Blog

Five Turkish Fumé Blancs to Try

 

---

Sauvignon Blanc wines enjoy a huge amount of popularity in Turkey. It’s right up there with Chardonnay. Generally if a winery makes one, it makes the other too. Because Turkey loves its oak there’s plenty of “fumé blanc” floating around here as well. Happily (for me who doesn’t love oak on white wine), winemakers have developed a more deft hand with their oak aging. Over the last few years we’ve seen a shift from wine that’s been metaphorically beat over the head with stave and barrel to wine that’s been gently caressed by it.

Meaning I no longer have to approach every oaked white wine fear in my heart! As such, I’m more and more exploring the Fumé Blancs of Turkey. Below are a few I’ve enjoyed and highly recommend.

Tronia Sauvignon Blanc, 2017

From the team at Trio Winemakers (Semril Zorlu, Fulya Akinci Hernandez, and Jose Hernandez) comes this Tronia Sauvignon Blanc. They may have only made 733 bottles in 2017, but still managed to garner some awards with that amount! This Sauvignon Blanc aged on its lees for eight months in new French oak before being released. I believe that the 2017 is sold out but the 2018 is out now and is as delicious.

Alcohol: 14% abv

Appearance: medium intense gold

Nose: Yellow apple, lemon curd, white peach, and  flint smoke

Palate: Round and creamy in the mouth with flavors of pie crust, baked apple, all spice, and grapefruit supported by structured acidity and medium plus, saline finish

Sevilen 900 Series Fumé Blanc, 2018

The first Fumé Blanc I’d ever had was not only Turkish but also from Sevilen. A vintage much older than this one, a 2010, it fell into that ‘beat over the head’ category and I did not enjoy it. I got a chance to talk to winemaker Sibel Çoban Ürentay about it when I tasted the 2018 with her. The 2010 I believe pre-dated her stepping into lead winemaker role for Sevilen. Her treatment of the Fumé Blanc proved to be much more skillful. You might still be able to find the 2018 around but the 2019 is now out and offers as fresh and lovely of flavors.

The wine is part of Sevilen’s 900 series, so named because the vineyards sit at 900 meters elevation on the Güney Plateau. Çoban’s 2018 then spent eight months in French oak. 

Alcohol: 13.5% abv

Appearance: pale lemon

Nose: Grapefruit, gooseberry, melon, bright herbs, freshly cut grass, and a waft of flint smoke

Palate: Lean and linear on the palate with racing acidity. Flavors, while no less intense, were a softer reflection of the nose. Medium-body and finish. Really lovely.

Umurbey Fumé Blanc, 2018

Umurbey has a great reputation for Sauvignon Blanc. His wine is considered a benchmark Sauvignon Blanc here. It’s a little surprising then that it was only last year that he released a Fumé Blanc.

Oak-aged wines are of course more expensive but I have to say that the price tag on this one is a bit breathtaking. Hovering somewhere above the 200 TL mark, this is a wine if want to splurge.

Alcohol: 14% abv

Appearance: light lemony yellow consistent to the rim

Nose: Soft lemon aromas of lemon curd, lemon bars, pretty white flowers, white peach, hints of grapefruit

Palate: Round with nice, mouthwatering acidity. Lemon bars in a bottle! Maybe it’s the Midwesterner in me but I love a good lemon bar and this was tart lemon curd with a dusting of powdered sugar and pastry crust flavors. A wee hint of vanilla sugar and rich, golden pineapple joined the flavors on the palate.

Küp Şarap Epic Sauvignon Blanc, 2018

With grapes from Bekili grown on the Güney Plateau at 800-900 meters, Küp’s Epic Sauvignon Blanc was raised for eight months in a combination of French and American oak. And some of that was definitely new oak.

Alcohol: 13% abv

Appearance: Medium-deep lemon

Nose: Citrusy and tropical with lemon and pomelo, melon, smoke, and vanilla

Palate: Medium-bodied and round with high, mouthwatering acidity. Smoked vanilla overwhelms on the palate but eventually grapefruit and melon break through and the two warring flavor families find a balance. I honestly would have guessed Chardonnay for this in a blind tasting and think Küp might want to consider pulling back a little on its oak. Although if you like oaky Chardonnay then have I got a Sauvignon Blanc for you! For my taste, I preferred Küp’s Thia Fumé Blanc.

Pamukkale Nodus Fumé Blanc, 2018

Grown at 700 meters in the limestone soils of the Güney Plateau, Pamukkale’s Nodus fermented in new French oak with daily battonage for four months followed by two more months ageing on the lees. I was terrified when I read that. SO MUCH OAK!

Alcohol: 14% abv

Appearance: Deep straw lemon on its way to gold

Nose: Such a surprise! I excepted to get knocked over by the oak. Instead I got tropical pineapple and pomelo, white flowers, seashell, and a hint of smoky flint

Palate: Round and mouthwatering seems to be the theme here and the Pamukkale Nodus didn’t disappoint there. Or anywhere else really. Lots of juicy pineapple with honey, white flowers, and raw hazelnuts on the medium-long finish.