.
2022 Aori, Kotsifali - This Kotsifali instantly seduces with highly aromatic notes of red cherry and wild strawberry, contrasted by a stony minerality with a touch of floral tones. With a silky texture and minimal fine tannins, this food-friendly wine offers a refined, and elegant expression of Kotsifali. While typically used in Crete as a blending grape, Aori's Kotsifali is a delicate, impactful standalone wine.
With so much captured inside of these bottles, it's hard to believe that it's produced by an estate that is just entering its 4th harvest this year. Needless to say, Aori will have a permanent space on our shelves, however, like many things worth seeking out, there is not a lot of wine available. Only 3 cases of each of these wines were introduced to the Portland market last week. We can't recommend this 2 pack enough!
-Sergio