The 2012 Suvla Blend
I was in the Suvla shop the other day looking for gifts for friends moving here. I thought they should have some nice wine before the harsh realities of the overall wine situation here came crashing down on them. The shop recommended the 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc (at I think 28TL) Suvla blend and since I hadn’t tried it yet myself I got one for them and one for me; and am so glad I did.
The pretty garnet red (and the fact that this came from Suvla) gave me high hopes for what was to come. Now, I must warn you, I am about to wax tipsily poetic. It could get a little hairy.
It was actually a little while before I even tasted this one I was so caught up in the nose. The Suvla blend…smelled like the dark. Spicy, pepper, blackberry. When I closed my eyes and inhaled I could see wisps of deep, dark purple make their way from the glass to wrap my brain in their smooth tendrils.
Then I tasted it and promptly fell down the rabbit hole. The description on the bottle of the wine’s silky tannins and long finish are not wrong, but they are slightly inaccurate. “Silky tannins and long finish” don’t in any way describe the reality of what it’s like to swallow rich silk that tastes of nicely balanced spices and fruit.
The more I drank the Suvla blend the more romantic and slightly ridiculous my descriptions became. It didn’t help that I was chatting with both Lauren and my friend LT who rather egged me on. After I compared the drinking experience to being cocooned in silk that’s so dark red it’s almost black LT declared herself deeply jealous that she can’t drink red wine. Everyone who can’t drink this wine should be jealous.
One of my Christmas gifts from Lauren was a giant brick of chocolate. Called, Brix, this chocolate is specifically for wine tasting purposes which is pretty darn cool. The extra dark, 70% cacao version she got for me apparently pairs well with Cabernets so I pulled some out to go with the Suvla blend. I think for the first time in a few years of wine and chocolate pairing I would say that the wine actually did more 
for the chocolate than vice versa; and it was darn good chocolate before I paired it with the wine. On the wine side though, the chocolate actually took away from the feelings of the smooth tannins and we know how much I love a tannin.
Before I knew what had happened I was 2/3 of the way into the bottle. It just seemed silly to leave that last glass undrunk. And the wine was just so smooth I was fairly sure I could drink the entire bottle and not get a red wine hangover. Sadly lost that bet. But I have to say that it was the easiest red wine hangover I’ve ever had. An ice pack, some water, and aspirin chased away the headache pretty quickly.
In case you couldn’t tell; I loved this Suvla blend. A lot. So much so that I would dare to say it’s the best near 30TL Turkish wine available here. Whatever I buy during my next foray to the Suvla shop, I’m pretty sure another bottle of this will be part of the purchase.
Go forth, my readers, and drink Suvla!