Turasan Seneler Öküzgözü
Turasan winery, based in Turkey’s iconic Cappadocia, holds the spot as not only the largest winery in Cappadocia, but one of Turkey’s most recognizable brands. Operating since the early 1940s, Turasan has built a reputation for consistent quality. Sometimes the quality is quite good. Other times…well it’s consistent. The winery produces several series from basic entry level to Grand Reserve. They use a mix of native and international grapes. The Seneler series, to which this wine belongs, sits towards the top of Turasan’s quality pyramid.
‘Seneler’ is Turkish for ‘years.’ This line includes Turasan’s more premium red and white wines. The name indicates not only that the wines have received oak ageing but also that the wines have the ability to age longer. I’ve had a few wines from the series now. The whites have not been my favorites (white wine + oak generally doesn’t make me happy) but the reds are very enjoyable.
Turasan Seneler Öküzgözü, 2016
The Öküzgözü grapes for this wine came not from Turasan’s local Cappadocia vineyards but from vineyards in Elazığ in Eastern Anatolia. Öküzgözü takes well to oak. The 10 months it spent in French barrique at Turasan added a layer of depth and richness to the grape’s bright red fruit character.
Inky ruby tinged with purple on the pour the wine displayed an intense bouquet of fruit and spice. Some breathing time benefited this wine greatly. One it had the time to stretch its wings, it released aromas of bramble fruits, sweet spices, cocoa, hints of vanilla, and an underlying herbal aspect.
Palate flavors had an intensity to match the nose. Dried fig sprinkled with crushed, dried herbs hit me first. Blackberries, bitter chocolate, cinnamon, tobacco, and leather followed. High alcohol (14.5% abv) accompanied low tannins and high acidity, as Öküzgözü tends to have. I detected a hint of green stem bitterness on the palate as well.
Overall the Turasan Seneler Öküzgözü is an excellent example of an oak-aged Öküzgözü. Really, very nice (especially for a larger winery).