Saranta Chateau Murou Chardonnay
I’ve been holding onto my notes of these two Saranta Chateau Murou Chardonnay wines for a while now. My hope was that I could compare more than two vintages but I haven’t seen any Chardonnay from Saranta past 2016! Which really just bums me out because these are beautiful wines. So the 2015 and 2016 it is.
We know I don’t like oak in my white wine and Chardonnay always worries me. Turkey got caught in the same too much new oak trap that many New World winemakers got caught in. Many of them have clawed their out in the last few years though. Saranta has a very talented woman who both cares for the vines and makes the wines. One of the practices she introduced at the winery is that of not oak ageing any of the white wines. Not even those in the reserve Chateau Murou line.
I first had the 2015 vintage during a visit to the winery. The 2016 I tired at one of the Istanbul wine events. The difference between the 2016 and what I remembered of the 2015 blew me away. I did some quick Googling and confirmed that summer 2016 was considerably warmer than 2015 which contributed to riper grapes, higher sugar levels, and riper more tropical fruit flavors in the end wine.
Saranta Chateau Murou Chardonnay, 2015
Just because 2016 had a hotter summer does not mean 2015 was cold! Certainly it was still hot enough to result in a 15% abv wine! Yikes! But with Gülçin’s deft hand at the wheel, that high alcohol does not at all disturb the wine’s balance.
Pale straw on the pour with grapefruit, passion fruit, orchard blossom, citrus pith, and a curl of flint-like smoke aromas. On the palate there’s a roundness that filled my mouth with flavors of Meyer lemon, passion fruit curd, and wet stone braced by lively acidity. Yeasty flavors accented a long, lemony finish.
Of the two vintages this was my favorite. Sadly it’s long since sold out.
Saranta Chateau Murou Chardonnay, 2016
While I liked the 2015 more when I compared the two vintages side by side; I in no way disliked the 2016. Both were structured and delicious wines in their own way.
This vibrant wine showed a tropical character with splashes of grapefruit and floral detail surrounding a core of apricot, mango, and grilled pineapple. More linear than the 2015 this was richer on the nose than on the palate which, while it retained a tropical nature, leaned towards less ripe fruit than the nose hinted.
The 2016 is difficult to find but not impossible. I recently bought a bottle at Dekante in Istinye Park. If anyone knows were I can get other vintages, please let me know!