The 2011 Diren Karmen
The 2011 Diren Karmen was by far, in my opinion, the best of the reds that we tested at the wine tasting I hosted. From the makers of last week’s water Okuzgozu/Bogazkere, the Diren Karmen was a nice come back and puts Diren wines back on the map for me. From the deep ruby color to the tanniny and berry finish this one was a winner for me.
The promise of red fruits and spice on the nose did not let me down this time. Medium tannins, nice but not overly dry, juicy cherries and red berries with spices that went all the way through the flavor. This is going to sound weird…but the Diren Karmen did that thing red wines do where it kind of burns as it’s going down. Like good McDonald’s* Coke. I’m sure there’s a better way to describe that! I’ve always rather liked a wine that did though.
A blend of Okuzgozu, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Bogazkere; the Diren Karmen was a nice, medium bodied wine for a reasonable price (I think 23-25TL) and I’ll definitely circulate it through my collection again!
Side note: you definitely want to drink this within two days of opening the bottle. I opened it a couple days ago and have hit the ‘been open too long to still be good’ point. Now it tastes like raisins. Shudder.