Enjoying the Last of Summer with Uçmakdere Cinsault Roze
Summer isn’t over quite yet! We’re having some cooler days (which I quite appreciate!) but also still seeing spikes into the 30s. On those days, a nice rosé liked the Uçmakdere Cinsault Roze helps chase a way the heat!
Uçmakdere winery sits right at the edge of the Sea of Marmara in the same-named village in Şarköy. It’s one of a few remaining wineries from 19th century that opened onto the water to allow the easy loading of wine onto ships for transport. A family-owned winery where daughter Işıl Bulutsuz makes the wines. At the moment they’re heavily focused on international varieties. However, last year Işıl teased that we may be seeing Turkish grapes from them in the semi-near future. Very excited about that!
Dr. Watson cannot believe I’m drinking another rose!
Sadly, Uçmakdere (both the winery and village) are a little more than easy hop away. It would be absolutely lovely it would be to drink wine at the winery with a view of the sea and music from the waves lapping gently against the shore. But getting there and back (after the wine especially) along the curvy and narrow cliff roads make a day trip impractical.
Uçmakdere Cinsault Roze, 2020
Some rosés have a serious presence and beg for food while others are joyful, whimsical, and crushable. This falls into that latter category.
This crisp wine showed a fruity character with white pepper detail and watermelon rind notes framing a core of tart cranberry and watermelon jolly rancher. Firm acidity braced by a spritz of fresh pink grapefruit. Quite enjoyable.
Also let’s take a moment to appreciate the lower alcohol level on this11.5% abv! I wish we could see more of that here, especially on whites and rosés.
Uçmakdere has made several rosés over the years, all with different grapes. Which means I’m not sure if we’ll see new vintages of this Cinsault or not. So, drink it while you can!