Wine Arcana

Grape

Mandilaria

Also known as Mandilari

Mandilaria is a dark-skinned Greek wine grape associated with Crete and the Aegean islands. Its deep colour, firm tannin, and pronounced acidity can accompany relatively modest alcohol and body. That combination explains its usefulness in blends: it can give grip and freshness to a partner that supplies more weight.

Mandilari is a familiar name on Crete. There, its established partner is Kotsifali, whose softer texture and fuller fruit complement Mandilaria's structure. The pairing is associated with Peza and Archanes.

Ripening and structure

Mandilaria ripens late, and crop management matters. Alexakis describes a vigorous, productive vine whose tannin maturity can suffer when yields are too high. The producer also identifies susceptibility to downy mildew and grey rot. Vineyard conditions therefore affect whether waiting for riper tannins is practical, as well as how much fruit the vine can carry.

Dark colour is a poor guide to either alcoholic strength or drinking readiness. With Mandilaria, a deeply coloured wine can still feel lean and firm. Blending can change that balance, while careful maceration—the contact between juice and grape solids—helps determine how much additional tannin reaches the wine.

Contemporary Cretan expressions

Varietal bottlings show how growers and winemakers handle the grape without a softer blending partner. Lyrarakis's Plakoura 2021 came from an upland vineyard at about 500 metres. The producer reports seven days of fermentation and maceration below 27°C specifically to limit extraction, followed by maturation in new and used oak.1. Lyrarakis, “Mandilari Plakoura 2021,” vineyard and winemaking record. The short extraction is a useful part of the example: concentration in the fruit does not require prolonged contact with the skins.

Lyrarakis also documents a varietal Mandilari rosé from central Crete. These two wines demonstrate different uses for the same grape, from a fresh pink wine to a structured red with oak maturation. Alongside the traditional Kotsifali blend, they make cellar choices central to understanding present-day Mandilaria.

Beyond Crete, Alexakis records the grape on Santorini, Paros, and Rhodes.

Sources