Selefkia Patkara: A Mini Vertical Tasting
Selefkia Wines is one of the few (well one of the two!) wineries based in southern Turkey’s Mediterranean region of Mersin. The winery makes a number of wines from Turkish grapes but really focuses on the two regional grapes: Ak Üzüm and Patkara. White and black respectively, these underdog grapes appear in very few wines. really only Selefkia and its Mersin neighbor Tasheli use them at all.
Patkara is at home on the slopes on the Taurus Mountains in the Çömelek and Karacaoğlan villages in Göksu Valley. It might be a valley but it’s a heck of a high one. Turkey has a plethora of high elevation vineyards and Patkara’s are no joke at 1200 meters. The grape prefers sandy, pebbly soils and is a relatively early ripening grape. In fact, that’s how this particularly grape got its name: “pat” meanin “fast, suddenly” in Turkish and “kara” is the stem for “black” – a word that appears in many Turkish grape names.
Selefkia Patkara, 2013
It was very interesting to have this chance to see how this grape ages; or not! Luckily though this seemed to do pretty well after a not insignificant number of years in the bottle. Especially impressive as I believe the wines to have not been aged in oak.
Alcohol: 12% abv
Appearance: pale garnet that showed its age by fading to brick on the rim
Nose: Dried fruit, date syrup, cinnamon, black pepper (very port-esque)
Palate: Aromas from the nose followed onto the palate although with a step down in intensity. Savory herbs and leather notes accentuated those port adjacent flavors. True to what little I knew about this grape going in, the wine had an overall medium-low body with low tannins and medium-high acidity.
Selefkia Patkara, 2017
I think that 2017 must have presented some challenges for Selefkia. This Patkara did not show as well as even the 2013. I recall that the Ak Üzüm also had some issues for this vintage.
Alcohol: 12% abv
Appearance: clear and bright ruby
Nose: Nice nose with savory aromas of cigar, bay leaf, leather, and sandalwood
Palate: This is where the wine fell down for me. Flavors largely reflected the nose which would have been great. However, I detected a definite barnyard poo flavor. Maybe it was a little Brett? But I generally don’t mind some Brett in my wine but this was a bridge too far for me. Medium (-) body with medium (+) acidity and low tannin.
Selefkia Patkara, 2019
Now we come to the present day and the newest release, the 2019. Were those savory notes from the two older vintages inherit to the grape, or did they come with age? We can but dive in and find out.
Alcohol: 12% abv
Appearance: clear, pale purple
Nose: Rich and fruity with blackberry, raspberry, violets, vanilla, mint, and nutmeg. Already this wine is a whole new ballgame!
Palate: While the nose presented a far fruitier and richer picture than the previous vintages, some definitely savory, bay leaf, dried herb, and old leather notes popped up on the palate to underpin the fruit.
Now I can’t wait to dive into Tasheli’s wines and learn more about this grape.