Selendi Moralı Narince is Back Baby!
When the Oenotrian wine club was still active in Istanbul*, one of the wines I received from them was a varietal Narince from Selendi. It blew me away (you can read my notes here). I drank the bottle from the club then ran out to buy more…with almost no luck. For years this wine has been utterly elusive. Here and there a bottle might pop up but, for the most part, every shop I asked in couldn’t get me any. I even wondered if they’d stopped making it. A few months ago, Mensis Mahzen suddenly had a stock of it. Then Online Mahzen, La Cave, and so on. Selendi Moralı Narince was back and in greater quantities than ever!
Selendi has been making wine since around 2012. Based in Akhısar, in the inner Aegean, the winery has vineyards in two villages Moralılar and Sarnıç. For today, we only care about the first which surround the winery and sit in a flat basin bordered by the nearby, low-lying mountains. Founder Akın Öngör takes a lot of pride in the fact that his 3.2 hecates are farmed organically.
I would rather see more effort farming native grapes – organic or not. Do we really need another imitation Bordeaux or Rhône blend? I think we all know my opinion on that. Narince seems to be the only native grape Selendi works with. Until this recent explosion of the Moralı Narince, it was largely available in the Selendi Sarnıç Viognier Chardonnay Narince blend**.
Selendi Moralı Narince, 2022
This is, in theory, a 100% Narince, made from organic grapes. It is one of the most interesting looking Narince wines I’ve ever seen. The wine looked a little like a blanc de noir in the bottle – peachy colored. Possibly due to blue-tinted glass? We’re seeing a little of here recently. Even in the glass though it retained a bit of that peachy color. Strange.
A bit different on the nose as well from what we’ve come to expect from Narince. Much more aromatic than the usual with juicy white fruits, white nectarine, white flowers, apricot, pomelo, and citrus blossoms. A kiss of zingy acidity greeted the tongue upon the first sip followed by mid palate body weight. Flavors were very faithful to nose with the same intense level of stone fruit and citrus joined by juicy melon and a sprinkling of white flower petals. Medium-bodied with 12.5% alcohol, and a medium-short finish. Very pretty, very nice, very drinking drinkable.
Is it odd that it’s suddenly so available? Do I care as long as I have better access…?
*Update: since this was originally published, the Oenotrian wine club founder has returned to Turkey and started up again!
**This blend has limited availability in the US! Where it’s actually significantly less expensive than it is here…just in case anyone State-side wants to try it.
Please Help Turkey and Syria!
Turkey and Syria are still in desperate need of help after the horrific earthquakes that have decimated large areas of Turkey’s south east and northern Syria, please consider donating to one of the relief efforts if you are able:
- Animal rights organization Haytap is helping animals affected by the earthquake, and displaced people who need a place to stay with their pets. Other animal-focused groups such as Dört Ayaklı Şehir (Four-Legged City) and Work Animals Rescue Foundation, are also helping farm animals, street animals, and pets.
- Donate to civil society groups working on the ground to provide immediate relief and medium- to long-term recovery to survivors via UK-based Turkey Mozaik Foundation or US-based Turkish Philanthropy Funds.
- Donate to the volunteer response being carried out in Turkey by the trusted, independent NGOs İhtiyaç Haritası (Needs Map) or Ahbap.
- Hayata Destek (Support to Life), is a Turkish NGO experienced in providing humanitarian relief and working with underserved communities.
- World Central Kitchen provides funds and food to those still living in tents in the affected areas.
- To support rescue efforts in Syria, donate to White Helmets and SAMS.
- Field Ready Türkiye (Sahaya Hazır İnovasyon Derneği) is a team of engineers working in Gaziantep, Turkey, and northwest Syria who make cheap, low-tech airbags for search and rescue from buildings which have collapsed. “If we move fast they can make more,” a good friend who previously worked with the team writes. “The workshops in Syria also have vast experience of fixing essential medical equipment, and making insulated shelters – both greatly needed right now”