Thrapsathiri, Ocean, Idaia Winery 2024
Decanter 89
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Why this wine
Thrapsathiri is barely grown outside Crete, and Idaia's version makes the case for it: floral lift and a spicy, savoury middle without weight. Vineyards at 400 to 500 metres and a wide day-to-night temperature swing keep it taut where the variety can turn broad. A real step beyond Assyrtiko for anyone working through Greek whites.
At a glance
- Grape
- Thrapsathiri
- Region
- Crete, Greece
- Alcohol
- 12.70%
- Body
- Medium
- Acidity
- High
- Sweetness
- Dry
- Drink
- Drink now (1-3 yrs)
- Pairs with
- Seafood, Poultry & Pork, Salads
How it tastes
Delicate floral aromas open onto a generous, gently spicy palate with savoury hints of liquorice and pine. Medium-bodied and fully dry at 12.7%, with bright acidity and a saline, mineral finish. Thrapsathiri 100%.
The producer
Idaia Winery is a boutique family estate at Venerato, a village among the vineyards of the Malevizi district of Crete, run by the oenologist couple Vasilis Laderos and Calliope Volitaki, who specialise in indigenous Cretan varieties. The Thrapsathiri grows at Dafnes on calcium-rich clay soils between 400 and 500 metres, where cool Aegean breezes and nights falling to 15°C preserve the natural acidity of a richly aromatic variety, and the low-yielding vines are trained by the Royat method. After inspection the fruit was held for 24 hours at very low temperature, destemmed and cold-macerated for about six hours; the free-run juice was drawn off unpressed, cold-settled, and fermented in stainless steel at 15°C with yeasts chosen to lift the variety's aromatics.
Food and drinking
Serve at 8–10°C. Good with grilled sea bass, prawns with garlic and lemon, a Greek salad with proper feta, or roast chicken and herbs. Best over the next two to three years, while the aromatics are at their freshest, and no decanting is needed. Sealed with a technical cork. Suitable for vegetarians and vegans.