1999 Kotsifali and Mandilari, Domaine Paterianakis, Crete ($29)
Kotsifali is Crete’s main red variety…and it ages magnificently. This astonishing wine is still purple-garnet, with slight brick at the rim. It is fragrant with subtle Port-y aromas, medium-rich on the palate, gentle on the finish…all informed by an earthy sense of maturity. In a blind tasting, you might call it an aged, well-behaved Amarone!” -David Rosengarten
“Crete is a wonderful wine-growing island…that doesn’t get nearly enough attention internationally! Domaine Paterianakis—located in Crete’s prime wine-growing region, Peza, just south of the capital city Heraklion—is one of my favorite wineries on this enchanted, very gastronomic isle. I met the winemaker, Emmanuela Paterianakis, about five years ago…and realized that, not only is she making terrific wine today…but she is sitting on stocks of older Cretan red made by her father!
