Aóri

Aóri

GRAPE WRANGLER/S:
Emilios Andrei & Dimitris Skouras
LOCATED IN:
Chania, White Mountains, Crete
LAND HELD:
20 stremmata
HOW HIGH:
750m - 850m
TERROIR TYPE:
black schist over shale
GRAPES GROWN:
kotsifali, muscat of spina
PRACTICE IS:
low-intervention
YEARLY BOTTLES:
13000

Aori (Αόρι) is rooted in the mountains of western Crete.  Founded in 2021 by former sommelier Aimilios Andrei and winemaker Dimitris Skouras after Andrei was searching the hills around Spina, on the mountainous coast southwest of Chania, and found both rare Kotsifali vines and a parcel of 100-year-old, ungrafted Muscat of Spina, a local clone of Muscat à Petits Grains, growing densely on schist over slate. At 750 to 850 metres, the vineyards are far cooler than you would expect in the Mediterranean. They are farmed organically, by hand, with no ploughing. In the cellar the approach is gentle, adding/manipulating as little as possible so the wines stay precise and clear and in a few short years Aori has both bolstered the reputation of the island and elevated Kotsifali to new heights.

THEIR WINES