Gordias Nana Narince
I grew up in a small town where I attended an even smaller school. While I did not enjoy great popularity, neither did I sit at the bottom of the social totem pole. What I did have was a place with the oddballs. I dressed differently than the other kids. In middle school I started reading fortunes. At one point I think I spoke with a (bad) British accent. I was…imaginative with information. I did my own thing.
Being fiercely dedicated to individualism in such a small town was not always easy. Especially as I neither played a sport nor had a popular friend to use as social cover. However, I have never regretted being the kid everyone else thought of as “weird”. In college when people went off to “find themselves” I rolled my eyes at them and scoffed. It may have me taken until my mid 30s to decide what I wanted to be when I grew up (having realized pretty early that my planned career as a pirate probably wasn’t going to work out); I have always known who I am.
Dare to Be Different
I dislike comparing Turkish grapes to better-known international varieties. However, I do understand why people compare Narince to Chardonnay. Like the more famous white grape, Narince displays a greatly flexible character. While its native home is the Tokat district in the Black Sea region, those who cultivate the grape across the country have found that it has the ability to reflect the terroir wherever it is planted.
Narince can produce wines that reflect aromas inherent to the grape itself, such as orange, grapefruit, lime, white pineapple, quince, floral, plumeria, acacia, fruit blossom, basil, ripe green apple, and walnut. It also lends itself well to winemaker manipulation and can go from clean and steely to round, full, and creamy with flavors of vanilla, caramel, and toasted nuts when ages sur lie and/or in oak barrels.
While varietal Narince wines abound, it is also a great blending grape and can be found partnered with both other native Turkish varieties and international grapes.
Turkey’s Narince grape is a little like my school. On one side: delicate and floral. On the other: vanilla and nutty. And every once in a while, between the two styles, appears something both out of the ordinary, and extraordinary.
Gordias Nana Narince 2017 Tasting Notes
Gerimli’s Nana line is new for her. Previously she produced Narince under her eponymous label, Gordias. Like many winemakers in Turkey, Gerimli does not cultivate her own Narince (although I believe she’s working on it). Rather she sources her grapes from the Erbaa district of Tokat; the home of Narince. I’ve drunk a lot of Narince over the last few years but the Gordias Nana Narince remains the most unusual. From its tarnished gold color to the oily texture it’s like nothing else.
A stunning nose reveals a fruit cocktail of pear, guava, and dried apricots swirling around with perfumed, white roses and orange blossom. While it has only 13.5% ABV, the wine verges on full-bodied. From what I remember of our conversation, Gerimli likes sweet things and I wonder if perhaps she chaptalized this. The wine is fully dry, but has a weight and texture similar to the viscosity often displayed by sweet wines. Full and round in the mouth with a slightly oily but fresh texture. Flavors largely reflect the aromas on the nose with luscious peach and flowers.
Unfortunately not one of the easiest wines to find commercially, the Gordias Nana Narince is probably my favorite Narince to date.