Öküzgözü Blends to Try
Hailing from some of Turkey’s most easterly vineyards in Elazığ, Öküzgözü is the number one planted wine grape in Turkey. As demonstrated in my online Öküzgözü taste along, there is no shortage to wines made with this grape.
Commonly found as a varietal wine but blends are also popular. Öküzgözü traditional blending partner has been the ultra tannic Boğazkere. However, we’re seeing more and more blends that include more than Boğazkere or that don’t include it at all. Öküzgözü’s naturally high acidity makes it a great foil for any number of grapes, both domestic and international.
Diren Öküzgözü Boğazkere, 2017
Diren, the only Black Sea region winery in Turkey, sources its Öküzgözü and Boğazkere grapes from vineyards in the grapes’ traditional areas of Elazığ and Diyarbakır respectively. The resulting wine is simple, meant to be drunk young.
Alcohol: 12.5% abv
Color: medium opaque purple
Nose: Intensely fruity, jammy blue fruits, blueberry pie, damson plum, some spice, violets, black mulberry
Palate: Soft tannins present upfront lend spicy black pepper as notes of plum, black mulberry, and violets present themselves for a medium-bodied, easy to drink wine.
Sherlock approved!
Büyülübağ Öküzgözü Boğazkere, 2017
Based on the Sea of Marmara island Avşa, Büyülübağ sources its grapes not from the island or Elazığ/Diyarbakır, but from Denizli in the Aegean. While elevation moderates the temperature in some areas in Denizli, the overall warm to hot climate here results in very ripe grapes with often exaggerated fruit character and high alcohol. while a traditional Öküzgözü Boğazkere blend, Büyülübağ’s wine has a very different personality.
Alcohol: 14% abv
Color: medium intense garnet
Nose: Dominating aromas of sour cherry mingle with forest floor, damp earth, mushroom, and hints of stable
Palate: Medium-bodied with soft tannins and an appealing savory character, the wine had mouth-filling flavors of juicy sour cherry and pomegranate, earth, and wild herbs framed by high acidity.
Kuzeybağ Öküzgözü Kösetevek, 2018
Kuzeybağ is the only one of these wineries to be located in the Öküzgözü home of Elazığ. The winery blends Öküzgözü (70%) with another local grape, Kösetevek (30%) and does not oak age the wine to retain the fresh fruit character.
Alcohol: 13% abv
Appearance: vibrant purple
Nose: If something can smell like a color then this wine smelled “purple”. Highly fruity with black fruits of plum and fresh fig and violets. I have never had a huckleberry but I imagine this is what it would smell like.
Palate: Dry with a medium body and silky tannins. Tangy in a good fruit vinegar way with fresh blueberry juice and black plum.
Ezel Öküzgözü Shiraz Çalkarası, 2016
Ezel winery is based in a subzone of the Aegean region called Çal. The same area that gives its name to Çalkarası (i.e. the “black of Çal”). Both the Çalkarası and the Öküzgözü for this blend came from Ezel’s vineyards in Çal while the Shiraz came from nearby Denizli.
Alcohol: 14% abv
Appearance: pale ruby
Nose: Not particularly expressive but showing notes of red fruit, cherry, black pepper, moss
Palate: Medium body with low tannins and clean acidity. Persistent flavors of juicy red cherries and cranberries enveloped in a spicy black pepper crust with an earthy and green wood finish.
Prodom Öküzgözü Kalecik Karası, 2015
Like Kuzeybağ, Aegean winery Prodom blends its Öküzgözü with another native grape, Kalecik Karası. The wine sees gentle oak ageing and limited filtration prior to bottling.
Alcohol: 13.5% abv
Color: medium intense garnet
Nose: Bright red fruits of cherry and currant swirled together with aromas of hard candy, soy sauce, and bbq meat.
Palate: Fresh and mouthwatering with light, friendly tannins and dominate red fruit flavors of crunchy cherries, currants, and red plum with an agreeable savoriness on the lingering finish.
Chamlija Kadim Anadolu Üzümleri, 2017
This wine from Chamlija, Kadim Anadolu Üzümleri, means “ancient Anatolian grapes.” And yes, the blend of 45% Öküzgözü, 45% Boğazkere, and 15% Karaoğlan, aged 10 months in French barrels, represents three of the traditional Anatolian varieties. However, the grapes all grew in Chamlija’s Thracian vineyards around the Strandja Mountains.
Alcohol: 13.7% abv
Color: medium intense purple
Nose: Rich purple and black fruits, earth, violets, nutmeg, and clove
Palate: The richness found on the nose is elevated here with flavors of dried date and raisin complimented by sweet baking spices and candied violets wrapped in silky tannins.
Öküzgözü Şarapçılık Phokaia Blend, 2017
While this winery shares a name with the grape in question, it is not located in Öküzgözü’s homeland but farther west in the suburbs of Izmir. The 2017 Phokaia red blend combines Öküzgözü with international grapes Syrah and Merlot. The wines aged for eight months in French oak barrels.
Alcohol: 14% abv
Color: intense purple ruby
Nose: Big, bold blue fruits on the nose with pepper, vanilla, tobacco, gun powder, and baking spices
Palate: Mouth filling flavors of blueberry and acai berry with pleasing acidity and light and caressing tannins. Spicy flavors of black pepper and nutmeg give depth to the juicy fruits and transition into a smoky graphite on the finish.