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Wine Reviews

HomeWine Reviews (Page 74)

By 0Red Wine, Turkish Wine, Wine Reviews

  I had such hopes for the Ma’Adra Syrah after the way E and I fell in love with their Cabernet Sauvignon. Alas our hopes and expectations were dashed when we opened this one. At 90TL from La Cave that was a pricey heartbreak. Syrah wines are supposed to be domineering bad asses with at least a solid medium body to back up powerful fruit and oak flavors. I think Ma’Adra missed the memo with this one. It started out well. In the nose of the Ma’Adra Syrah I got a lot of blackberry, black pepper, hazelnut, and vanilla which was really pretty nice. Then we tasted it which is where

By 0Red Wine, Turkish Wine, Wine Reviews

  It’s been ages since I’ve had an Öküzgözü Boğazkere blend. As much as I enjoy trying the native grape wines in Turkey drinking the same three reds (Öküzgözü, Boğazkere, and Kalecik Karası) and blends of the same does get old. I was, however, only too happy to take up a friend on her offer of a glass of the Turasan Öküzgözü Boğazkere that she brought to a Thirsty Thursday event. In the glass the Turasan Öküzgözü Boğazkere was a ruby red bordering on purple, bright and clear. The nose was dark/black fruits. On the palate it was very tart, no tannin, and little bit of a cliffhanger; something of a surprise for

By 0Red Wine, Turkish Wine, Wine Reviews

  I was so excited when I found this Kayra Vintage Zinfandel at La Cave (66 TL)! It’s been ages since I’ve had a Zinfandel-not only my favorite American wine but the only reason I think the California wine industry should exist. I was really looking forward to seeing what Turkey could do with a Zinfandel. And then I had and my hopes were dashed. I haven’t had a Zinfandel since moving here. Not because they aren’t available. In fact one of my favorite California Zinfandels is available right at La Cave. I just cannot stomach paying a 300% mark up for a wine I know shouldn’t cost more than

By 0Turkish Wine, White Wine, Wine Reviews

  I know-a Chardonnay? What is the world coming to?! I really did have a reason though. I recently lead an all-Likya tasting and wanted at least one white. So when I spotted this unoaked Likya 2015 Arykanda Chardonnay at La Cave (for only 45TL) I thought why not? Also they only had one bottle of the Sauvignon Blanc. I was actually fairly intrigued by the Arykanda Chardonnay. I have not hated unoaked Chardonnay wines I’ve had in the past and so thought that this could be interesting. Oddly enough I-loud Chardonnay hater that I am-was one of only THREE people out of 13 at the tasting who liked it! Well-“like” might be

By 0Red Wine, Turkish Wine, Wine Reviews

  The 2013 Chamlija Thracian … where has this been all my life? This, for me, is hands down one of the top wines being produced in Turkey right now and is one of my two absolute favorites here. I’m so overwhelmed by this one that I’m a little at loss for even where to start with this. Over the summer I visited Chamlija’s tasting restaurant where we had the privilege to do a tasting with founder and owner Mustafa Çamlıca. While we didn’t taste this there, we did discover that Chamlija makes many more wines than I’ve ever found in Istanbul. The best news? They ship! Which is particularly relevant to this

By 0Red Wine, Turkish Wine, Wine Reviews

  For a very brief time I tried OK Cupid in Turkey. It was a largely uneventful experience but I mention it because it was while on a date that I found this week’s wine. He knew I was a wine lover and asked me to recommend a bottle so we wandered into a shop over in Karaköy (I know! I went to Asia for this guy but he was pretty cute, and tall, and a doctor). I was expounding on the merits of different wines when I saw the Prodom label. I started to tell him that if he wanted to invest the money then Prodom was a

By 0Red Wine, Turkish Wine, Wine Reviews

  Christmas is almost here! You know what that means? It’s mulled wine season.  My former roommate and I used to make mulled wine together regularly in the run up to Christmas and I continue that tradition even here in Istanbul where Christmas is sadly not so much a thing. There are so many recipes and traditions out there for mulled wine but we’ve always preferred the German Glühwein. On our shared blog, ParMieux Adventures she explains the tradition of Glühwein and what the name means.I’m going to let you wander over there and check it out while I stay here and drink it. There’s something about a pomander that I just love. They’re kind of

By 0Red Wine, Turkish Wine, Wine Reviews

  My first encounter with the Chamlija Felix Culpa happened in the same way I discovered many of Chamlija’s wines…there was one bottle, just the one, sitting on the shelf at La Cave. Anytime that happens with a wine maker I really like I get the bottle and I was so glad I did that with the Felix Cupla. A happy mistake Which was another thing that attracted me to this one. Felix Culpa / Mutlu Hata (happy mistake)…why that name? The grape is a Pinot Noir but this isn’t Chaamlija’s Pinot Noir wine. Chamlija has two Felix Culpa wines-one this Pinot Noir and the other a Chardonnay and while I

By 0Articles, Red Wine, Turkish Wine, Wine Reviews

  It has been a busy few days full of wine. On the one hand, my two best friends moved out of Turkey but on the other I seem to have joined-however accidentally-the Turkish wine tasting community! Last Thursday was E&M’s impromptu going away party. They left Turkey on Saturday for their next adventure so Thursday Em, J, and I went over to theirs to drink their remaining wine. The next day marked my December Turkish wine tasting. At a suggestion from a friend, this wine tasting focused all on wines from the Aegean region. nitially I only had plans to do four wine: the Paşaeli K2, the 7Bilgiler Phytagoras (review coming

By 0Red Wine, Rest of the World, Wine Reviews

  A colleague recently brought two bottles of this 2012 Marquis des Beys Grand Cuvee back from Beirut for me to try. While she prefers the 2010, the 2012 was all she could find but apparently the Marquis des Beys Grand Cuvee is one of her favorite Lebanese wines. Being as she herself is Lebanese I will trust her judgement. The 2012 Marquis des Beys Grand Cuvee is a 50/50 blend of Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon with 14% abv. Between the hand harvesting and oak treatment the grapes receive you can tell that they care about their wines at Marquis des Beys and if this is any example of the quality of their