2025 Dom Lyrarakis Plyto Psarades (Crete)

One of my favorite discoveries in this tasting, the Lyrarakis 2025 Plyto Psarades is made from a rescue variety that was saved from extinction by the Lyrarakis family in the early 1990s. The wine offers aromas of Golden Delicious apple, white plum, semolina, sweet rose, crushed pistachio and honey cream, recalling a delicate Middle Eastern dessert. Despite its plush, mid-weight texture, Plyto retains naturally high acidity, giving the wine energy and definition alongside its chalky mineral notes. Sourced from the Psarades vineyard in Alagni at 480 meters in elevation and fermented with indigenous yeasts, this is a distinctive and thoroughly enjoyable white that is best appreciated for its freshness and aromatic charm over the next few years. Production totals 15,000 bottles. 92 points