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Online Narince Taste Along

 

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For my next online tasting, I tackled what is probably the most popular native white grape in Turkey: Narince. I went a little overboard and opened six different wines for myself. Honestly I had to stop myself from adding a seventh and an eighth! Luckily I had a few in person tasters along for the ride who helped me finish off most of the wine!

Narince has a really interesting story. While one can now find it in many places around Turkey, its home is the Black Sea region district of Tokat. A number of wineries own vineyards there but most contract with independent growers. This has become a problem though. As more and more winemakers strive for quality wine, they are receiving damaged fruit from growers. The Narince leaf is traditionally used to make stuff grape leaves here and growers sell to both leaf wholesalers and wineries. Narince has to be rude of course and be a late ripening grape. By the time the grapes reach peak ripeness, vines have already been denuded of leaves so a good chunk of the grape harvest is wind/sunburned or otherwise damaged due to lack of canopy protection.

This tasting brought together not only my dedicated Istanbul-based tasters, but also friends and the Turkish wine curious in Athens, DC, Alexandria, and Las Vegas! I have another online tasting coming up on June 26th and am hoping to add a few more cities to the attendance mix. My girlfriend in Las Vegas is an especial hero. I might be drinking at 8pm Istanbul time but she’s juggling two kids, working from home, and a wine tasting at 10am her time!

Diren, 2018

Diren winery is the only winery actually located in Tokat where the Narince grows. The Narince Diren produces is steel aged, never oaked, and many consider it to be the purest expression of Narince. Sadly it often gets overlooked. Diren has some of the fairest and lowest wine prices which can often be a way to shoot yourself in the foot here. Especially among people who associate quality with price (which to be fair is not always incorrect in Turkey).

Alcohol: 13.3%

Color: Pale straw

Nose: Aromas of apple, citrus, tropical fruits and flowers

Palate: Flavors largely reflect the nose with a similar medium intensity. Medium-bodied with low acidity an a slight fatness and oiliness on the palate. Not a complex wine but great value for the price!

Turasan, 2019

Located in world-famous Cappadocia, Turasan is one of those wineries that brings in grapes from Tokat. However, they have their own dedicated vineyards which might explain how they make a Narince with so much dang flavor.

Alcohol: 13.5%

Color: light-medium straw

Nose: Intense, almost overblown fruit aromas of peach, nectarine, and tropical fruits.

Palate: Soooo fruity. Like the nose, flavors are mega intense again peach and nectarine, white and exotic flowers, and mineral framed by a lively acidity. Medium body and medium plus finish. So pretty and a joy to drink.

Arcadia Odrysia, 2016

All the way across the country in Thrace, Arcadia Bağları grows its own Narince. Narince often gets compared to Chardonnay both because it takes well to oak ageing but also because it can express terroir very well. Thracian Narince therefore is both similar to and yet a world apart from what we find from Tokat. 

Alcohol: 15%

Color: light gold

Nose: Medium intense aromas of apple, pear, fruit blossom and honey.

Palate: I read somewhere that an excellent wine is one that tastes better than it smells. That’s what this was. Flavor intensity was elevated and reflected much of what was sensed on the nose. Added to that though flavors of apricot jam and fennel. Elegant and dry with an almost sparkling acidity and lingering finish. I did not feel the alcohol in this at all and would have guess it to be much lower than the label stated.

Chamlija Kehribar, 2018

Made with 100% Narince grapes via spontaneous fermentation and bottled with no added sulfur, fining or filtering is the Chamlija Kehribar (kehribar being the Turkish word for “amber”). This is not Chamlija’s first Narince wine (it makes both a varietal and a blend) but is the winery’s first foray into skin-contact wines. 

Alcohol: 12.5%

Color: atomic orange

Nose: Very fruity on the nose with peach, apricot and apple cider vinegar. And I mean that last note in the very best way.

Palate: I like this wine more every time I drink it. Medium plus acidity brightens the fruit sensed on the nose with the addition of apricot jam and orange peel while medium tannins carry nutty flavors to a medium finish.

Vinolus, 2018

I’ve drunk a lot of Narince since moving to Turkey of both the “fresh” and “rich” styles. I approach the richer wines cautiously as often that means oak and even more often it means a heavy hand therewith. Vinolus, which makes one of my favorite Narince wines, has a very deft hand with that oak. Made with organic grapes grown in the volcanic soils of Kayseri and aged for nine months in French oak barrels, Vinolus gives us yet another expression of Narince.

Alcohol: 13.5%

Color: medium straw

Nose: Gunsmoke, grilled tree fruit, honeycomb, chamomile.

Palate: Very lively with lots of gorgeous, mouthwatering acidity to lift the fruit sense on the nose from grilled to ripe and crunchy. Add to that flavors of apricot, honey, flint, and mineral. Medium-bodied with a lingering finish. Gorgeous.

Vinkara Mahzen, 2018

Before this tasting I’d never tried the Vinkara Mahzen Narince. Made from grapes grown in their Kalecik vineyards, the Mahzen line at Vinkara is all oak-aged. I’m not gonna lie. That the Narince aged for 14 months sur lie in French oak barrels was something I found mildly terrifying. This ended up being not only my biggest surprise of the night, but a new favorite.

Alcohol: 14%

Color: medium gold

Nose: Baked apple, peach, nutmeg, vanilla, and walnut

Palate: On the palate dry, medium body with really nice, linear acidity. Flavors are apricot, baking spices (in a spicy but not sweet way), and flowers, with hints of caramel and cream. Medium long finish of vanilla custard. Lovely.