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Aegean Tag

HomePosts tagged "Aegean" (Page 24)

  It has been years since I’ve written about Chateau Gali. Granted Gali doesn’t have the output some of the other wineries here do but considering how much I enjoy both the eponymous blend and the Evreshe Bordeaux blend it is a little shameful. So let’s talk about the Chateau Gali Saros blend. Gali’s story began in 2005, when founder, Hakan Kavur, acquired 48 hectares of land in the Gallipoli Peninsula. The goal was to manufacture a single wine, ‘GALİ. They planted about 24 hectares of land with 78% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc and 8% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. In November 2011 they released their first wine, the Gali 2009 blend. The 24-hectare vineyard

  I was recently lucky enough to be invited to the Galata Anemon hotel for a tasting of Yanık Ülke wines. Yanık Ülke  was established by the Akçura family on the rocky volcanic slopes of the Divlit Volcano near Izmir. The terroir in that area is volcanic and similar to that of Mount Etna in Italy. They have 150 hectares (60 under vine) located at 924 meters above sea level. Their site boasts not only vineyards planted with an interesting variety of grapes but also a hotel and onsite restaurant. Yanık Ülke plants only old favorites such as Muscat, Chardonnay, Viognier, Shiraz, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, Boğazkere, and Öküzgözü. They are also the only

  Porta Caeli is one of my favorite new wineries here in Turkey and its Ament Bordeaux is as hefty as the bottle is. But more on that later. Recreating Bordeaux in Gallipoli Porta Caeli is a relatively new winery. Based in Eceabat on the Gallipoli peninsula, it has only recently released its first vintage (2013). The idea for Porta Caeli came from a wine loving family. Knowing that Turkey is capable of producing wines to rival those from anywhere in the world they established their winery in 2002. After traveling across Turkey and testing soils in various regions they settled in Ecebat where they have 170 hectares. They implement Good Agricultural Practices and GLOBALGAP

  The Sommeliers Selection Turkey 2017 is the gift that keeps on giving. Seriously. I discovered so many wines and wineries there that I hadn’t heard of before. It’s taking a little time but they are slowly trickling into retail shops in Istanbul now. Şeyla Ergenekon, one of the founders of Ergenekon winery, has written some of the first and only books available on Turkish wine including: Şarapla Tanışma and Türk Şarapları. I’ve had the pleasure of reading both of these. The second, Türk Şarapları is also available in English as Wines of Turkey and can be found online or, if you’re in Istanbul, at Vinus Wine & Spirits. Luckily for wine lovers, Şeyla established her own, eponymous vineyard in Çanakkale.

  I haven’t yet dived fully into Kastro Tireli’s wines. Outside of the Narince-Viognier I previously reviewed I’ve only also had this Karkaia, a Bordeaux-blend style wine. However I’m so pleased to see that their wines are pretty widely available now. Especially as I’m a fairly lazy individual and still haven’t made it to their storefront in Bebek. Committed to quality over quantity, Kastro Tireli, which began planting in 2004, does everything by hand. The winery is also dedicated to organic viticulture. If you cannot visit them in Akhisar and want a bigger experience than just picking up something in the bottle shop-head to Bebek. And then mock me with how great your

  As with the Suvla Sur, I’ve tasted multiple vintages of Suvla’s Reserve Petit Verdot Karasakız. Is the Petit Verdot Karasakız 2012 my favorite of the vintages? I honestly do not know since they are all beautiful. Suvla is a family owned wine producer established by Pınar Ellialtı and Selim Zafer Ellialtı in 2003. The vineyards are nestled in the historical Peninsula of Gallipoli, between the North Aegean coast and the Sea of Marmara where they cultivate a wide variety of grapes. The whites include Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Roussanne, and Marsanne. The reds include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Grenache Noir, Petit Verdot, and Pinot Noir. In addition Suvla produces several indigenous grape

  Many people I know are turned off by the term: late harvest. “I don’t like dessert wine.” “It’s too sweet.” For many ‘late harvest’ means a wine that is syrupy sweet; but it doesn’t have to mean that at all. Late harvest wines can be super sweet, dry, and everything in between. Sweet Is as Sweet Does The late harvest Misket Urla Symposium is an excellent example. It is not a dessert wine but a lovely, light, semi-sweet. So if late harvest doesn’t automatically mean sweet wine; what does it mean? Late harvest grapes are just that. They are grapes that have been left on the vine longer than a typical harvest (an additional one

  Nıf Vineyards is one of the Turkish wineries I have only recently become interested in. This is due in large part to its 2012 Sangiovese.   Based in Ege, Izmir, Nif Vineyards is one of Turkey’s Aegean region wineries. What makes Nıf especially interesting is that more than any other winery here I know, it focuses heavily on Italian grapes. In a country which favors French grapes the Italian grapes we see here are few and far between. Nıf’s wines are not inexpensive. They run a gambit from about 70 TL (the Nıf Vineyards Sangiovese was 69 TL at the Savoy Tobacco shop in Cihangir) to 140 and above. They are worth

  I have been lucky enough to try three different vintages of Suvla’s Sur: the 2010, 2011, and 2012. A few years ago I wrote about the 2010 and 2011 side by side so it’s time to tackle the Sur 2012. They’re all beautiful wines. I wish I could get one of each for a vertical tasting but I believe the 2010 is sold out. It hurts no one’s feelings though to drink the Sur 2012! Suvla is a family owned wine producer. In 2003 Pınar Ellialtı and Selim Zafer Ellialtı established the winery in Eceabat. Because of their location along the Çanakkale Strait (also known as Dardanelles); they named the winery after a

  In November I attended another wine tasting lead by Şarap Atölyesi’s Murat Mumcuoğlu at the Historic Pano Wine House in Istanbul. We tasted eight wines all by winemakers Paşaeli and Selendi; one of which was the 2015 Selendi Sarnıç Viognier Chardonnay. Selendi is one of Turkey’s Aegean wineries located in the Akhisar district of Manisa (outside Izmir). The name of this wine, Sarnıç, is actually the name of the specific vineyard. It is not uncommon for winemakers here to name wines after the villages where the vineyards are. Selendi has three vineyards in Sarnıç (Sarnıç  I – III). It’s in Sarnıç III where they have grown their Viognier and Chardonnay grapes since 2009.