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Is Karkuş Catching On?

 

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The first Experimental Series wine Kayra released was an old vine Semillon. A couple years have passed since that one, which made me wonder if there even was going to be another in the series. I don’t know if the winery was waiting for inspiration to strike or waiting for perfection, but it hit it big with the new Karkuş.

Karkuş (also known as Kerküş) has lived in shadows for some time. A grape traditionally used by Turkey’s small Assyrian population, Karkuş grows in the high heat, semi-arid southeast near the country’s borders with Syria and Iraq. New plantings of this grape remain rare and existing Karkuş vines very old, growing in knarly bushes and interplanted with other local grapes. For a long time, Shiluh was the only one working with the grape as part of its Kustan Mazrona – Kerküş blend. It was really Midin, with its 100% Baluto Karkuş wines that first really brought the grape to the forefront.

Even in Turkey with its vast, and largely unexplored cornucopia of (native) grape varieties, Karkuş is unique. ‘Unique’ is a word that gets thrown around a lot and incorrectly used. How can something be a “little” unique or “very” unique? Hint, it cannot because unique is already a superlative. So when someone uses the word to describe a wine or a grape, I’m a little suspicious. But within Turkey, Karkuş truly is unique. Not only does it come from some of the oldest vines here, its skins are so thick and so deeply pigmented, that it makes amber wines without even trying. 

Now big Kayra, one of the biggest wineries in the country is trying its hand at Karkuş. 

Kayra Karkuş Experimental Series, 2022

Kayra is one of those really annoying wineries that provides limited winemaking information on its labels. All we know is what the label boasts:

old vines (entirely likely given the nature of this grape)

“natural” (A term I dislike to begin with, but when there are no details I really hate. Were the grapes farmed at least organically? Did Kayra ferment the wine with only ambient/native yeasts? Was additional SO2 added? Buzz words are important, details not so much here.)

No skin contact (again, given the nature of the grape, entirely likely)

Deep amber in the glass with an intense and aromatic nose. Simultaneously fruity but darkly earthy with bitter orange, tangerine, apricot, melon rind, and tobacco flower. Only very lightly tannic (remember, no actual maceration here) with a startling 15% abv. High alcohol is not uncommon here, but 15% is something for even one of our white wines. Despite that though, incredibly fresh and bright on the palate. Peach Jolly Rancher and citrus mingled with flavors of soft, aromatic herbs and flowers. 

All my grimacing over the label and skepticism aside, this was an amazing wine. I would absolutely buy this again. 

Is this a sign that the grape is moving out of the Assyrian wine category and into the mainstream? At these prices, probably not. Or not yet anyway. And yes, Kayra’s wine and Midin’s Karkuş wines are on the gulp-inducing side of the price scale. But remember, rare, old vines, that grow in mixed vineyards. That means limited grape availability and tricky harvests during which people have to make sure to be picking only the Karkuş grapes, not the Mazrona or Bilbizeki grapes on the vines next to the Karkuş vine…