Reserve Vintages from Büyülübağ
Last October Istanbites and I finally made it to Avşa island to visit Alp Törüner and his winery Büyülübağ. A lovely island in the Sea of Marmara, Avşa’s population skyrockets in the summer. So we thought we would be really clever by waiting to visit until autumn. But 
September then October came and went until we were scrambling to book a fare on one of the last boats to the island before winter. Scramble we did though and, while it took forever to find one still open, we had a hotel booking, boat tickets, and were ready to go.
Adventures on Avşa
Despite being so far into fall we really were creeping up onto winter, the weather on the island was beautiful. Sunny and warm. Which we especially appreciated as we tried to locate our hotel, where again, we had a confirmed reservation, only to find it was closed and shuttered for the season. You can imagine the consternation. Luckily, this is Turkey. One young gentleman, noticing our distress, offered to help us find a place. In fact he said he’d love to host us at his hotel. Alas, it also was already closed. He did though bring us to a perfectly decent, if barely open, place right near the ferry. There was no hot water and the electricity seemed to be on only on our floor. But it was clean and we had a bed for the night!
That small crisis solved, we met up with Törüner at the Büyülübağ store in the town center before heading off to visit his winery. A wonderful host, Törüner fed us lunch and wine before giving us the full tour. We’re hoping to make it back, COVID-19 permitting, this year while everything is still green and open!
Aside from our time with Törüner at the winery, and hanging out with island cats on the beach, one of my favorite parts about our visit was the Büyülübağ store. I’ve complained many times about how difficult it is to find older wines in Turkey. There are a lot of reasons I won’t get into now for this, but it is a problem. The Büyülübağ shop was a gold mine for older vintages of the winery’s reserve wines. I bought a fair few. And yes, 2006, 2008, and 2012 vintages are not particularly “aged” by Old World (and yes okay even New World) measurements, but it’s a pretty big deal here.
Büyülübağ Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 Tasting Notes
Büyülübağ’s main vineyards are on the island which is a solid granite rock sitting in the sea with decomposed granite soils. However, the Cabernet used for the winery’s reserve line comes from vineyards in Çeşme in the Aegean which has richer, more fertile soils and an over-all warmer climate. The reserve Cabernet ages for 12 to 16 months in new French barrels and then an average of another year in the bottle before release.
The 2006 Reserve Cabernet poured a deep garnet, showing its age a bit in the brick colored rim. The cork was not in awesome shape and broke twice while I was trying to extract it. I need an ah-so! But, oh darn, the cork was broken so I was “forced” to drink the whole bottle the night I opened it!
The wine rewarded me for letting it breathe (for about an hour) with an intense and rich bouquet of red fruits, dried fruits, cedar, and clove wrapped around a core of fresh mint. Flavors were elevated on the palate and progressed into a lingering coffee-caramel finish. Structured but plush tannins, firm acidity, and 14.5% abv combined for a full-bodied and beautifully balanced wine. Törüner takes great pride in his Cabernet and it’s easy to see why.
Büyülübağ Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 Tasting Notes
The 2008 Reserve Cabernet showed a similar garnet edging toward brick color but had a much sturdier cork. Although the fact that I didn’t break the cork opening the bottle did not mean I didn’t, once again, drink the whole bottle the night I opened it!
This I let breathe a shorter time, only half an hour, as I am a generally impatient person and really wanted to drink it. Developing aromas of purple flowers, baked black cherries, cassis, baking spices, and brown sugar, topped off with a whiff of vanilla enchanted. Baked fruit and dried fig joined chocolate and dark brown sugar on the palate. Full-bodied and weighing in at 15% abv, this vintage had all the impact of a velvet-covered fist. Powerful and opulent with finish for days.
Büyülübağ Adakarası Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 Tasting Notes
While it does not carry a ‘reserve’ label, I feel like the 2010 vintage I bought of Büyülübağ’s Adakarası Cabernet Sauvignon blend slides right in here. Adakarası, which means ‘black of the island’ is a grape endemic to Avşa and only Büyülübağ works with it. In addition to this blend the winery also produces both a varietal red and rosé with the grape. For this wine, Törüner blends 55% Adakarası with 45% Cabernet for a medium plus bodied wine with a 14% abv.
Another cork broken here. I really need that ah-so! This one I had to push into the bottle. Which worked out for me in the end as the considerable amount of sediment put the wine in need of decanting anyway. The wine did not have the prettiest color ever: a more opaque than not garnet-brown; but the aromas and flavors more than made up for it!
I let this one breathe for 30-40 minutes but I think it could have used a full hour. I truly have no patience. Initially the nose revealed more tertiary aromas such as smoke/meat, leather, moss, and mushrooms in addition to red fruits like cranberries. A little more time and swirling brought out richer aromas of dried dates, molasses, cinnamon, and allspice. A sip filled my mouth with powdery tannins that cushioned a rather stern core of acidity and flavors of dried figs, baking spices, and moss. Paired very well with aged, semi-hard goat cheese and bacon jam.
Büyülübağ Reserve Syrah 2012 Tasting Notes
The final reserve vintage I bought on that trip was a 2012 Reserve Syrah. Aged 14 months in French oak, bottled with limited filtration, then bottle aged another 12 months before release. A deep and glowing garnet in the glass, this Syrah proved that Törüner has more to be proud of than his Cabernet.
Compelling and elegant, the bouquet drew me into its riches of blackberry and plum fruits, tomato, candied violets, and hay. All of which in turn got a lift from the cooling aromas of wintergreen and eucalyptus. Silky tannins flooded my mouth with flavors reflective of the bouquet and complimented by a long tobacco-scented finish. Like the Cabernets, the 2012 Reserve Syrah had a full-body with high alcohol (15% abv), firm acidity, and beautiful balance.
All of these could continue to age for years yet. Hopefully I will make it back to the island this summer/fall so I can buy these all again. Of course then I have to find the self-control to lay them down and not drink them right away!