Herkese selâm!
Still incapacitated, still too displeased to write my usual wine
blather, however always willing to give offbeat wine potations a try!
Today I am willing to provide my palate with another Turkish wine adventure.
Not an autochthonous like at various occasions on this blog. This
time I am going fully international on it with a classical blend of
Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The offbeat character of this wine
might be its origin. Turkish wine from Central and Eastern
Anatolya (and perhaps sometimes from the European part of Turkey) might be somehow prominent – at least here and there (and unfortunately most of the time nowhere). Wine
from the Aegean mainland coast isn't well known at all.
In 2006 half way between
Izmir and Antalya alongside the Mediterranean coast two German wine
enthusiasts from Ahr Valley – Frank Josten and Herrman-Josef
Kreuzberg of the fairly respectable Weingut Kreuzberg – started
with their local partner Mustafa Al a mostly daring and microscopically tiny project called
Thera.
The grapes for today's blend – 70 % Cabernet Sauvignon and
30 % Merlot – were cultivated in Yerkesik and Yenikoy in Mugla Province on an elevation of 300 to 700 meters above sea-level. The 15
to 18 months aging took place in lightly toasted Allier oak barrels.
So … enough input for today. My wrist and tendon sheath is starting
to hurt again. What a relief, even in times of incapacitation and pain there
are a few positive aspects. I leave it up to you to imagine which
ones I mean … anyway let's have a sip before the preventable
blather is about to have an unfortunate comeback ….
6:18 pm (popped and poured, with a
delay of approx. 10 minutes)
Colour: astoundingly transparent and
almost a bit light in colour – dark'ish garnet red might nail it, appears
very juvenile all the way to the rim
Nose: kinda overall impression of
lively lightness; cranberries, red currant, hint of plum, mild
pepper, a hint of thyme and gently fitting tone of earthiness;
fruitful without being all too fruitful at the moment; still very shy
Taste: impressively lean and gentle
structure and convincing vitality; very appropriate acid and refined
tannins; a bit less fruitful – but still very much driven by
serious fruit flavours; fruit flavours seem a bit darker and a bit
more cherry driven, besides that a fair share of various spices
(Merlot'ish ones), nice pepper, starting indications of dark choco,
black olives and an underlying raciness of solidly well grilled beef.
Seriously (concerning many aspects) quaffable suff! So far I really
like that shit!!!
7:29 pm
Nose: about the same, a hint more
smoke, some arising cool impressions of violets as well, cranberry
lost a bit of “weight”, perhaps some indications of dried
tomatoes, the semi-dark cherry aromas from the palate show some nasal
occupations; anyway only minimal changes
Taste: elegance and substance (not bold
power) are gaining ground; earthy, herbal and smokey characteristics
getting a bit stronger and fruit flavours are seeming equally fresh,
however slightly affected by Mediterranean warmth, showing still
plenty of cool characteristics – far off any clear indications of
dried fruits and jam'y affectations
8:31 pm
Nose: again mostly the same, however
earthy and mineral (don't know on which soil the grapes were
cultivated) are still gaining more and more ground in the nose
pattern, which equal in more – still shy – complexity
Taste: I am under the impression that
the finish underwent a mentionable lengthening, the mineral punch
(seems a bit lime'y) is showing more influence (I guess), structure
and style is certainly still the same, so far very decent (slight
anticipation) balance
10:14 pm
I am afraid the very garlic'y dish I
had about an hour ago is heavily interfering at the moment. The nose
is showing even more earthy and at the moment stronger hints of dark
Brazilian coffee powder. The fruit is heading towards retreat. My
garlic spoiled tongue is spotting stronger flavours of earthiness,
black olives, rather expressive flavours of dried Shitake and a bit
dusty pitch black strong coffee.
12:15 am (the day after)
Still in a very good shape. Nose seems
more earthy, a bit dusty and slightly influenced by barn yard atmo.
The remaining fruit appears a bit less fresh. On the palate the
Cabernet share is getting more and more predominant. The peppery
flavours seem more expressive and even a bit spicy. Merlot's herbal
plum characteristics are still very much present, but a little bit
less communicative than yesterday. The Merlot choco flavours are
still very much in place. The finish is still very decent, however a
little bit in reverse mode.
In short: Lean, mostly elegant,
vibrant, downright well balanced and seriously intoxicatingly quaffable red
blend with very distinct characteristics (not too many high
temperature ones). I have no problem to consider this as the best red
wine I ever had from Turkey or perhaps even from all of Asia. Very very decent***** stuff indeed!
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