Akın Gürbüz and the Sacred Mountain
Akın Gürbüz has built a name for himself in Turkey as a talented winemaker and wine consultant and his latest wine, the Akın Gürbüz Hieron Oros, only solidifies that reputation.
In October, 2020 I visited his winery with a friend and we were privileged to take part in a massive barrel tasting with Akın of his 2019 vintage. We did not try literally every barrel, but we tried every kind of wine in the barrels. Different plots of Cabernet and Merlot, different barrel toast levels, a few experimental grapes he had going on at the time… During the course of our tasting marathon, he revealed that several of the barrels were bound for a new blend. He would tackle that blend that many, many Turkish wineries have made to some degree of success or another: a Bordeaux blend.
I don’t love a Bordeaux blend and I complain about how much of it we have in Turkey. But. I do love Akın’s wines. So, I was very curious to learn how his blend would turn out. Fast-forward to last winter when I saw the Hieron Oros on the shelf for the first time.
The Sacred Mountain
Turkey has a couple few Sacred Mountains, i.e. Hieron Oros. One (the one you’ll find on Wikipedia) sits in ancient Pontus on the Black Sea coast of Asiatic Turkey. That’s not the one that concerns us today though. Today, we’re talking about the Hieron Oros in the Şarköy District of European Turkey.
Until the population exchange in the early 1920s, Orthodox Christians heavily populated Turkish Thrace. They considered Mt. Ganos (Ganos Dağı) to be holy and called it Hieron Oros (which is old Greek, not modern Greek for anyone keeping track). Monasteries would have dotted these hills. Indeed, the ruins of many remain. The monks and priests here would also have dominated the wine industry at the time.
Akın Gürbüz Hieron Oros, 2019
Akın Gürbüz is from this region and when a friend of his suggested calling his new blend Hieron Oros, he loved the idea. It might not be a monastic wine, but this blend of 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, and 11% Cabernet Franc is pretty darn heavenly!
Deep, dark, opaque ruby, the color of the wine, which rested for 15 months in oak, hinted at the depths within. The first few layers reminded me of Michigan in summer with campfire smoke, coffee, and lilacs. Then leather, tobacco, and red fruits revealed themselves adding to the wine’s richness and profundity.
Structured and powerful tannins; so powerful in fact that they did not quit! Tannins from start to finish with high alcohol (14.7% abv) and buoyed by high acidity. All that lovely acidity brightened up and highlighted the fruits that really were almost lost in the nose and showcased a mix of black and red currants along with fresh fig. Lilac petals caressed by clouds of vanilla and brown spices gave the wine lift and perfume before swirling away to meld with deep notes of espresso bean and roasted chestnut on a linger finish.
The price tag on this is a little spendy but honestly, not nearly as high as it could be. If you see the 2019 around anywhere, splurge on two bottles. One for now, and one for five to 10 years from now because it will stand the test of time, no question. Akın told me that the 2020 blend is a bit different (Syrah in place of Cabernet Franc) but knowing him, the quality of the wine won’t suffer for the difference and it too will be magnificent.