Chateau Kalpak Petit Verdot 2010
While it has been some time since my birthday (August) I still vividly recall one of the wines we drank: the Chateau Kalpak Petit Verdot 2010.
Every year for my birthday I haul a suitcase full of wine, cheeses, and other delicacies to spend a night or two at my friend Istanbites’ home on Büyükada. Despite my birthday being in the height of Istanbul summer heat, I don’t bring only white wines. I choose a selection of white, red, bubbles, and sweet that I’ve been saving up all year. One special wine I chose this year was this single varietal Petit Verdot. I’ve had it for a few years now and decided it was time to break it out!
This is an unusual wine for Chateau Kalpak. The winery specializes in traditional Bordeaux-style blends and releases only two wines regularly: an eponymous blend and a “second” called BBK. However, on the rare occasion that one vineyard patch produces a particularly exceptional wine, owner Bülent Kalpakoğlu may create a rare single varietal bottling. These wines are generally not available on the regular market. He offers them to his exclusive wine club members first and then to a few key merchants. I am not a member of his wine club. I just got super lucky and found this (and a Cabernet Franc) at one of those few key merchants.
I’m a sucker for Petit Verdot and think I’ve every single varietal bottling, and most of the blends, available in Turkey. Chateau Kalpak rarely tops my list of favorite wineries. But its Petit Verdot easily claims the title of the best in Turkey (in my opinion!).
Chateau Kalpak Petit Verdot, 2010
Kalpakoğlu aged this for 18 months in new oak barrels. Based on what I know about the winery, I hazard a guess that the barrels were both Hungarian and while new, pretty neutral. Inky ruby on the pour with spicy and rich aromas of chocolate-covered caramel, cigar box, black pepper, bay leaf, and violets.
Sipping revealed a medium-plus bodied wine with medium-high acidity and surprisingly moderate alcohol (13.4% abv). The wine felt like a velveteen tannin hug in the mouth. Flavors on the palate were similarly intense and complex as those sensed on the nose. I got very little fruit, maybe a hint of plum to add to the profile. Otherwise flavors reflected almost exactly the aromas and carried through to a loooong nearly unending finish.
This was definitely a wine to savor and one I’m glad I broke out for my birthday!