Normally I quite like the wines from Büyülübağ. Other than his Adakarası wines, I don't tend to drink them often because I don't really need or want more Cabernet Sauvignon or Syrah
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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My love of Ma'Adra's Pinot Noir and Carbonic Maceration Öküzgözü (one of the only Öküzgözü wines I like), I have document well and thoroughly. Most of their other wines I explored in my early Turkish wine days and haven't revisited. Until now. Advent day 11 Ma'Adra Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, 2018 Sigh. Ma'Adra went with the heavy format bottle for this one. Heavy bottles does not mean quality wine, people. I don't harp on about the environment but, come on. This one is easy. The wine filling the unnecessarily heavy bottle, a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon aged for 24 months in French Bordeaux barrels. Deep, opaque ruby color that was initially very tight in
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Week one of Advent challenge has been met and I'm still going strong! I bounced around the globe during the first week so decided to open week two back at home. Although "home" is a little bit of a stretch when the wine comes from the opposite end of the country to Istanbul. Advent day 9 Midin Miras (red), 2021 Midin's Miras red wine blends together mostly Öküzgözü and Boğazkere with small additions of the regional grapes Gavdoni and Raşegurnık aged for 10 months in oak. Opaque purple-ruby in the glass with bramble fruit compote, cedar, forest spices, and vanilla aromas. Medium tannins and high alcohol (14.5%) gave the palate a fulsome
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Yesterday's post wasn't part of the Advent challenge per say
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Today's Advent wine was a new release this year from Kuzubağ as part of its sophomore wine collection. Advent Day 5 Kuzubağ Öküzgözü, 2021 The winery's first Öküzgözü with grapes sourced from its (the winery's not the grape's) home in Çal. Aged for 12 months in oak barrels. Very purple in the glass. I'm not good at all at blind tasting, but if you're looking at something you know is Turkish and it's super purple, it's probably Öküzgözü. Initially oak heavy on the nose with vanilla, sweet candied fruits, violets, and spice. Tannins were almost plush with figgy/date, caramel, and carob flavors that dropped off pretty fast. For my two cents, not as
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