Wine Experience Project WE 23: a Masterclass in Blending

 

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Every year, wineries in Turkey release new wine vintages (I mean, of course they do). But new wines are much rarer. Finding out about them isn’t always easy either given the ban on advertising alcohol. Sometimes, a wine enthusiast such as myself stumbles across a new wine (or even winery) via social media. Or, in a wine shop. 

That’s exactly how I learned about the latest release from The Wine Experience Project.

Wine Experience Project

Created by Göknur Gündoğan and Işık Gülçubuk, they launched the Wine Experience Project, aka Wine Ambassadors at the end of 2020. Per the group’s mandate, The Wine Experience Project respects vine, wine, and are “winebassadors” who include a mix of winemakers, wine writers, retailers, and select foreigners.

The project’s freshman wine was the WE 21 Kalecik Karası made with grapes sourced from the Kalecik-based winery Tafali. 

Behind the Scenes of the WE 23 RPB

Never have I included so many grape tags for a single wine! This isn’t the first wine in Turkey to blend red and white grapes. There’s the Kayra Syrah-Viognier, a nod to the traditional Rhone style wine. Vino Dessera’s Entrika rosé originally featured a blend of Kalecik Karası and Viognier. Later, the winery transitioned to a blend of Çal Karası, Öküzgözü, and Emir. So, while not the first, it is probably the most innovative.

Working in cooperation with Vinkara for this wine, Gülçubuk and Gündoğan blended seven grapes to represent seven Turkish wine regions including: Kalecik Karası, Öküzgözü, Boğazkere, Patkara, Papaskarası, Narince, and Bornova Misketi. More than “just” a massive grape blending exercise, the wine also included wines from both the 2022 and 2023 vintages AND! the white and black grapes from the 2023 vintage were co-fermented.

WE 23 RPB Tasting Notes

While the bottle stretched my budget a bit, I had to try this blend.

Pale yellow color with yellow apple, ripe pear, honeysuckle, lemon puff pastry, and crushed rocks aromas On the palate it’s medium-bodied with mouth-watering acidity and very appealing texture with yellow apple, quince paste, ripe white peach, lemon peel, clove and a hint of white tea flavors accented with a kiss of minerality. Long lemony finish. This outstanding wine is delicious and structured wine with vibrant acidity keeps you coming back for another sip.

It poured a bright, clear, jewel-tined ruby (which looks darker in the picture than irl) with mulberry, ripe cherry, pomegranate syrup, balsamic, warm brown spices, and earthy notes. On the palate, it’s medium-bodied with mouthwatering acidity, a 13.5% ABV, and a silky texture. More fruit on the palate was accentuated by balsamic, a kiss of spice, and licorice. 

Made in limited quantities and sold at even few places, you might still be able to find it at La Commune, Mahzen 26, Biblioteca, and AS Wine Store. Santé Wine & More is also usually a good suspect for these boutique wines.

The Wine Experience Project is now working on its next project, a “tatlı kök”  Emir. Which, I learned, has nothing to do with being a sweet wine, despite tatlı meaning sweet! Kök means root and, as I learned, if a grapevine has “sweet roots” (as it were), it means that the vine is own-rooted or, ungrafted.