"Nostos" Muscat of Spina, Manousakis - 2023

The chaos and complexity of it all, this wine is Greece. Bright, textured, and intensely aromatic. Authentically Greek (herbal, grassy, saline) but verifiably international (this is one of the endless mutations of Muscat Blanc from France). A sort of paradox in the glass, the ripe fruit flavors and floral aromatics suggest sweetness but is totally dry on the palate with a Mediterranean saltiness that makes you wonder why there was so much Greek tragedy but so little comedy. It's more like an absurdist play, then. It shouldn’t work, but it does. Finishing a bottle is like getting out of an airport taxi in a new country, a delightful ride through a weird storm in which neither person speaks a language native to them. The traffic in Athens really is bad.