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Turkish Bordeaux Blends

 

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I frequently lament the vast amount of Bordeaux-style blends we have in Turkey. Partially because it does get rather tedious to drink the same blends over and over. Mostly though because Turkey has a plethora (1240+ at last count) of its own grapes! Of which we see maybe 40 in wine. But since I do so often complain about the sea of wanna be Bordeaux here, I thought maybe I should talk about a few of them for once.

But first…what is up with all the Bordeaux blends in Turkey?!

There really is a very clear and sensible reason for Bordeaux’s overwhelming influence on Turkish wine. When the modern Turkish wine industry kicked off in the 1930’s and 40’s it looked to Europe for inspiration, know-how, and grapes. And it looked specifically to Bordeaux; it holding the place as the most prestigious wine region. Sure we have some Rhône influence here and a few winemakers have even looked outside of France (gasp!) for inspiration. But, Bordeaux remains king here with several wineries going so far as to see only Bordeaulaine wineries (and not their fellow countrymen) as competition. Ahem.

I’m pretty sure the grand chateaux of Bordeaux are not super worried about their Turkish competition. Not to say the Turkish wines aren’t good. I’ve enjoyed many of them. There are just So. Very. Many of them. Mostly we see Cabernet and Merlot blended together. Sometimes Petit Verdot gets tossed in the mix. And a few producers pull out all the stops with the main four grapes. Let’s have a look at a few of these.

Firuze Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot, 2018

Based in Uçmakdere on the shores of the Sea of Marmara, Firuze is another family-run winery. Here, daughter Işıl, a graduate of Paris’s Cordon Bleu, has been learning the winemaking ropes. The 2018 vintage was her first as head winemaker. If the quality she got out of the 2018 vintage is a sign of things to come then Firuze is poised to become a great winery here. 

Firuze’s 100% Merlot I wrote about last month as part of #MerlotMe. The 100% Cabernet I have also had. It’s my personal favorite of the three. The Cabernet Merlot is a 50/50 blend of the two that spent eight months ageing in a combination of new French and American oak. The resulting wine poured a ruby medium intense in color with a pale rim. The nose was rich and deep with blue fruits, plum, purple flowers, tobacco, chocolate, and a sense of spice from cinnamon, nutmeg, and black pepper.

Medium in body and alcohol (13.5% abv) with round tannins in the mouth. Palate flavors largely reflected the aromas sensed on the nose (if not with quite as much intensity) along with some dried date.

Umurbey Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot, 2015

Located in lower Thrace just outside of Tekirdağ, Umurbey was one of Turkey’s first small production, quality conscious wineries. More well-known for his whites than his reds (his Sauvignon Blanc is highly regarded here), he also produces a number of reds including a Cabernet Merlot blend and a reserve of the same. I had one of each from the same vintage so we’re going to do them both!

The entry Cabernet Merlot blend glowed a medium intense but very pretty ruby in the glass. The nose gave off a hint of black pepper but that was mostly subsumed by sweet spice and red fruit aromas. Silky textured tannins slipped across the tongue carrying flavors of red currants and sweet spice with hints of vanilla and pencil lead. Medium-bodied with decent acidity and moderate alcohol (13.7% abv) it was a nice enough wine. However, and maybe especially since I drank them back to back, spring for the reserve.

Umurbey Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot, 2015

The Reserve version of Umurbey’s Cabernet Merlot blend spent 12 months ageing in oak (French I believe). This time spent in barrel added a layer of depth to the wine. Still present were aromas of ripe red fruits and spice, but the spice here leaned away from sweet baking aromas to a spicier clove with definite black pepper. I also detected coffee bean aromas on the nose.

Medium-plus bodied in the mouth with silky tannins and structured acidity. I suspect the wine not only enjoyed some time in oak but that the juice also came from riper grapes as the alcohol level reached a significantly higher percentage for this wine, 14.8% abv. Flavors were an intensified version of the bouquet with added elements from mint, eucalyptus, and chicory coffee.

Kastro Tireli Pyramid, 2013

If Akhısar-based Kastro Tireli has a flagship wine, this must be it. The winery produces a fantastically varied range of red wines, including more than one Bordeaux-style blend. But the Pyramid, with Merlot (29%), Petit Verdot (16%), Cabernet Franc (13%), and Cabernet Sauvignon (42%), is a Kastro Tireli signature.

A ruby so deep and intense in color as to suggest at the intensity of the wine itself. The nose began with concentrated spicy clove and black pepper layered over dried fig and olive before unveiling aromas of leather and tack room. Silky but structured tannins, mouthwatering acidity, and high alcohol (14.8% abv) on the palate. Flavors shared the intensity of the nose and added brown sugar, praline, cassis, and macchiato to the mix.

Arda Reserve Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon, 2013

In Edirne near the Bulgarian/Greek borders with Turkey, Arda offers as-yet truly appreciated quality for value. Arda’s reserve wine series ages so well but still commands only a relatively modest price. I discovered the aging potential quite by accident a few years ago when I uncovered a dusty, forgotten bottle of their Shiraz and was promptly blown away by it. Here (in retail stores) there’s often no attention paid to or price difference between vintages. So now I dig through shelves trying to find the oldest vintage of Arda reserve wines I can.

The wine for this blend spent an average of 18 months in oak and poured a beautiful, deep ruby. A lovely, rich, and complex wine with layers of stewed fruit, raspberry, vanilla, all spice berries, and chocolate aromas along with hints of mint. Dry and full-bodied on the palate with plush tannins and high (but not unbalanced) alcohol at 14.3% abv. The palate began with fruit pie flavors, then transitioned to nutmeg and cigar box, with walnut skin and caramel espresso on the long finish.

Doluca Signium, 2015

Doluca is one of Turkey’s larger and older producers. Despite that, it also still remains a family business. Some of their wines are not awesome and some are over priced, but I still both like and admire Doluca. The family and their staff are passionate wine lovers. And when the wines are good, they’re very good.

Doluca’s Signium blend changes a bit from year to year. Sometimes in the percentage of which grapes are included and sometimes the grapes themselves. The 2015 blend included the traditional Bordeaux varieties of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Petit Verdot. 

The nose here was redolent of black fruit aromas, spicy clove and cinnamon, caramel, and coffee. Elegant, smooth, and balanced on the palate for a medium-bodied wine with high alcohol (14.5% abv), and medium plus acidity. There were definitely some tannins here vying for attention but they were not the floor show. Vibrant plum and plump blackberries and brown spices with the suggestion of a green and herbal flavor and a caramel macchiato finish.

Gülor Cot-n, 2009

Gülor was in lockstep with Umurbey in the 1990s and helped pioneer the smaller production, higher quality wine movement in Turkey. The winery’s Cot-n is not commonly seen anywhere but Istanbul airport’s Duty Free (where it’s grossly overpriced). However, I managed to snag a bottle when a couple showed up unexpectedly in a local shop in the city. Not only is it an unusual sight, it’s a rather unusual blend but I’m including here anyway because, even though it is Malbec-lead (along with Merlot and Petit Verdot), Malbec is still a Bordeaux grape.

After 15 months in French oak and then nearly 11 years in the bottle, the wine definitely showed a more brick-garnet in the glass. An intriguing and savory bouquet with notes of cranberry, strawberry jam, tomato, dried oregano, black pepper, hints of hay, green peppercorn, and green bell all revealing themselves. Really surprisingly low alcohol for a Turkish wine (12.5% abv) with a medium body and acidity. Tart and juicy on the palate with cranberry and bilberry fruit and sweet tobacco and velveteen tannins adding freshly roasted coffee.

Yusta Bursa Cabernet Sauvingon Merlot, 2017

Yusta Bursa is one of Turkey’s newest wineries which debuted its first vintage (2017) last year. With vineyards and the winery based in Bursa-“just” across the Sea of Marmara from Istanbul-Yusta Bursa is a family run winery and one of the many in Turkey to use French wine making consultant Jean Luc Colin.

A Cabernet Merlot blend, the wine poured medium intense ruby accompanied by an almost overpowering wall of new oak aromas. This is a wine you want to let breathe. After it did all that new oak made room for sumptuous black cherry, blackberry, and raspberry along with cinnamon, vanilla, and whisper of black pepper.  Jammy fruits gave way to peppery and savory notes on the palate and caramel on the finish. Low tannins and medium acidity with 15% alcohol, I found it a little hot but not overwhelming so.