The 2012 Terra Kalecik Karası
I have found it!! I have found my hands down favorite vintner for Kalecik Karası. This is the second winner from Terra, the first being the Narince I reviewed some weeks ago. I’m not entirely surprised how good this was though. While price is not always a sign of quality, as anyone who has ever bought wine at Trader Joe’s knows, it’s not not a factor. The Terra Kalecik Karası is a little bit on the “pricier” side running about 35TL ($17-ish) a bottle. It’s worth it.
I’ve been fooled by a nice nose before so the overwhelming (in a good way) berry/cherry that I was smelling in the Terra Kalecik Karası
made me both very hopeful and yet cautious at the same time. Happily this time I was not disappointed. The flavor was similarly in a good way overwhelming in its berriness; most notably raspberry.
In addition to the pleasing berryness, the 2012 Terra Kalecik Karası was very smooth and needed little to no airing. Kalecik Karası wines are usually on the softer, medium bodied side and go well with tomato-based dishes. This one paired very well the Turkish mezzes I had: haydari, dolma, and sasksuma.
I also was indulging in some içki köfte. The flavor of the köfte was actually a little too strong for the Terra but I bring up these particular köfte because if you can, you need to get your hands on some.
İçki köfte are ground (likely) beef mixed with the Lord only knows what spices and walnuts. They’re then breaded and likes fried? They’re fabulous cold, heavenly baked, and may the good Lord bless the folks at Carrefour Turkey and their catering section for always having them around. They’re not cheap in store or restaurant, but totally worth it.