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Turkish Wine

HomeTurkish Wine (Page 2)

  In the September 2023 Turkish Wine Horoscope post, I promised a review of this wine and here it finally is! Yaban Kolektif is a group of wine professionals and enthusiasts dedicated to reviving some of Turkey's rarer grapes. Not having a winery of their own, they cooperate with other wineries (mostly Vinolus lately) and winemakers to release their wines. From Yaban's Instagram: Yaban is a step taken to reunite viticulture and winemaking in Turkey with its past and forgotten values. We lost our rich viticulture culture, winemaking techniques, traditions, festivities and rituals in a short time after the natural disasters and forced population exchanges in the last century. It will perhaps

  Over the last several years, 7Bilgeler has slowly released a series of wines, the Vindemia series, made with native grapes. Some have been more successful than others. I'm very excited to try the Karasakız, which I really really hope they haven't managed to mess up. But in the meantime, the Öküzgözü. 7Bilgeler Vindemia Toprak Öküzgözü, 2021  Like many (if not all) of the native grape wines 7Bilgeler has released, the grapes for the Vindemia Toprak don't come from the winery's Aegean vineyards. Owner Bilge Yamen sources them from the home of Öküzgözü, Eastern Anatolian district Elazığ, specifically Karaçavuş Köyü. The vineyard sits at 1540 meters in clay and limestone soils, and

  So, 2023 is now behind us. Not such a bad year, all things considered. Although there's always hope that the future will be better and brighter. Whether or not you make resolutions, take some time as we say goodbye to the year to reflect on the lessons you learned and how you might apply them and do and be better in 2024. Aquarius (January 20 - February 18) January's winter nights are cold and dark, the perfect place for shadows of the past to lurk and taunt you. Embrace the discomfort of facing them head-on. Remember that the wounds you carry are not your identity, but they way you deal

  Every year - well every year that I remember - I like to do a quick review of the wines I posted about during the year that I most enjoyed, that most surprised me, etc. So with no further ado, let's jump into my favorite Turkish wines of 2023! My Favorite Sparkling Wines There weren't many new sparkling wines released this year. And frankly, with the skyrocketing price of most Turkish bubbles, I didn't really drink much. And while the Paşaeli Karasakız Pét-Nat may not be a fair wine to include, as it was a super limited bottling, it nonetheless gets a spot.  My Favorite White Wines Over the last few years,

  Another day closer to Christmas! I kind of cannot believe that I managed to keep this going all through Advent. Well, almost all the way through, a few more days to go! Today's wine comes from one of my favorite winemakers, Akın Gürbüz. Advent day 20 Gürbüz Chardonnay, 2020 This was the first vintage with a varietal Chardonnay from Gürbüz. While I'm still only a tentative member of Team Chardonnay (I approach each new bottle with trepidation), I always want to at least try whatever he has made.  Grapes for this wine came from Tekirdağ and aged eight months oak. The wine poured a light lemon with green highlights and was

  It came as a great surprise to me that I never seem to have posted about the Suvla Blush Karasakız. This is one of the few Suvla wines and rosé wines that recommend. So how have I not posted it? Well, no time like the present! Advent day 19 Suvla Blush Karasakız, 2022 Ballet slipper pink with aromas of thyme, lemon, grapefruit, cranberry, and currant. Nice bright acidity is the first thing to greet the palate. Medium-bodied with 13% abv and a mid and back palate weight. Flavors start out with lemony-grapefruit citrus before transitioning to red fruits with a connecting thread of white pepper. Decent linger. 

  Halfway through Advent and time for a rosé! We couldn't do just any rosé for this though. Clearly, we needed something different, special, new.  Advent day 17 Doluca Signium Rosé, 2022 Doluca's Signium line represents the pinnacle of the winery's selection. Until this last year, the wines have been red and white blends. But then came the rosé, a 100% Pinot Noir.  Beautiful peony pink with shades of onion skin in the glass, the wine practically glowed! Not in that awful, radioactive fake rosé way. But in a pure, promises of good things way. But, intense nose here full of cranberry, pink grapefruit, red currants, black currant leaf, and laurel. Nice acidity

  This particular wine is another review long in coming. I opened it last winter for Open That Bottle night. I bought this when I visited Barbare to interview the owner for my book. That must have been six years ago now? Barbare wines are generally fairly easy to access, but these premiere varietal wines less so which is why I'd been holding onto it.  Worth. The. Wait! Advent day 15 Barbare Premiere Mourvedre, 2012 This 100% Mourvedre aged for 36 months in French oak. Knowing that it would be tight out of the bottle, I opened it, decanted it, then went to Saturday evening Mass before coming home to make dinner and

  To begin, I must admit that I'm cheating a little on this one. I actually opened this wine ages ago but never got around to posting about it. Kastro Tireli's first, and for a long time only white wine was a Viognier-Narince blend. In the spring of 2022, the winery released a two new wines, a Narince Reserve  and this Viognier Reserve as varietal wines. [caption id="attachment_19742" align="alignright" width="333"] Even Dr Watson was curious![/caption] Advent day 12 Kastro Tireli Viognier Reserve, 2018 Warm lemon color on the pour. Aromas of pear compote sprinkled with brown spice and a dash of vanilla cream floated out from the glass. Pure silk texture glided over the