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A Marathon Tasting in Manisa

 

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My adventures with Turkish wine importer, Fine Turkish Wine, continue! Well at least the writing of them does, the adventures themselves ended in November. And it’s taking ever so much longer to write about these visits than it took to make them! After two days in Trakya (aka Thrace), visiting first Arcadia, then Arda and Gürbüz Winery we headed for the Aegean.

In this region, our first stop was Kuzubağ, then we went on to Heraki, and then on to Kastro Tireli which hosted a mega tasting for us. 

Kastro Tireli

It’s been many years since I last visited Kastro Tireli, and I’m glad we were following José. I vividly recall thinking I was lost in yet another olive grove while trying to find the winery. As it turns out I wasn’t, but that’s a different story. 

It was while studying abroad that Kastro Tireli founder Yunus Mermerci developed both a love of and interest in wine. So much so that while studying in Australia, he even worked part-time during the harvest in Hunter Valley. After getting his hands dirty in those vineyards there was no stopping him. Back in Turkey and with the help of Italian winemaker and consultant Andrea Paoletti, Yunus planted Kastro Tireli’s vineyards with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Mourvedre, Syrah, Öküzgözü, Boğazkere, Viognier, Narince, and Bornova Misketi.

The winery’s vineyards sit at 200-280 meters above sea level on largely uniform schist soils. While the elevation is not huge it is significant enough to allow the vines the advantages of sea breezes coming off the coast 100 kilometers away. Here they go one step beyond organic and use no herbicides or pesticides, not even those allowed by organic viticulture standards. Most-if not all-the red wines ferment on native yeasts, and Kastro Tireli is one of the leading Turkish wineries producing low-intervention wines under its Hermos label. 

Hermos Bornova Misketi, 2025

One of my absolute favorites of Kastro Tireli’s wines, I was excited to be able to try a tank sample during our visit. This wine spends +/- 46 days with the skins with one daily punch downs. The resulting wine was a peachy-tangerine color and aromatic with stone fruit, clove flower, and a riot of blossoms. Based on past vintages, this will be marvelous.

Narince – Viognier, 2024

I don’t think I’ve had this blend in a few years and clearly I’ve been missing out. The blend includes 55% Narince and 45% Viognier. They pick the Narince earlier in the harvest season while allowing the Viognier to hang and ripen longer. Both grapes are fermented (separately) in stainless steel and aged on their fine lees with occasional lees stirring to add texture and body before blending.

Ripe yellow fruits plucked and eaten straight off the tree accompanied by chamomile flowers and a touch of minerality. Round with delightful acidity, dry, gorgeous. This is the best vintage they’ve had in years. 

Low Intervention Kalecik Karası, 2024

This is one of the wines that really highlights Kastro Tireli’s commitment to clean agriculture and low intervention winemaking. Initial grape selection happens in the vineyard, ensuring that only the best Kalecik Karası grapes make it into the winery. Grapes then ferment with native yeasts and the wine spends six months in barrel before being bottled unfiltered. 

Have you ever thought of a red wine as being refreshing? Have a few sips of this and you will!

Red fruits, forest, cotton candy – despite all of which it’s more savory than fruity with a big herb and forest spice character. Smooth with juicy acidity and a lingering finish.

Kalecik Karası – Syrah, 2024 

The Kalecik Karası carries with this blend with a portion of early-harvested Syrah adding depth and body. As with the Low Intervention Kalecik Karası, the blend spent six months in barrel before bottling. 

This wine is an explosion of purple! Big plummy flavors mashed up with mulberry and bramble fruits all hit the palate first. Then, an evolution into more savory notes with sassafras, fern, and forest spices before finishing rich tones of in chocolate.

Junus, 2018

I have for sure written about the Kastro Tireli Junus before. This is an unusual blend featuring Turkey’s big three black grapes: Öküzgözü, Boğazkere, and Kalecik Karası; all three of which grow next to each other in one of the winery’s more schistic-rocky plots. The exact proportion of grapes varies by year, with the 2018 including 43% each Öküzgözü and Boğazkere, and 14% Kalecik Karası. The wine spent about 15 months in barrel before bottle aging and release. 

Big and aromatic with notes of forest floor, bramble and dried red berries, warming spices, stable leather, and toast. Full-bodied with grippy tannins and a presence that stays with you long after the last sip. A really great wine. 

If you’re interested in this, grab whatever 2018 bottles you can find. From the 2019 vintage (when it’s released) the wine will contain only the classic Öküzgözü – Boğazkere blend. 

It seems impossible considering how many we tried, but this winery has much more to offer! Check out what else they have in my Kastro Tireli wine reviews. 

Yaban Kolektif

Founded by Umay Çeviker and Levon Bağış, Yaban Kolektif is an effort to, as their website says, “…reunite viticulture and winemaking in Turkey with its past and forgotten values.” They source grapes largely from independent growers around the country as well as from their own Karasakız vineyard in Bayramiç. Neither Umay nor Levon are themselves winemakers. Instead, they work with José Hernández and Heraki who crafts Yaban Kolektif’s wines. 

Sungurlu, 2024

Sungurlu hails from the Black Sea area Çorum. Still relatively rare, there are only about 15 hectares of it there, and (so far as I know) it doesn’t grow else. As I understood, working with Sungurlu has been Umay’s baby as he’s originally from the area. He’s been working with Sungurlu for some time, having won the Geoffrey Roberts Award in 2015 for his work and cooperating with Urla for its 2017 Discovery series featuring Sungurlu.

The grapes come from old vineyards, 45 to 100 years-old, in the Ayağıbüyük village of Sungurlu, sitting at about 1,045 meters. After fermentation, the bulk rests on the fine lees in plastic “eggs” with the remainder in barrel.

It has greenish-yellow tones. On the nose and palate, ripe yellow fruits are prominent, along with mineral and slightly salty flavors.

This wine is a lesson in not drinking all white wines right out of the fridge. Initially it was very shy, hiding its true potential behind a wall of cold. It started showing more of its personality as it warmed up with crunchy golden apple, ripe Bosch pears, and honey with a lightly saline edge. Medium-bodied with nice, big acidity.

Çavuşlu Karasakız, 2024

Again, if I recall correctly, these Karasakız grapes come from the only vineyard Yaban Kolektif actually owns, in Çavuşlu, Bayramiç.  The goblet vines, 38-years-old, grow in sandy granite soils at an altitude of 250 meters where they are dry-farmed. After fermenting with native yeast, the wine ages for some months in 500 liter clay amphora. 

I learned this day from the group that Karasakız has several clones. Some give darker wines (like Paşaeli’s 6\N), and some paler. It also depends on where on the slope in Bayramiç they grow as the soils differ depending on elevation. Yaban Kolektif’s Karasakız is definitely of that paler clone. You could read through this wine it’s so pale. 

You know what’s not pale? Everything else about it. Ethereal raspberry and blood orange notes delicate wrap around a savory-herbal core of olive and dried herbs. The palate is pure silk with zesty almost citrussy acidity. Energy and elegance. 

Erciş Karası ‘1770’, 2024

If Sungurlu is Umay’s baby, then Erciş Karası is Levon’s. Grown in the Bayramlı village in the Erciş district of Van, these grapes come from the highest vineyards in Turkey at 1,770 meters above sea level. The vineyard, on the shores of Lake Van, host these nearly 60-year-old ungrafted bush vines in sandy loam soils.

Treated similarly to the previous wine, the Erciş Karası grapes ferment on native yeasts and age in the amphora. Resulting wine was fruit-forward showing red fruits, plum, and blackberry along with hard candy notes and black sesame. Pleasant acidity, light tannins, and refreshing, but I found it kind of short.

While their wines are sadly pricing themselves out of my spending limit…I do have some older Yaban Kolektif wine reviews if you’re curious about what else they’re doing. 

Sobran

Gülşen and Ercan Boztepe, pioneers of the Lidya Antik Bağ Rotası, planted the seeds of Sobran Bağları in 2005, in the heart of Alaşehir’s famed “Green Sea,” where twisting waters of the Alaşehir River meet the surrounding mountains. What began as a 200-acre table grape venture in Sobran Village soon blossomed into a vineyard paradise, nurturing 50 grape varieties across this fertile Lydian plain.

The vision to make wine came from Gülşen, and by 2012, hobby turned ambition had transformed part of their vineyards into 60 acres of wine grapes. With passion and dedication, Ercan immersed himself fully in the process while Gülşen gained academic expertise. Their first wines were shaped under the guidance of German oenologist Hermann-Josef Kreuzberg, and Sobran quickly became a testament to how passion and careful stewardship could turn a table grape producer into a vintner of quality wines.

Nebbiolo Three Ways

Growing Nebbiolo in Turkey is a bold choice, particularly in a relatively hot climate like Denizli. When Sobran first planted Nebbiolo, they did so in Alaşehir, but realized that was really too hot there for the grape. They have since planted new vineyards higher up on the plain where elevation helps temper some of the heat. Grapes for the red Nebbiolo now come from those vineyards. 

Nebbiolo, 2022

Crushed red fruits, lots of cherry accompanied by sweet spices, dried herbs, and woody notes. Big, chewy tannins and bold acidity to match the higher alcohol. I can see this being very nice some with lamb or maybe sour cherry kebab. 

It was nice and granted it’s been a while since I’ve had Nebbiolo…but I didn’t get a lot of varietal character from this.

Nebbianca, 2023

Rather than simply abandon the Alaşehir Nebbiolo vineyards, Sobran now harvests those plots earlier and uses the grapes for blanc de noir and rosé Nebbiolo wines. 

The Nebbianca uses first run juice only, i.e. nothing from the crush. The wine showed a range of yellow and white fruits such as apples, pears, and a hint of white nectarine along with a suggestion of orchard blossoms. Medium-bodied and dry with good acidity, it lingered pleasantly on the palate. 

Nebblush, 2024 

Running with the name theme, Sobran also produces a Nebbiolo rosé, the Nebblush. The juice for this comes from the first real crush as the free run juice is taken for the Nebbianca, meaning there’s very little skin contact at all for this. Indeed, it is a pretty, pale pink color. Big berry notes, lots of wild mountain strawberry with green notes of strawberry leaf. Bright acidity and a similar lasting mouth filling roundness the blanc de noir displayed. 

While we didn’t taste it this day, there is also a Nebbitat…a natural sweet wine made with Nebbiolo. Personally now I’m waiting for Sobran to release a sparkling wine and I think they should call it Nebbiubbles!

Sobran Philadelphia Series 

For anyone, especially Americans, who have seen Sobran’s Philadelphia series and been confused…Alaşehir, where the winery is located, was historically called Philadelphia. Founded between 159-138 BC by King Attalus II Philadelphus of Pergamon, Philadelphia was an important center of early Christianity. It retained its position throughout the Byzantine Empire and early Eastern Orthodoxy until conquered by the Ottomans in 1390, after which its name was changed to Alaşehir.

Philadelphia Rosé, 2024

While not an unusual blend for red wine in Turkey, the Philadelphia Rosé is unusual for a rosé, blending Cabernet Sauvignon with Syrah. 

Lots of crushed strawberry, nectarine, and white plums. Medium-bodied with fresh acidity. This is a great rosé for anyone who wants something fruity and easy to pair with a light summer meal of mezes.

Philadelphia Red Blend, 2024

This was an interesting blend comprised of Öküzgözü, Boğazkere, Merlot, and just a splash of  Cabernet Sauvignon. Red fruits, brown spices, pepper, and woody herbs. Decent structure and acidity but slightly green tannins. 

A really decent table wine, well made for its price point. 

Vinolus

As children, Vinolus founders, sister and brother Oluş and Aziz Molu, spent summers on their grandparents’ farm outside Kayseri, ancient Caesarea. Oluş in particular loved her time there. Her father grew table grapes, but she wanted to do something more. In 2007, Oluş took over the farm, replacing table grapes with wine grapes and converting the entire farm over to organic practices. After receiving the ORSER organic certification in 2009, she went beyond, making it into an ecological farm. Her aim is to ensure that the farm is an integrated aspect of the local ecosystem, giving as much as it taking.

Emir, 2022

Located in Kayseri as it is, Vinolus has worked with growers in Cappadocia to source Emir. When the fruit arrives at the winery, it spends one to two days on the skins before fermenting and resting entirely in stainless steel. When you first open this one, it’s a little reductive and wants air. Eventually though, it does open into a beautiful, characteristic expression of Emir with green apple and lime sprinkled with herbed sea salt, stone, and a waft of smoke. Vivid acidity lends the wine tension that lasts until the last sip.

Apparently, Vinolus is no longer working with this particular vineyard, so one may expect any vintages from 2023 to have a slightly different expression. 

Tokat Narince, 2023

Vinolus produces two Narince wines: one from Tokat, one from Cappadocia. I’ve never actually compared them side-by-side, but do pay attention to which one you’re buying!

We tasted the Tokat wine with grapes coming from the Black Sea home of Narince. Santa Maria pear and yellow apple form the base of this wine layered over by acacia blooms, citrus oil, a touch of smoke. Full-bodied, round, and slightly oily on the palate but with amazing acidity. 

Emir – Roussanne, 2023

This blend has been one of my favorites since the winery debuted it. Vinolus wines have always been a little on the pricier side, and now with rising wine prices generally, they’re quite up there. But if you’re going to splash out on a white wine, this one is a good candidate.

Both the grapes for this blend come from Cappadocia’s high elevation volcanic soils. The blend, 77% Emir and 23% Roussanne, ferments and age in stainless steel (per IWSC). Combining Emir’s mineral and linear character with Roussanne’s rich roundness, the wine becomes a marriage of lemon curd and white stone fruit with airy touches of lemon blossom, tied together by a streak of salinity.

It has been a while since I’ve delved into Vinolus’ wines, but I always enjoy the journey.

Prius

Like Vinolus, Prius is not an Aegean winery. However, when owner Metin Harbalıoğlu heard we we all getting together for a tasting, he generously sent us some wine. 

Since I previously wrote about Prius Winery they have finished their website, huzzah! Located in Ahmetbey, just outside of Kırklareli and founded in 2020, Prius has a large holding in which they cultivate 17 different grapes, both native and international, which they farm in a manner respectful of nature: “At Prius, we embrace an environmentally conscious production approach. By preserving the vitality of the soil, we maintain a healthy ecosystem that reflects the unique spirit of the grape and the terroir.”

Their winemaker, I believe, is Elif Noor, late of Suvla. 

Marteniçka, 2023

This brilliant pink rosé blends together Kalecik Karası and Papaskarası for a fruity wine with strawberry, cornelian cherry, and apricot notes, decorated with fresh mint and tea rose petals. Medium-bodied with 13.5% ABV, there was some nice acidity here and the wine showed some weight in the back palate. Possibly just a hint of residual sugar happening there?

Prius Kalecik Karası – Papaskarası, 2023

Winemaking information on labels here is usually pretty scarce, so a little is better than nothing. Prius does give us that 40% of the wine (the Papazkarası? the Kalecik Karası? both??) aged for eight months in French oak (new? multi use? large? small?). My guess is new, 225 liter barrels going by the heavy oak aromas that first hit the nose. This one definitely wanted some time to breathe, being initially closed but for the oak perfume. 

The evolution, both after giving it some breathing time, was remarkable. Lashings of black pepper followed by violets, rich earth, black olives, spoon sweets, plum, and notes of dark chocolate. Neither of these grapes are know for their tannins, but they were, nonetheless, present and accounted for in an otherwise silky and mouth filling palate. The acidity came off a little aggressive initially. All those flavors from the nose, along with additional helpings of plum and blackberry, slid into a decently long finish of cacao nib and toast. 

Papas Noir, 2024

Prius pulls Papazkarası grapes from several different vineyards and grapes for the varietal wine come from a different vineyard than do the grapes for the blend. Presumably a vineyard that is somehow better and produces fruit with more nuanced expression to qualify it for the varietal wine…

Prius partially ages the wine for four months in French oak before bottling and blending. The end result…an aromatic red with a vibrant core of strawberry and cherry wrapped in violets with a dash of pepper and grapefruit skin on the finish with lively acidity and soft tannins.

I haven’t yet reviewed many of Prius’ wines, but I’m looking forward to writing about more. 

There were in fact so many wines that we didn’t quite get through all of them. Despite all the fantastic wines we got to try, I have to admit that my favorite part of the day was simply hanging out with Işık, Fulya, and José. We run into each other at events, but almost never get to just chat. Dissecting wines with winemakers is an amazing learning experience, but being able to talk wine (technical talk and gossip alike!) with “wine people” is rare opportunity. 

If you want to explore Turkish wine or any of the plethora of Turkish grapes mentioned here more deeply, you can always get a copy of the second edition of my book: The Essential Guide to Turkish Wine!