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Top Turkish Kalecik Karası Wines

 

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Nearly extinct until the 1970s, Kalecik Karası has become of of Turkey’s most popular and widely planted grapes. While red wines remain the most common, the grape shows great flexibility and makes blanc de noir, rosé, and traditional method sparkling wines. Below are my picks for top Turkish Kalecik Karası wines (well the red ones anyway!).

It originates in the Central Anatolian region, near Ankara, in Kalecik. Fairly adaptable, the grape grows across the country now and very often gives nuances of terroir. Known for its distinctive cotton candy aroma, Kalecik Karası at its worst is a simple fresh and fruity wine without complexity but with enjoyable fruit and candy aromas. However, when made well, the grape is capable of producing wines with elegance and complexity and an aroma profile that includes: red berries, cherry, strawberry, raspberry, cotton candy, pyrazine, game, and stable.

You can read more about the grape itself in my Get to Know the Grape: Kalecik Karası post. But now, onto the wines!

Prodom Kalecik Karası

Located in Aydın to the east of Izmir, Prodom mostly concentrates on international grapes. Their exceptions: Kalecik Karası, Öküzgözü, and Bornova Misketi. The Kalecik Karası will set you back a bit these days but for the quality is worth it. 

Alcohol: 13% abv

Color: medium (-) garnet

Nose: Earthy top notes of moss and forest underfloor followed by red fruits and dark caramel

Palate: Palate was silky with nice acidity. Flavors faithfully followed the nose with earthy/mossy tones. More fruit appeared here than in the nose with red forest berries and currants.

Pairs well with bacon jam!

Gürbüz Caro Vino

Like Prodom, Akın Gürbüz works mostly with international grapes. And oddly enough, his exceptions are similar to Prodom’s with Kalecik Karası, Öküzgözü, and Bornova Misketi as well as Karalahna. And rumor has it he’s also released a Papazkarası. Akın’s wine command high prices and they are worth it. But, not to encourage a price increase or anything, the Caro Vino remains fairly low priced. I suggest going out and getting a few of these because they’re going to age well.

Alcohol: 13.1% abv

Color: clear, brick garnet

Nose: Intense red fruits, berries, licorice, dried herbs/flowers, hints of pepper, dried crushed raspberries, nutmeg … there is so much going on here!

Palate: Medium body with a silky texture. A mouthful of red fruits, spice, dried flowers and herbs that led into a lingering bitter cocoa finish.

Vinolus Kalecik Karası

Vinolus makes possibly my favorite Kalecik Karası wine. I feel absolutely unapologetic about saying that. Is it the winemaker? The volcanic soils and climate of Kayseri? Who knows? What I do know is that this wine is fabulous, the new vintage is supposed to be the best yet, and with prices going up the way they are, you should go out and get two now.

Alcohol: 13% abv

Color: semi-opaque brick

Nose: Red fruits sprinkled with crushed herbs and a whiff of tack room leather and sandalwood

Palate: Crunchy cherry, dried herbs, and leather on the silky palate. Bright acidity. More savory than fruity with an edgy herbaceousness that makes Vinolus’s wine very different from others.

Sevilen Plato Kalecik Karası

The Sevilen Plato line features native Turkish grapes like Kalecik Karası, Öküzgözü, and Narince. These are among the winery’s high-end wines so they cost a little much but perform well. The Kalecik Karası especially has ageing potential.

Aged for 10 months in mixed use French oak, this wine wants air. Trust me on this. Let is breathe at least an hour and (if you have it in a decanter or jug of some sort) give it a vigorous swirl every once in a while.

Alcohol: 15% abv

Color: pale garnet

Nose: Raspberry, hard candy, pomegranate vinegar, sprinkled over with cinnamon, with underlying gamey-earthiness of stable and venison.

Palate: Like the others tannins are on the low but oh so silky side. The palate delivered similar flavors to those found on the nose like raspberry and other red fruits (plum and currant), with cinnamon and green underbrush/forest floor.

Tomurcukbağ Gülcihanlı Yıllar 

Prof. Dr. Y. Sabit Ağaoğlu, founder of Tomurcukbağ is also the godfather of Kalecik Karası being largely responsible for rescuing the grape from the brink of extinction. At his boutique winery in Kalecik outside Ankara, Prof. Dr. Ağaoğlu works organically with native yeasts, and does everything including filling, corking, and labeling bottles by hand. His wife Gülcihan, with whom he established the winery, sadly passed several years ago. This wine, one of the very few non vintage wines in Turkey, he made in her memory. 

Alcohol: 13.6%

Color: medium, slightly cloudy (unfined and unfiltered) garnet

Nose: Cherry and cranberry fruits with complex stable and herb (mostly thyme, a little bay leaf)

Palate: The palate is dry with a medium body and medium high acidity, showcasing many of the aromas sensed on the nose. Elevated dried herb, leather, and savory earthy flavors with a silky texture slip across the tongue in a medium long finish.

One of the most widely planted native grapes, there are many other Kalecik Karası wines to try! Don’t forget that it also comes in blanc de noir, pink, and bubble form! Check out my tasting notes for other Kalecik Karası wines here.