2012 Diren Öküzgözü Boğazkere
A few weeks ago I hosted a Turkish wine tasting for some colleagues. We tried eight different wines, some I’ve had before myself, some I haven’t.The four whites were: Corvus Kavga, Pamukkale Sultaniye dry, Pamukkale Savignon Blanc, and Ancyra Muscat. The reds were: Pamukkale Trio, Ayra Kalecik Karasi/Bogazkere, Diren Karmen, and the 2012 Diren Öküzgözü Boğazkere.
Of the wines I haven’t reviewed yet, I probably will not create them for the Corvus Kavga or the Pamukkale Savignon Blanc. They were not winners for me. The Corvus was far too dry and the Sauvignon Blanc too far left on the zesty lime-flowery peach scale for me. We will however talk about the two reds. So let’s get started with the Diren Öküzgözü Boğazkere!
2012 Diren Öküzgözü Boğazkere Tasting Notes
The 2012 Diren Öküzgözü Boğazkere had a nice plummy purple color that only let a little light through right at the top. The nose was nicely spicy with cherries. That’s kind of where it all fell apart for me though. Light to medium tannins, medium dry, it felt nice on the tongue and I got a little hint of the pepper, cherries, and red berries but my number one note: watery. I couldn’t get over it; how “watery” it tasted! It was like they filled 1/3 of the bottle with wine then topped off the rest with water. This is definitely not a wine I would drink on its own.
For all its faults, I will say that it went well with my dinner. I had a spicy pasta dish and some strong goat cheese. According to the wine label it’s also supposed to go well with meat but I’m not positive it could hold up to all meats. Maybe a kebap, especially something spicy like an Adana…but don’t pull this one out if you’re going with a good steak.
We’ll do the Diren Karmen next week. And spoiler: it was much better!