Corvus Malbec Reserve 2013
Together with Talay, Amadeus, and Çamlıbağ, Corvus is one of Turkey’s Aegean region wineries located on the island of Bozcaada.
Corvus came about in 2002. Like many winery owners in Turkey, this was a second career for founder Reşit Söley who moved to Bozcaada to open his winery. He named it Corvus, which is Latin for “crow” because of the vast amount of crows that also make the island their home.
Söley makes wine from a variety of both international and indigenous grapes. In addition to Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, the winery also cultivates the island varieties Çavus, Vasilaki, Kuntra, and Karalahana. Corvus buys in fruit from other island growers and also brings in grapes from other regions of Turkey. Their Öküzgözü, Boğazkere, and Emir wines are made not with grapes grown on the island but sourced from vineyards in the traditional vineyards in Elazığ, Diyarbakır, and Cappadocia respectively.
The Island of Bozcaada
Known by both its Turkish name Bozcaada and its Greek name Tenedos, the island sits in the northeastern part of the Aegean Sea and is the third largest Turkish island after Marmara Island and Gökçeada. As Tenedos, it is mentioned in both the Iliad and the Aeneid, in the latter as the site where the Greeks hid their fleet near the end of the Trojan War in order to trick the Trojans into believing the war was over and into taking the Trojan Horse within their city walls.
Wine has been made on this small island for centuries and in classical antiquity wine production was linked with the cult of Dionysus, while grapes were also depicted in the local currency.
But Back to Corvus!
Most of the Corvus’ vineyards are situated on the southern hillsides (Yerebakan Mevkii) of the island, and overall they cover an area of 62 acres (25 hectares). If you’re on the island you can also take advantage of their restaurant and shop: Corvus Wine and Bite which is on the winery property.
Luckily you don’t have to go all the way to Bozcaada to get Coruvs wine though. This is an extremely popular brand and is available in most high-end grocery stores and wine shops.
Corvus Malbec Reserve 2013 Tasting Notes
The term ‘reserve’ has no legal meaning in Turkey. However Corvus took a lot of care making this wine and it earned the description: a long fermentation, eight months in Italian botti, limited filtration, and some additional bottle ageing before release.
After all that, as you might expect, this Malbec does not fool around. At 14.5% alcohol it has a body as big as its personality. The nose is deep and luxurious offering aromas of sugar plum, sweet tobacco, baking spices, and cola. Powerful and velvety, the palate shows a lot of tannin and acid but balances cleanly. It does drink a little on the sweet side with lots of plum, cola, and milk chocolate flavors but is, unmistakably, Malbec.