Tomurcukbağ Changes it up with Trajan Narince
If you love Kalecik Karası then you may know the name Prof. Dr. Sabit Ağaoğlu. If you don’t know his name, I’m willing to bet you know Tomurcukbağ. While preparing his agriculture PhD thesis, Prof. Dr. Ağaoğlu literally brought back to life what is now the second most popular black grape.
When his research finished he had both a PhD and a vineyard. He and his wife decided they may as well use it and the Tomurcukbağ Trajan label was born. While he dabbles in Boğazkere, Kalecik Karası is the winery’s star. But we’re not talking about Kalecik Karası today, but the Trajan Narince.
When I say that he dabbles in Boğazkere, I mean that it’s the only wine in his range that’s not Kalecik Karası, but it is a readily available wine. So “dabble” might be more appropriate a word when it comes to Tomurcukbağ and white wine. Years past, Tomurcukbağ had a Sauvignon Blanc. I got to try it some years ago when I visited to interview him for my book. Even by then he’d stopped making it though. So you could have knocked me over with a feather when I saw a Trajan Narince at 21 in Cihangir! Immediately I ordered a glass but also asked the waiter to bring me the bottle. I know the owner of 21 is a wine lover but I had to make sure there wasn’t a menu-wine discrepancy!
After that glass, it took a little while before I found any shops carrying it. Eventually I did find it (also in Cihangir at La Cave).
Tomurcukbağ Trajan Narince, 2021
A strong proponent of letting nature do its thing, Tomurcukbağ grapes are farmed organically and wine made with an eye towards minimal intervention. For Prof. Dr. Ağaoğlu, that means fermented on native yeasts only, limited to filtering, and no oak.
Medium, tarnished gold in the glass with aromas of quince, cantaloupe, and that “natural” incense which always reminds me of apple cider vinegar. Juicy tree fruit dominated the palate with flavors of golden apple and pear. Narince, despite its name, often gives a wine with a fatty palate and that’s what I found here. Fatty but certainly not flabby as proved by a lively acidity.
A different wine for Tomurcukbağ and a different Narince for the rest of us!