Divamis Bornova Misketi by Öküzgözü Şarapçılık
Öküzgözü Şarapçılık’s name creates a bit of confusion. It is the only winery in Turkey named not after a family name or a vineyard but after a grape. Quite often when I see a wine with Öküzgözü written in big, bold letters across the label I can’t tell for a minute if it’s a new wine by Öküzgözü Şarapçılık or if another producer is just really excited about the grape variety. Öküzgözü Şarapçılık does produce Öküzgözü. In fact its flagship wine is a 100% Öküzgözü.
However, in this post we’re not talking about Öküzgözü. We’re talking about another Turkish grape variety, Bornova Misketi. Misket is the Turkish word for Muscat and Bornova Misketi is a type of Muscat that comes from the village Bornova just outside Izmir. Conveniently exactly where Öküzgözü Şarapçılık has its winery!
For years winemakers used Bornova Misketi for sweet wine only. And while you can still find a fair number of good semi-sweet and dessert wines made with this grape; dry wines have become far more popular. The Öküzgözü Şarapçılık Divamis Bornova Misketi is just such an example. It just so happens to also be my favorite. Sadly I haven’t seen any on shelves yet this year so I dug out my notes for the 2017s I bought last year. Hopefully a good review will tease them out of hiding!
Öküzgözü Şarapçılık Divamis Bornova Misketi 2017 Tasting Notes
Beautiful and golden in the glass, the wine presented intensely perfumed. I find that dry Bornova Misketi wines can often be a little controversial among tasters. Sweet or dry the wine’s bouquet is just that; a bouquet. The Divamis Bornova Misketi proved to be no exception. Tropical and exotic aromas exploded from the glass in a swirl of plumeria, white fruits, pineapple, and pear.
Sipping revealed a similar burst of ripe yellow and tropical fruits, white roses, and white flowers. I’ve heard the profile of Muscat often compared to an English garden. If I may bend that description a little, the Divamis Bornova Misketi is not a common English garden but the exotic fragrance of the Garden of Eden.
A weightiness and slight oiliness on the palate give the wine the impression of having a larger body than its 13.8% abv would otherwise suggest. Nicely balanced by a zesty acidity, very nearly bone dry, with a medium long finish that lingers like the best perfume.