Introducing the Newest Black Sea Winery: 502 Quinientos Dos
Surrounded by mountains and the verdant forests of the Black Sea region, the district of Amasya lays about 120 kilometers from the Black Sea. Although near the sea, Amasya sits high above the coast and has an inland, hot summer Mediterranean climate. While tea might be the most famous crop to come out of the region, Amasya is well-known for its apples which grow well here. And maybe soon…for its grapes.
Quinientos Dos (502) Vineyards is a small, family winery established in 2014 by Mert Atay and Rifaa Wais. As they explain, 2022 might have been their first commercial vintage, but their story began eight years before when they planted their first vines of … Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. I guess they just couldn’t help themselves. The couple now has 1.5 hectares dedicated to those as well as regional grapes Merzfion Karası and Narince. They also source Merzfion Karası from 15-20 year old vineyards owned by other growers which, all together, allows them to produce 15,000 bottles. The winery’s Spanish names comes from the couple’s previous address in Barcelona, Calle Rosello 502. It was here where they were living when inspiration struck, prompting them to return to Turkey to open a winery in the Amasya district town Gümüşhacıköy.
This 2022 vintage, their first, yielded four red wines (a white made from Narince to be released soon). I received these as samples on behalf of Fine Turkish Wine, a Turkish wine importer based in Texas. All opinions are my own.
502 Vineyards Diakopa Blend, 2022
Two of 502 Vineyards’s wines come under the label, Diakopa, the old Roman name of their village Gümüşhacıköy. The 50/50 blend brings together regional grape Merzfion Karası, sourced from Merzifon where it grows at 700-900 meters, and Cabernet Sauvignon from the winery’s home vineyards. The wine, after undergoing normal/standard red wine making practices, spent six months in barrel. Chances are good, being as it was their first vintage, that they were new barrels.
Medium opaque purple-ruby in the glass, big spicy notes leapt out as soon as the wine hit the glass! Brown spices, particularly clove, woven around plum and blackberry. The palate largely followed the nose, really heavy on the cloves, with touches of green bell pepper, and a sweet, chocolate finish. Silky mouthfeel and nice acidity, but the alcohol felt hot. It cannot be easy to get balance with alcohol as high as 14.9% abv.
Generally, despite the hotness, I liked the flavors here but I found the bombastic character of Cabernet Sauvignon overwhelmed the quieter Merzfion Karası.
502 Vineyards Diakopa Kalecik Karası, 2022
The second red wine in the Diakopa line up is a 100% Kalecik Karası made with grapes sourced from Kalecik in Central Anatolia. Fermentation and ageing in tank only, no oak here.
Forest spices and sprinkles of pink pepper combine with red plum, raspberry, and cranberry jam along with touches of earth and the grape’s characteristic cotton candy. Smooth and silky on the palate where the fruit more than the earth or spice took the main stage. This is both the only wine for which I don’t have an ABV and the only one that didn’t feel hot.
502 Vineyards Wild Ferment
Quite the label on this one which is apparently a no SO2 added, wild fermented blend of Merzifon Karası, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot which then spent eight months in barrel.
This one definitely wanted some time to breathe. Initially stemmy aromas giving way to sweet vanilla, brown spices, black pepper, and cassis. Round tannins greeted me on the palate along with a mélange of cooked plum and berries and sweet spices leading into a medium vanilla-kissed finish. Maybe I just had heartburn the day I tasted these? But at 14.9% ABV, I also found this one unbalanced by the alcohol. What I didn’t find was one of the grapes.
I don’t know what percentages of the three grapes in the blend were, but I could not find the Merzifon Karası influence here. That hotness aside, it tasted like a decent Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot blend.
502 Vineyards Merzifon Karası
Speaking of Merzifon Karası, one of 502 Vineyards’s wines is a varietal Merzifon Karası. One hundred percent the grape but with a 50/50% blend of oaked and tank aged wines.
There are a few varietal Merzifon Karası wines floating around. The original, and still the one to beat, from Likya but Edrine’s is decent (especially if you like to chill red wine a bit), and Diren makes one too which is all I’ll say about it. My point being, there are a few wines available for comparison. So how does this one stack up? Somewhere in the middle, in my opinion. 
A bright, clear ruby color, bang on for this grape, so out of the gate all things were going well. Earthy and forest aromas hit the nose first followed by a sandalwood perfume. The palate presented more fruit with black olive, red plums (I want to say – it was red fruit but not of the cherry/berry variety). Low tannins with medium plus acidity. As with most of the Merzifon Karası wines I’ve had, this would probably do well a little chilled. Alcohol still on the high side at 14.3% abv but not so high as to be unbalancing.
This is a decent freshman vintage for 502 Vineyards. I really hope to visit them in the coming months and I hope that what they’re doing inspires more people. We need more producers in the Black Sea. The region is home to at least two (that we know of) grapes and has a variety of great terroir to explore for wineries. Hopefully 502 Vineyards will become a leader in the region, especially if they emphasize their Merzifon Karası and Narince wines.