A Mozaik of Colors in Urla
One of the wineries making up the Urla Bağ Yolu, Mozaik Winery sits in a place of idyllic, pastoral heaven. Vineyards run alongside paddocks keeping pace with the racing horses that are raised next to the winery. Trees dot rolling hills providing shade for grape and horse alike while airy stables dwarf the small onsite tasting room. Everything looks so calm and easy that at first glance you would think that the vineyards, winery, and stables simply appeared. However, it was hard work and passion that built everything.
Planting the Seeds of a Dream
In 2006 Ali and Melis Emin founded Mozaik Winery’s vineyards and the Mahrem label in the Urla area of Turkey’s Izmir province. Much like in Turkey’s Thrace, Urla is home to diverse macro and microclimates that make it ideal for cultivating a wide variety of grapes. After carefully considering the geography and history of the region and in consultation with Italian agronomists Ali and Melis decided to focus on black grape varieties, many of which have never been attempted in Turkey. They grow Syrah, Sangiovese, Corinto, Montepulciano, Petit Verdot, Tannat, Marselan, Ekigaïna, and Rebo.
At Mozaik Winery they grow their vines organically with little to no manipulation. In the vineyards they treat the vines carefully, tailoring trellising and pruning techniques to each grape. Dry farming is key here.
Equal care is taken in the winery where Mozaik’s winemakers continue the practice of minimal intervention. Wines are aged an average of 18 months in third or forth use oak, never new oak. Here they place more emphasis on bottle ageing.
Patience really is the name of the game at Mozaik. When Istanbites and I had the chance to sit down with Ali he explained to us they wanted to make sure everything was done correctly to 
produce unique, quality wines. They began planting their vineyards in 2006 and made the first harvest in 2010. However, they only released the 2010 vintage in 2014. Slow and steady has really won the race for Mozaik Winery. The Mahrem wines are multi award winners in international competitions. The 2012 Syrah was nominated as one of the 50 wines to drink in 2016.
Ali kindly opened his whole line for us when Istanbites and I visited. His wines are not the easiest to find in Istanbul so it was a real treat to try them all with him. The Mahrem line includes only one blend, the Petit Verdot-Rebo. All the others are single varietal wines. While the emphasis is on red wines, we were treated to two others, a rosé and a blanc de noir. Both made with Sangiovese.
Sangiovese has always been one of those grapes with which I have an uneven relationship. Give me Vino Nobile di Montepulciano or Brunello any day. Chianti-no. Chianti is not my wine. Several wineries in Turkey cultivate Sangiovese. It’s not the most popular grape here but it’s also not difficult to find. Personally, Mozaik’s Mahrem Sangiovese is the best. In fact, Turkish or Italian it’s one of the best I’ve had in a long time.
Mahrem Sangiovese 2011 Tasting Notes:
I love wines that are a bit on the challenging side and that’s what this one was. The nose was very aromatic, interesting, and really made 
me work for my tasting notes. It had a kind of “come at me, I dare you” attitude. The very earthy bouquet displayed for more secondary and tertiary aromas with dusty tea leaves, tobacco, dried oregano, dried rose petals, spice, meat, and black fruits. Once I finally stopped trying to drown myself in the aromas my initial impression was one of bracing acidity followed by medium tannins. Red fruit flavors with underlying roasted game meat and earth. Truly an exceptional wine.
Mahrem Sangiovese Rosé 2011 Tasting Notes:
Mozaik does not produce this wine anymore. Ali said that he was just never very happy with it so he pulled everything shortly after releasing it and he hasn’t made anymore since. I think the man is a little crazy. For a rosé detractor like me to fall all over herself for this…maybe it should have stayed on the shelf. This was a 2011 and seven years later when I got my taste buds on it the wine was still fantastic.
I have no pictures of this one. Either I was so distracted by how good they were or deliberately did not take pictures because the bottles had no label. So you’ll have to take my word that this one was a dark, dark pink color. The aromas were intense. Smashed summer berries, bruised rose petals, crushed dried herbs, and hints of burnt sugar. High acid on the palate but not unpleasantly so. I didn’t get it in the nose but on the palate I could tell that the
wine was only barely on this side of good. It had developed some cheesey flavors but only so far as to make the berries and roses more interesting. I don’t think this would have lasted much longer.
Mahrem Sangiovese Blanc de Noir 2017 Tasting Notes:
While you might not be able to buy the rosé anymore, the blanc de noir is a new, soon to be released wine from Mozaik. Pale lemon and clear despite the lack of microfiltration, this wine is a bright color in the glass. The nose in the blanc de noir lacked the character of either the red or the rosé; faint but with fruity and floral aromas. Again showing Sangiovese’s characteristic high acid on the palate the wine was fresh and fruity with a mineral and lemon pith finish.