Kalecik Karası Wines from Tafali Bağcılık
Female owned and operated Tafali Bağcılık is one of Turkey’s newest wineries. Based in Kalecik, join the ranks of wineries like Tomurcukbağ and Vinkara in focusing on the local grape, Kalecik Karası. So much focus in fact, that they make only two wines. Both 100% Kalecik Karası, one a rosé, the other a red. But before we get to the wines, a bit about the winery and the women behind it.
Me, in lieu of a label!
Fatma Yiğit and Alime Cicerali are agricultural engineers who became friends while working together. They decided to explore a different side of agriculture and started a small vineyard in Kalecik in 2003. At first, they made wine for fun to share with family and friends. Slowly, slowly (or yavaş yavaş as we say in Turkey) their enthusiasm for the wine grew. As it grew, so too did their vineyards. In 2019, they made it official and founded the commercial winery, Tafali Bağcılık.
Tafali Bağcılık Kalecik Karası Rosé, 2020
I got this wine as a sample from the winery (thank you Tafali!) and it came sans label. Which also means I’m without a bit of info such as alcohol level.
Bright, bubble gum pink tinged with orange in the glass. That orange tone seems to be a hallmark of a couple Turkish grapes, including Kalecik Karası. Vivid, red, and fruity-savory on the nose! Cranberry, Preiselbeern, and strawberry jam with bay leaf, splashes of pink grapefruit, and lemon salt. Medium-bodied and textural with bright acidity. A pleasing grapefruit pith bitterness accompanied ruby red grapefruit and strawberry flavors. Bay leaf and lemon salt give the wine a nice balance of fruit and herbal/savory notes.
Tafali Bağcılık Kalecik Karası, 2019
I had a label for this one which told me the wine had 14% abv. So, one piece of information down! The label made no mention of oak ageing and I’m going to bet that it wasn’t an omission. I did not smell oak here.
Medium plus opaque and purple-ruby in the glass with rose petal-strewn blackberries and strawberry jam aromas. Medium-bodied with low but silky tannins, and medium plus acidity. Intense blackberry flavors with bitter green almonds on the finish and a hint of animal.
Not my favorite Kalecik Karası ever. Of the two I preferred the rosé. I found it had a bit more of the savory character that I like from this grape.