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Weeping No Tears over the 7Bilgeler Herakleitos

 

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Keeping true to its brand, last year when 7Bilgeler released a new white blend, the winery named it for an ancient philosopher. The 7Bilgeler Herakleitas is a little east meets west including as it does Chardonnay usually used in the winery’s Anaxagoras wines and Emir from the winery’s Vindemia series.

I used to really love 7Bilgeler and its wines. Despite the fact that all the wines involved international grapes. Then the winery released the Vindemia series with native grapes and I got so excited! But then I drank them. I’m sorry to say that I think the winery’s overall quality has fallen over the last couple years. A sad trend that many wineries seem to be sharing right now. For that reason, the quality of this new wine came as a lovely morale boost.

Herakleitas aka Heraclitus

Apparently we don’t know a lot about this particular guy. Many of the stories seem to have been fabricated later. However, it is generally accepted that he came from distinguished parentage, possibly an aristocratic family in Ephesus itself. He chose to eschew his privileged life for a lonely one as a philosopher. According to Wikipedia, he was considered a misanthrope who was subject to depression. Consequently, he became known as “the weeping philosopher”.

Heraclitus wrote a single work and only bits and pieces have survived history. What people today might know him for the most is his theory of flux. Although people debate the accuracy of the attribution, he is credited with the saying that “It is not possible to step into the same river twice,”.

7Bilgeler Herakleitos, 2020

Much like his belief that you cannot step into the same river twice, you can’t really drink the same 7Bilgeler Herakleitos twice. Each sip revealed a new facet to explore.

As I mentioned, this wine blends together Chardonnay and Emir but I don’t know in what percentage. Nor does the label give us a lot of information about winemaking. But, I would guess that the Chardonnay did not undergo malolactic conversion. Definitely no oak. And needless to say, the Emir had no MLF or oak.

Brilliant, cool lemon in the glass (furthering my assumptions of no MLF/oak) with aromas of grapefruit and lime leaf, the beginnings of white fruit, and just a hint of Emir’s signature mineral. On the palate, a bright, happy wine. Not overly complex but not all wine needs to be. Grapefruit and smoked grapefruit peel decorated with hawthorn petals and framed by lively acidity.

A lively acidity that paired very well, by the way, with lavishly buttered and sautéed leeks!

Not going to like, this isn’t an inexpensive wine. And like many of 7Bilgeler’s wines these days, overpriced. Is it worth it? In my opinion, yes. Emir blends don’t always work out well and if I wanted to be mean I’d list the bad ones for you. So, when a blend does work out, yeah, that’s a good reason to suck it up and pay the price.