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Aegean Tag

HomePosts tagged "Aegean" (Page 29)

  Urla is a new winery to me, I haven’t noticed this one before so when I saw the 2011 Urla Vourla at Comedus (59TL) I had to get it. I’m always on the lookout for a new wine maker here. A nice solid red color gave way to a truly lovely nose filled with dark fruits and berries. In the mouth this blend of Boğazkere, Merlot, Syrah, and Cabernet Sauvignon was pretty bold. The Vourla has a large, dense flavor supported by velvety tannins followed by a long finish. The one slightly off note to the body was that it was oddly thick. Which was really rather off-putting. On the attack the Urla Vourla

  Today was to have been the last of my 4AM Twitter sessions with VinoRai and Protocol Wine Studio during which we were to compare the Diren Öküzgözü and the Gali Blend. I bought both of the wines on which the discussion was focused and was all set to drink two glasses of red wine at 4 in the morning. Unfortunately dealing with Turkish bureaucracy this week has given me a few headaches, including one last night. When I woke up in pain at 2:30 AM I knew I wasn’t going to be able to participate in the session. Happily at least I can read what everyone Tweeted and, since my headache finally went away,

  I recently was able to entertain some family members here in Istanbul. Two of my double second cousins* were in town. I have a rather large family. Really rather large. My dad is one of eight and all but one of his siblings have children. My mom is one of 12 and nine of them have children. My siblings and I are all at the younger end of the cousins so we have several cousins (on daddy’s side) who are already grandparents themselves. So I have a hard enough time remembering all my first cousin’s…I’ve kind of given up on remembering my second cousins and their kids. I knew

  I have now had and written about the Pamukkale Senfoni Sek and Domi Sek. I’ve always quite liked the domi sek but I never tried the full-on Senfoni Sultaniye sweet. Until now. Sweet wines pair beautifully with spicy food which is one of the reasons I find myself eating a lot of çiğ köfte; they go well with the oh-so quaffable Miskets I like to drink in the summer. Assuming that a sweet Sultaniye grape would pair just as nicely I decided to try the Senfoni Sultaniye Sweet when I made blacked salmon a few weeks ago. It was a good choice. The color of pale hay with green lights, this

  The problem with back log reviews is that they get really back logged! This has apparently been neglected as a draft for a rather embarrassing amount of months. And while a few wines may deserve that, the 2011 Suvla Sır is not one of them. There was a period a few months back during which I’d banned myself from drinking for a few weeks…and this Suvla Sır was the culprit. Once again I lost a bet that I could drink an entire bottle of red wine in one sitting and not regret it the next morning. Sadly I did regret it the next morning…but it was a bittersweet regret. The

  I have a hard time with Sauvignon Blancs. I feel like no two are alike which, on the one hand is fantastic because hurrah for new wines, new tastes, and new experiences! On the other, you run into more chances of wines you don’t like. I’ve learned over the years that I just really don’t like white wine all that much. Dry white wines that is. Or anything oaked. Don’t even try to give me Chardonnay (unless it’s steel aged!). So that makes choosing a Sav Blanc which varies from the “less ripe” pale color herby/green bell pepper flavors to “more ripe” darker yellows with summer fruit flavors.

  Despite my previous, failed attempt to enjoy a Turkish-produced, Spanish-style wine I decided I would try again with the 2012 Mon Reve Tempranillo. Despite costing far more than anyone should pay for a young Tempranillo (46TL at Carrefour) it was pretty decent. In the glass it was a lovely burgundy with purple hints. On the nose-red fruits, cherry, plum,and  tobacco; all of which also presented on the palate. Low tannins, low acid, not really much of a finish at all…if you’ve enjoyed Tempranillo before then imagine your standard Tempranillo, water it down a little, and viola. In the end, it tasted pretty similar to your $5 Spanish Tempranillo. And while

  It’s funny how I never notice that I rarely cook meat at home; until Lent comes and then every Friday it’s an absolute trial. Much like living in Turkey with limited access to pork. I’d cook up some bacon every once in a while in the States but it was pretty rare for me to make pork dishes; but now that it’s difficult to get it’s all I can think of. I’m using my meatless Fridays to experiment with new vegetarian dishes-and pairing wines with them, of course! I wanted to let the Suvla Syrah breathe a bit (I recommend one-ish hour) so I opened it while the onions

  I feel like I don’t often see a Cabernet Franc here so when I found an Anfora Cabernet Franc (new from Anfora) at Le Cave I grabbed it. Especially since the nice guy who helps me choose wine there pointed out that it was far more “ekonomik” at 28TL than the 140TL bottle I was also buying. In the glass, the deep ruby color gave way to an intriguing nose of (sour) cherry and smoke. I almost thought I was going to once more start waxing poetic; but no. It was a good wine, and at 28TL something I might buy again, but not good enough for the poetic

  Two of my best friends have just moved to Istanbul and I haven’t had time to take them through the do’s and don’ts of Turkish wine yet; so I wasn’t really shocked when I turned up for dinner and found them with a bottle of Sava Premium. “Premium”. Snort. I love them but they are very much ‘wine tastes like wine’ people; at least they sprang for the premium. I’m always game to try a new wine though so here we go. Perhaps I was predisposed to give it bad notes but for me the Sava Premium was awful right from the start with a vinegary nose; or maybe