Öküzgözü Şarapçılık Phokaia Foça Karası
Rıfat Şekerdil, owner and winemaker of Öküzgözü Şarapçılık, has been a fixture in central Izmir since his father opened a small winery in the Bornova area of Izmir when Şekerdil was a child. It was while making wine in Bornova that he became curious about the little-known Foça Karası grape. Foça Karası, which literally means “black from Foça” is from the nearby town of the same name.
He started with just a few rows of the grape planted alongside Cabernet Sauvignon. When Şekerdil began experimenting with it, no one else was using it to make wine* so he had no idea what to expect. He soon realized that this medium small, thick-skinned, spicy berry made pretty fantastic wine full of tart fruit and spice flavors. In the ensuing years he’s grafted more Foça Karası onto what were Cabernet vines.
Previously, I reviewed Öküzgözü Şarapçılık’s Phokaia Foça Karası Merlot. At the time, Öküzgözü Şarapçılık used its Foça Karası only in blends. However, since then, the winery has released a limited 100% Foça Karası wine.
Foça Karası or Fokiano?
Foça Karası is produced in tiny quantities in Turkey. So tiny in fact that Öküzgözü Şarapçılık the sole vigneron making a varietal wine with it. Although even at that the winery managed only 650 bottles in 2017. The grape is slightly more well-known however, in Greece. Yes, Greece. Turkey and Greece share a number of grapes (more than grapes really but I’m not opening that can of worms). Known there as Fokiano, it is cultivated on the islands of Samos, Ikaria, in the Cyclades, the Dodecanese, and Peloponnese. They say that Ikaria’s Pramnios oenos, touted by Homer, was produced from this variety.
Lipsi Winery (on the Aegean island Lipsi) uses it in several dry rosés and a vin santo style sweet wine. Tsantiris Winery (on Ilkaria) uses it in a blanc de noirs, a rosé, several red blends, and a varietal red. I learned about these two wineries and Fokiano at the 2019 Oenorama in Athens. My friend M and I spent two days hunting out wine from grapes we’d never heard of and Fokiano was one of them. It was while talking to Lipsi Winery that I realized Fokiano and Foça Karası were one and the same!
So what does a 100% (Turkish) Foça Karası taste like? Let’s find out!
Öküzgözü Şarapçılık Phokaia Foça Karası 2017 Tasting Notes
The Öküzgözü Şarapçılık Phokaia Foça Karası spent nine months aging in French barrique. So we may not get the pure grape flavor but perhaps we’re getting something even better.
More opaque than not garnet on the pour, a wealth of rich aromas rose from the glass. Mashed strawberries, prune, black currant leaf, dill, black pepper, and liquorice mingled in a seductive perfume. Sipping revealed additional flavors of sour cherry, tart fruit, and cloves.
Medium-bodied with moderate alcohol (13.8% abv), somewhat shy tannins, and vivid acidity.
I might be biased because I just love all these “new” Turkish grapes that are coming out on the market, but I think this is a pretty special wine. I really hope that Öküzgözü Şarapçılık keeps up its efforts with Foça Karası and that we’ll see more than 650 for the 2018 vintage!