Being Surprised by Tasheli Patkara Kalecik Karası Rosé
In May at Gusto Bar’s CMC, I connected with Erdem Yılmaz from Tasheli. Then, after drinking the winery’s Göküzüm Aküzüm, I reached out to him with some questions about the wine. And to order more! During our conversation, he very kindly offered to send me a few bottles from the rest of their selection. He sent me a Patkara-Kalecik Karası rosé, the new vintage of their orange Göküzüm, and the Patkara-Cabernet-Shiraz red blend.
Reviews for the other two will be upcoming but, as I’ve been having a surprising yen lately for rosé (I know, who am I?!?!) I’m starting there!
Tasheli and Patkara
Located in the Çömelek village in the Mut district of Mersin along Turkey’s Mediterranean coast, Tasheli is a family-run winery that has had a long journey to get to where it is now. They began in 2005 as amateur winemakers but serious wine enthusiasts. Years of learning on their own and receiving guidance from other winemakers and experts have now paid off. With the help of Anatolian grape expert Umay Çeviker, Patkara became their star grape.
Patkara is at home on the slopes on the Taurus Mountains in the Çömelek and Karacaoğlan villages in Göksu Valley. It might be a valley but it’s a heck of a high one. Turkey has a plethora of high elevation vineyards and Patkara’s are no joke at 1000 – 1400 meters. The grape prefers sandy, pebbly soils and is a relatively early ripening grape. In fact, that’s how this particularly grape got its name: pat meaning “fast, suddenly” in Turkish and kara is the stem for “black” – a word that appears in many Turkish grape names.
This blue-black grape develops very high sugars making in appropriate for table grapes, raisins, and molasses production in addition to wine. It’s also an old grape with the majority of vineyards coming in at about 50 years old, some even older.
Tasheli Patkara Kalecik Karası Rosé, 2021
Made via direct press, this blend contains 90% Patkara with a supporting 10% from the Kalecik Karası. A charming pinky-orange color (which you can’t really tell from my picture-awful weather that day). Much like a tequila sunrise that’s been blended!
Fruity on the nose with a mishmash of fresh strawberry jam and tart cranberry, coupled with bright pink grapefruit. I went in for a sip expecting the standard fruity rosé…but whoa! Not what happened. On the flavor side, yes, the wine definitely showed a sweet red berries character. But sweet red berries made more exotic with opulent loquat and a pleasantly bitter citrus pith finish. What surprised me though was the mouthfeel. It was so weighty and fat. A mouth-filling, fat, silkiness buoyed by vivacious acidity.
Where did that come from?!
Actually I think it came from the Patkara. I recall that Selefkia’s Patkara blush had a very weighty texture as well.
So fascinated was I by the palate and flavors (it was like having a mouth full of juicy loquat flesh – both flavor and feeling!) that I drank my way through the whole bottle without marking the alcohol. 15% abv!! Which, dang. But I didn’t feel it at all which puts this Tasheli Patkara Kalecik Karası Rosé in the “dangerously delicious” category.
Wine provided as a sample but opinions are my own