2009 Barbare Elegance
Everything you need to know about the 2009 Barbare Elegance is right in the name: elegant. Barbare is a top-shelf, organic wine producer here in Turkey; I’ve only had two of their wines so far but they were both amazing.
Of the two, the Barbare Elegance is my favorite. A blend of Syrah, Grenache, and Mourvédre, this gorgeous red wine will set you back a pretty penny; about 89 TL at Macro Center, 140 TL at Solera, and somewhere in between at La Cave.
I brought this over to M’s a while back and we both swooned over it. The nose, reflective of the Barbare Elegance ‘s color is very dark. I got a lot of leather, tobacco and coffee from this. We had almost no fruit in the nose but what I did get was dark and black fruits.
The palate of the Barbare Elegance was stunning: gorgeous, velvety tannins, mouth-watering acid, and a long, smooth finish. Like the nose, the palate was driven more by oak than by the fruit with dominating flavors of leather, vanilla, sweet spices, burnt sugar, and clove.
At 14.5% APV, this is a big wine in more than just flavor. The 2009 Barbare Elegance is one of those bottles you splurge on for either a special occasion, or to make a special occasion. It might be a little rich for some pocketbooks but you will not regret getting it.