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Wine Reviews

HomeWine Reviews (Page 87)

By 0Turkish Wine, White Wine, Wine Reviews

  Vinkara is fairly widely available here in Istanbul and produces several labels: Winehouse, Reserve, Vinkara, and Quattro. They’re not my favorite producer but since I’m I’ma  drive to try all the Miskets made in Turkey I decided to give the Vinkara Quattro Dömi-Sek a go. This is the first of the Miskets I’ve tried that has truly been a semi-dry. Quite probably that’s why the  Vinkara Quattro Dömi-Sek wasn’t a favorite for me. It was not at all bad and I think, even at 35TL a bottle, I might like to give it another try and see what I think of it a second time around. I went into this

By 0Articles, Wine Reviews

  Yes, it’s Sunday night…well technically I suppose it’s Monday morning which means I’m early for my usual wine post. And I have no pictures because I’m old school and I actually have to upload them from a camera, resize them, then upload them to the blog. HOWEVER it is…1:07 AM and I’m on my terrace with five if my new favorite people, one of whom has asked me to live blog our current drinking adventures. We began our evening at one of my favorite restaurants in Sultanahment (The Anatolya Cafe and Restaurant) with four bottles of wine. And, like a good Turk, I invited them back to mine for

By 0Sweet Wine, Turkish Wine, White Wine, Wine Reviews

  The Leona Bloom is yet another winner in the Misket family! I’ve only tried one wine from Leona in the past, a Kalecik Karasi/Merlot blend I didn’t much care for; however the Leona Bloom was quite lovely. Just sweet enough to not be dry, quite easy to drink and very aromatic with beautifully pronounced florals. As with the previous Miskets, the Leona Bloom had a lovely pale, clear yellow color and floral nose but what made it stand out from the previous Misket wines I’ve tried was how strong the orange blossom aromas were. Since the orange blossom aspect of the Misket is my favorite part of the wine

By 0Sweet Wine, Turkish Wine, White Wine, Wine Reviews

  I am making it my mission this summer to try all the Misket wines produced in Turkey! And so far all of them are winners. Doluca’s Safir semi-sweet Misket is no exception. Before I wax poetical about its orange blossom and honeysuckle flavors, a little technical information about the Misket grape is needed, I think. Misket (or Muscat for us Westerners) grapes come from Izmir along the Aegean. The wines they produce run the gambit between “dry” to dessert. I say “dry” though as my personal experience, with any Muscat, not just Turkish, is that a so-called “dry” Muscat leans a little closer to semi-dry than straight up dry. Doluca

By 0Red Wine, Turkish Wine, Wine Reviews

  I was at The Cave, my local alcohol shop the other week looking for a selection of Turkish wines to try out on visiting friends. The guy who was helping was friendly but unfortunately useless as far as personal recommendations went as he doesn’t drink alcohol. Insert blank face here. So I ended up with two bottles, an expensive bottle of one of the Suvlas on my list and a cheap bottle of a wine I’ve never heard of-the 2013 Arya Kalecik Karası Boğazkere. That’s the one we’re reviewing today. Right off the bat I wanted to like the Arya Kalecik Karası Boğazkere. I enjoy a butterfly so if

By 0Turkish Wine, White Wine, Wine Reviews

  The Diren Narince was a pretty decent Narince. I haven’t had many wines from this maker yet but this boded well for the rest. In any case I found it nicer than the Barudi Narince from a few weeks ago as that one was too oaky for me. The 2010 Diren Narince was a nice light straw color. It was floral and mildly oaky on the nose. I guess I would describe this as Chardonnay adjacent which makes sense as Narince is often equated with Chardonnay. There was definitely some oak happening here but it tasted, to me, more like it was treated with oak versus actually having been oak

By 0Red Wine, Turkish Wine, Wine Reviews

  Tursan is possibly the leading winemaker in the Cappadocia region. It’s a tough region with high elevation, grasslands, harsh, cold winters, and not a lot of lush greenery. Like many wineries in Turkey, Turasan produces several labels under its name including: Seneler, Classic, and blends. While I was in Cappadocia with a visiting friend we picked up the Turasan red blend. Not gonna lie-not my favorite. Turasan Red Blend Tasting Notes The Turasan red blend seemed to have been on a mission to include any and every possible grape including: Syrah, Boğazkere, Kalecik Karası, and Öküzgözü. In the glass this Turasan red blend was a deep purple-red color. In the nose I detected hints

By 0Red Wine, Turkish Wine, Wine Reviews

  Such a week and it’s only Wednesday. First I got a job, then I got sick, then I had an Istanbuli police officer show up at my door. But also there was wine! Last week I got a new consulting contract. Yay money! Means I can afford to keep myself in wine a bit longer. To celebrate we had dinner at Otto in Cihangir (which was great) and we ordered a bottle of the Ancyra Boğazkere. Like the Terra, the Ancyra had many of the hallmarks inherit in the Boğazkere grape varietal: spicy, (dried) red fruits, dark dark red color with blue hues etc. We both enjoyed it, but for me the

By 0Red Wine, Turkish Wine, Wine Reviews

  The 2010 Gali Evreshe is the most expensive wine I’ve bought so far running around 50TL a bottle. Was it worth it…eh. It wasn’t bad! Quite the contrary. With an intense, dark plum color, light tannins, a soft feel, and a smooth flavor the this Bordeaux blend was quite drinkable. Price is not always an indicator of a good wine in the states or Western Europe. One of my favorite wines when I lived in DC was an $8 bottle of Zinfandel.* However here the opposite is usually true in that the higher priced the wine is, the better the quality, as with the 100TL bottle of Prodom I plan

By 0Sweet Wine, Turkish Wine, White Wine, Wine Reviews

  In an effort to start drinking more white wines to match the warming weather I picked up a bottle of the 2012 Ancyra Muscat at Carrefour and fell in love! Muscat grapes are of course more widely known for being made into dessert wines but you can find the occasional “dry” Muscat. Although semi-sweet is really far more accurate a descriptor. With a pale straw color with a delicate, floral nose, a muscat’s flavor profile includes: orange blossoms, honey, honeysuckle, basil, roses, mint, bergamont, lemon balm, daisies, grapefruit, and melon. Daises, that’s a new one. To me this is a really interesting flavor profile and I would have liked to been