Digenakis Aerikos white: when wine aromas brings you back to childhood
Cretan terroir is an amazing emotional playland where you can sometimes catch very special and intense feelings. So is Digenakis winery Aeriko, white wine. One day, walking trough the vineyards in Melisses area, my thoughts where slowly sliding towards childhood and holidays. The unique aromas of rocky soils hardly hit by this pervasive cretan sun bring me back to south France, in the oriental Pyrenees. Summer family walks on the stony paths leading to the cathar castles.
In the middle of dry herbs aromas burned by the heat, standing alone on the rocks, the old sentinel of Queribus was chiseling the blue sky with his massive rounded tower. We sat for a while, stucked with the view, taking out of our backpack some white peaches bought in the morning on a local traditional market. Roughed up by the heat, the fruit proved to reveal his best, juicy and fruity like never.
Wine is memory
Wine professionals are right when they say that aromas and flavors are memories. When i first tasted Aeriko white from Digenakis, a fresh and delicate wine, with golden greenish tints, this white peach sensation came back straight.
Above all, more than this white peach, it was the feeling i had at the end, when reaching the peach stone, when the acidulous notes of the fruits were enhanced by some wild nature notes. This first sensation slowly moved to wild dry herbs like thyme, bay leaves, rosmary, with subtile hints of vanilla and oak. In conclusion, it’s a very surprising blend for a very surprising wine, full of character.
Wine in a few words
Varieties: The Sauvignon Blanc and the local grape variety, Daphni, are participating in a captivating and original conversation
PGI Protected geographical indication
Dafni is grown in oak barrel for 3 months, then Sauvignon blanc and Dafni are blended in equal parts
Aromas: white peach stone, peach, lemon, botanical and herbal notes, bay leave, rosemary
Best served at 9°-10° C
Price: around 10 euros