Lyrarakis Micro Batches: Crete in small, revealing lots

Through rare Cretan varieties, old vineyards and small lot winemaking, Lyrarakis Micro Batches offer one of the most revealing readings of Crete’s modern wine potential.

Βy Yiannis Karakasis MW

There is a very honest line in the way producer Bartholomew Lyrarakis describes the Micro Batches. These are the wines, he says, that they “could not, and perhaps did not want to, hold back.” That sentence opens the door to the whole project.

Lyrarakis has been one of the most trusted names behind the modern revival of Cretan varieties, from Dafni and Plyto to Melissaki, Thrapsathiri, Vidiano and Liatiko. Their work helped bring grapes, once treated as marginal, into serious modern discussion. The Micro Batches add a more personal and experimental chapter to that story. Smaller lots, older vines, unusual sites, rare varieties and freer winemaking decisions become a way of asking what Crete can still reveal.

Bartholomew describes the starting point as a moment of excitement. Something in the raw material makes the team pause. It may be the personality of a grape, the energy of a site, the age of the vines, or a combination that feels too specific to disappear into a broader wine. At that point the decision becomes simple: follow it and see where it leads.