Karalahna Is Having A Moment
For years Bozcaada wineries have more or less quietly made wine with Karalahna. Maybe it’s me noticing it more or maybe it’s that the grape made it off the island and into the hands of one of the country’s most popular winemakers…but I feel like Karalahna is finally having a moment.
Depending on to whom you speak, Karalahna means “black pumpkin” (Wine Grapes) or “kale” (it is a derivitive of the Turkish karalahana meaning kale). The grapes are big, round, and black-blue so I can see how it could get this black pumpkin moniker even though it doesn’t seem to be supported linguistically. However you want to think about the translation, the pronunciation is the same: kar-a-lah*-nah. *And when you say it, hit that ‘h’ with a nice breathy exhale!
When handled with care the grapes are capable of producing medium to full-bodied wines with big tannins, high acid, and generally display flavors of black and red berries. Karalahna does well with oak and the best wines need some additional bottle maturing before they’re ready to drink.
I’ve recently been reminded how much I like this grape and wanted to take a look at a few examples.
Corvus Vinium, 2016*
I heard a terrible rumor that Corvus may no longer be making this wine. Utter tragedy. Like many wineries in Turkey, Corvus makes a lot of wine with international grapes. But the winery’s location on Bozcaada, Turkey’s second largest island, allows the winery access to some of the island’s unique grapes.
Plus I just really like this wine and don’t want my access cut off!
Alcohol: 14.4% abv
Color: medium opaque garnet
Nose: Dried fruit, date syrup, spice, roses
Palate: So much tannins!!!!! Very chewy, love love! Medium plus acidity and flavors of tart, fresh fruits like sour cherry, dried Bing cherry, pepper, clove, and nutmeg
*Yes the picture is of the 2012 vintage and my notes from 2016, apparently I was too lazy to take another picture.
Çamlıbağ Karalahna, 2017
Like Corvus, Çamlıbağ winery sits on Bozcaada. Unlike Corvus though, Çamlıbağ is an old winery. The family used to be Greek and hung on during the early 20th century population exchange. Now Muslim Turks (long story), they’ve been making wine on the island since 1925.
Alcohol: 12.5% abv
Color: medium opaque garnet
Nose: Black cherry, black mulberry, black raspberry (I sense a theme!), stewed fruit, moss, licorice, clove, and horse
Palate: Medium – low tannins hit the palate first followed by a burst of fresh acidity. Fruity from start to finish with juicy black cherries and berries and earthy tones of spice and barnyard.
Gürbüz Karalahna, 2017
Gürbüz’s Karalahna is the odd one out in this grouping. Unlike Corvus and Çamlıbağ, Akın Gürbüz’s winery is not on Bozcaada. His winery is in upper Thrace around Kırklareli and his vineyards range from there to the Marmara. Grapes for this wine came from Uçmakdere on the Sea of Marmara coast and spent 12 months in oak.
Alcohol: 13.2% abv
Color: medium plus intense ruby
Nose: Red fruits, sour cherry compote, blueberry, black pepper, graphite, clay pot, vanilla, and clove
Palate: A very different palate than the two previous wines. Whereas they both had a sense of rusticity about them, this presented a more elegant expression of Karalahna. Low, smooth tannins and medium plus acidity gave mouthwatering flavors of both black and sour cherry highlighted by black pepper before sliding into a coffee bean finish.