The Various Personalities of Turkish Narince
Narince is perhaps the most ubiquitous of the native white Turkish vitis vinifera. Its native home is in the alluvial soils of the Black Sea region, specifically Tokat; but it is cultivated across Turkey including in the Aegean and Thracian regions. Winemakers are using Narince for everything from still white to traditional method sparkling wines and even skin contact amber. What is it though that makes this grape so great?
Meet Narince
A somewhat late ripening berry, Narince is harvested in the second half of September, which provides a unique challenge to many winemakers. Third party growers rather than wineries own the vast majority of Narince vineyards in Tokat. They sell the grapes to winemakers and the leaves to other companies. Stuffed grape leaves (sarma) are made not only traditionally but almost exclusively with the leaves from Narince grapes. Unfortunately, the leaves reach peak ripeness and get harvested long before grapes leaving them exposed to risks of disease and sun and wind burn.
These large, oval, yellowish-green, bronze-tinted berries grow in large conical clusters with one or two shoulders. A thin-skinned grape, the name Narince, which translates as “delicately” in Turkish, describes both the grape itself and its aroma profile. Typical aromas for Narince include orange, grapefruit, lime, white pineapple, quince, floral, plumeria, acacia, fruit blossom, basil, ripe green apple, and walnut.
Narince is a flexible grape that can be made into a variety of styles from aromatic and steely when aged in stainless steel to complex and creamy with flavors of vanilla, caramel, and toasted nuts when aged in oak. It is also a great blending grape and can often be found in Turkey blended with other native varieties, namely Emir, and international varieties. Narince-Chardonnay blends are quite popular and producer Chamlija even blends is with Viognier.
The naked Narince
The 2016 Diren Collection Narince many might consider to be the purest form of Narince. Diren is the only winery in Turkey that not only grows its Narince in its home of Tokat but also has its winery there. This advantage absolutely comes through in Diren’s wine. Bright citrus fruits, grapefruit, lemon peel, and pith jumped out of the wine. The palate was clean and linear with punchy acid, flint, orange, and white flowers. Especially taking into consideration that Diren’s is the most moderately priced Narince on the market, this was not only a fantastic intro to Narince but one heck of a wine.
Like Diren, Turasan’s is a great entry to Narince. While the winery has vineyards located in Tokat, it produces the wine in its Cappadocia winery. Turasan manages to somehow keep the grapes fresh for the long truck journey resulting in clean and bright wines. Also due to its general affordability, I’ve drunk several vintages of this which has been educational in how climate affects this grape. The 2016 Turasan Narince possessed a very clean nose with bright citrus, lemon, and white flowers shot through with a streak of stony mineral. Crisp, mouthwatering acid, crunchy green apples, pineapple, and mineral lead into a medium finish. Medium bodied with 12.5% abv.
2018 was a much warmer year in Tokat which has been reflected in all the Narince wines sourced from those vineyards. Everyone’s wines gained alcohol (Turasan’s going up to 13.5%) and took on warmer fruit flavors compared to the citrus and mineral of previous years. Aromas and flavors of plumeria, juicy summer peaches and nectarine, and 
a rounder, silkier mouthfeel showed a very different side 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 revealed a fruit cocktail of pear, guava, and dried apricots swirling around with perfumed, white roses and orange blossom. While only 13.5% ABV, the wine verged on full-bodied. From what I remember of our conversation, Gerimli likes sweet things and I wonder if perhaps she chaptalized this. While a fully dry wine it had the 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 reflected the aromas on the nose with luscious peach and flowers.
I first tasted Mediterranean winery Likya’s 2017 Narince at one of the few wine expos we have here in Istanbul and could not wait to get my hands on a bottle. A first Narince bottling for this winery it was pure triumph. Star bright pale lemon in the glass unfolding aromas of lemon curd and crisp green apple. Higher alcohol (14%) than I like my Narince but beautifully balanced, this Narince complimented a round creamy mouthfeel with some crunchy acid and flavors of lemon curd, mineral, and freesia. Paired pretty well with coconut eggplant curry!
Like Likya’s, Chamlija’s 2016 Narince also reached 14% abv. Chamlija’s deftness of winemaking achieved balance despite the high alcohol and showcased the winery’s distinctive terroir. A light pretty lemon color, the wine showed off Narince’s flint, lemon, pineapple, and white flower aromas. Clean and linear on the palate, so much so I could practically taste the quartz in soils accompanied by bright lemon oil, perfumed flowers, and bitter almond.
Vinkara’s Doruk Narince was a straw yellow with aromas of rich peach, orange-blossom, and something herbal and sage-adjacent making for a full and ripe bouquet. While the benefits of sur lie ageing were apparent in the creamy texture and medium body, the wine in no way traded its acid for that creaminess. Zippy acid up front carried flavors of peach and pineapple into a lovely, persistently round and silky finish.
While Arcadia’s Odrysia was all delicate florals don’t let that fool you! At 13.5% abv this still had plenty of power. Before bottling, Arcadia put the Odrysia through only a limited filtration process. As a result the wine maintained its full aromas. The nose was very floral with perfumed plumeria floating above citrus, mineral, and quince. Lively mouthwatering acid encouraged the flavors to leap off your tongue. Citrus, lemon peel, plumeria, and yellow apple liberally flecked with minerals; like a lemon syllabub graced with a sprinkle of fleur de sal.
Hello vanilla…when Narince meets oak
I’ve also had a few vintages of the Vinolus Narince because I can’t resist it when I see it. Oluş makes her Narince with organic grapes from her high altitude, Kayseri-based vineyards. After spending nine months in lightly toasted French oak the wine developed a deeper straw gold color than its 
fresher, unaoked cousins. The 2015 revealed lots of flinty, grey smokey aromas (thank you volcanic soils!), citrus, and white flowers. Soft citrus and florals on the palate compliment white stone fruit and vanilla bean ice cream flavors. Creamy and round in the mouth with a touch of creme fraiche on the finish, this medium-bodied 13% abv wine remains one of the most delightful oaked Narinces I’ve had.
The 2017 (warmer year than 2015) had slightly more alcohol at 13.5%. So much more fruit this year with aromas of baked yellow apples, pears, and toasted hazelnuts. A combination of fresh, crunchy apples and baked golden delicious apples combined with flavors of quince and grilled pineapple, apple blossom, hints of nutmeg, and nut.
For Arda’s first Reserve Narince vintage (2016), stainless steel aged wine was blended, two parts to one, with wine that aged for eight months in lightly toasted French oak. The result was stunning. In the glass the wine resembled a Riesling with its distinctive, star-bright, silvery straw color. The nose displayed some of the characteristic aromas of Narince including citrus, quince, and white flowers with the added kick of…blue cheese? Yes. I thought I was going a little crazy but I wasn’t the only one picking up that particular aroma. Arda’s Reserve Narince surprised me with its citrussy and prickly acid. One of those wines I like to call ‘dangerously delicious’. Flavors of, again blue cheese, orange peel, and flowers it was a fantastic and far too easy to drink wine.
Arda changed its style for the 2017 vintage. 50% barrel fermented then aged for four months in oak resulted in a very different wine than the 2016. More 
buttery and vanilla with a rounder mouth that left a heft and dare I say, flabbiness. I loved the 2016 but the 2017 sadly not so much.
Unlike the eponymous Turasan wines which are fresh and aged in stainless steel, the winery’s Seneler line has all seen oak ageing. Including the Narince. The 2016 Seneler with 13.6% abv aged nine months in French oak giving it an intense lemony yellow color. Slightly burned, from the box vanilla cake and caramelized yellow apples followed through to the palate, where burnt sugar favors warred with harsh acidity. 
Pamukkale’s 2013 Nodus Narince spent six months in new French oak with daily battonage before an additional, whopping, 14 months ageing in oak. It was a very pretty color, a nice medium intense gold. Speaking of intense…the nose. Burnt sugar and creme bruleé, toasted nuts, baked quince, and raisin. Despite the overwhelming vanilla on the nose, the palate had a balance I did not expect. Some nice acid around the sides of the tongue helped cut through the butter while baked fruits and (yet more) vanilla filled out the flavors. Medium plus body with 13% abv that felt surprisingly not creamy despite the battonage leading to a a medium finish of toffee nuts.
Narince’s sparkling personality
Arcadia has recently debuted a limited bottle of a new sparkling wine with Narince, Nareen. Only available at the winery itself (which is a two hour drive and I don’t have a car) so I was thrilled that they brought it to the Kök Köken Toprak, Anatolian Heritage Grapes symposium. Flavors so clean they were almost sharp. Citrus and mineral with almond flowers and snappy, citrussy acid. Topped off with a mouthful of frothy mousse dancing every bit as joyfully as I did while drinking it. Just so beautiful.
A little sexy skin contact
We are back to Chamlija with its first amber wine made from Narince that went through three weeks of open top whole bunch fermentation with native yeasts. Twice daily pigeage by foot removing any need for pumps and three months aging in stainless steel. Chamlija’s motto for this limited bottling (600 bottles) was: “Nothing added or removed”. Indeed there was no filtration, fining, or added sulfites to this. Faintly fruity on the nose, reminiscent of apple cider. Good tannic structure, lively acidity, juicy apples, and a grapey finish make this an interesting experiment from Chamlija.