DeliKreta: Greek Wines from Crete

Three white wines on a Saturday afternoon, and Amsterdam quietly becomes Crete for a moment. Boas and Lodewijk of DeliKreta.nl sent them over with a short note and one clear request: an honest review. Here it is.

The People Behind DeliKreta

Boas and Lodewijk founded DeliKreta out of a shared love for the island and its products. Boas has been coming to Crete for over 30 years — his family owns a house there. When Lodewijk joined him in the summer of 2019, he was immediately sold. The logical next step: import only the finest products from the island to the Netherlands. Crete’s culinary gems deserve a wider audience.

My tasting notes of the wines

Three whites, including one natural wine — and you know I have a soft spot for those. I’ll say upfront: all three are well made. If they weren’t, it would be here in black and white.

Theros - Plyto, Thrapsathiri (93/100)

Fresh, minimal and abstract are perfect words to describe this wine. The wine is made with two indigenous varieties, Plyto and Thrapsathiri. It is vinified in small-volume stainless steel and concrete tanks to capture the distinct characteristics of these two varieties.

The wine is medium lemon yellow and clear. It has medium-intensity aromas featuring floral, apple blossom, wet stone, apple, peach, yeast, and cheese. The taste is dry, with high acidity and medium alcohol. Its medium(+) body offers flavors of apple, peach, rosemary, thyme, laurel, and a floral hint with spices like cinnamon and cardamom. The wine’s distinct feature is its strong minerality and saltiness, which gives a sense of the sea. It has a long finish and evolves as it cools and breathes in the glass.

More information and order this wine yourself: https://www.delikreta.nl/collections/kreta-wijnen/products/theros-dry-white-wine-plyto-thrapsathiri

Mikros Taraxias – Little Troublemaker, Vidiano (92/100)

Words like lovely, surprising, and structured come to mind when describing this wine. It’s a natural wine made from the Vidiano grape, wild fermented, unrefined, and unfiltered, which gives it a cloudy and wild appearance.

The wine has a cloudy yellow to amber color. On the nose, it’s full-bodied and intense with notes of lemon, lime zest, bergamot, nectarine, dried peach, dried apricot, floral notes, acacia, fresh green herbs, dried rosemary, and a touch of hazelnuts, almond, and marzipan. The palate reveals a surprising structure thanks to its four days of skin contact, which also imparts some tannins. The taste is dry, intense of fresh and dried fruit, lemon, lime, bergamot, peach, balsamic, and hazelnuts are complemented by medium (+) acidity, low tannins, a full body, medium alcohol, and a long finish. This wine is enjoyable on its own, but it pairs even better with food, especially dishes with dried green herbs and garlic.

More information and order this wine yourself: https://www.delikreta.nl/products/little-trouble-maker-vidiano-natural-wine

Douloufakis - Aspros Lagos 2022 (90/100)

Familiar yet unknown, that’s how I would describe this wine. The initial aromas remind me of Sauvignon Blanc, with hints of Pinot Gris and oaked Chardonnay. However, this wine is none of those. It’s made with Vidiano, the same grape as the little troublemaker in the previous review.

The wine is medium-intense lemon-yellow. The medium-intensity aroma mixes green apple, ripe red apple, pear, peach, nectarine, melon, lemon, lime, flowers, wet stone, acacia, vanilla, and dried herbs. The dry palate is full-bodied, with intense flavors of apple, citrus, peach, vanilla, acacia, and apple blossom. It has medium (+) acidity, medium alcohol, and a medium finish.

Five months on oak add just the right depth. Familiar yet its own thing — a wine that will appeal to many and pairs well with snacks.

More information and order this wine yourself: https://www.delikreta.nl/products/douloufakis-aspros-lagos-white

Conclusion

All three bottles held up. The Cretan terroir — clay, limestone, sand, chalk — comes through in every glass. My tasting notes are a guide, not a verdict; the wine chooses you as much as you choose it. Wines from Crete are worth your attention, and DeliKreta carries far more than these three bottles.

Boas and Lodewijk, thank you for the bottles and the introduction to Crete.

Visit DeliKreta: www.delikreta.nl