"Nostos" Romeiko, Manousakis - 2023

Romeiko is a black skinned grape native to Crete that had been all but forgotten about until recently, as a small group of quality minded producers (mainly centered in the western Chania region of the island) have been reviving the grape with fantastic dry table wines. This wine from Manousakis - one of the very best wineries in all of Greece - is a Romeiko done in a "blanc de noir" style, pressing the juice off the skins immediately so as to not retain color or tannin from the skins. The results are wonderful and unexpected. Instead of the berried fruit and floral aromas we might expect from a dark berry, we get a symphony of lemon (verbena, jasmine, pith, oil) and tamed acidity for easy going, white leisure suit-style refreshment.