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Heraki Akuarela a Lighter Side of Boğazkere

 

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Of all the grapes in Turkey, Boğazkere remains one of (if not the) most tannic and full-bodied varieties. So why am I talked about this wine, literally called “throat scratcher” in summer?? Because Heraki has pulled off a much lighter style that you can enjoy even in this hot, summer weather. I’ve been crushing hard on Heraki, as you can tell from my posts about their Akuarela Sultaniye and Akuarela Çal Karası. This wine only makes me love them more!

Even when I started drinking Turkish wine 10 years ago, finding a decent Boğazkere was difficult. When made clumsily, the wine presents harsh, tannic, bitter or goes the other way and gets drowned in oak to try to cover the fact that someone didn’t know what they were doing. A strategy that does not fool many. It seems that only recently have people really figured out how to make decent wine with this grape. You can fairly easily find some good wines these days – and now we can add the Heraki Akuarela Boğazkere to the list.

Heraki Akuarela Boğazkere, 2020

Boğazkere is mostly at home in the hot and dry eastern area of Diyarbakır, but Heraki’s vines live in the more hospitable environments of Denizli in the inner Aegean. They’ve lived there for a while though as they average 40 years of age! These dry-farmed bush vines sit at 900 meters above sea level in Çal, an area in Denizli currently making a wine revival. 

After harvest and fermentation, the wine ages in egg-shaped tanks but sees no oak. And while I just complained a few paragraphs ago about the over usage of oak, this grape generally needs a little time in at least a neutral barrel to smooth out its rough edges. Apparently not if you’re Heraki and getting your grapes from Çal though!

Different right from the pour with a clear, pale purple-ruby color; not the usually purple-black Boğazkere usually pours. The nose offered delicate (again, not a word usually associated with the grape!) blue-black berry fruits (mulberry and blueberry) with a dash of brown spice and herbal-menthol notes. A fruit-forward palate of tart, black berry fruits cavorted with savory/spicy notes. A disappointingly short-ish finish but the flavors were great while they lasted! Juicy acidity and persistent, elegant tannins. I did not drink this with anything specific but can see if being a fabulous pairing wine. 

While I’ve complained before about wines not tasting like the grape, there is a huge difference between a wine that shows zero varietal character, and a wine that is a completely different style but still tastes like the grape it’s supposed to be. This case being the latter.

I do want to caveat the above notes though. Originally, I opened this as part of a wine tasting I gave. We all more or less like it, or didn’t find it offensive anyway. But after the tasting, I had more than half a bottle left over (leftovers almost never happen). I corked it, put it on the counter, and went back to it later the next day – totally different wine. So, if you decide you want to try this, do yourself a solid and decant it and let it breathe for at least an hour.