Cankara Bogazkere 2002

Cankara Boğazkere 2002

I just placed my first order on Onlinemahzen and received the wines a few hours later! They even apologized for delivering so late (it was 9:30 in the evening), but I was grateful because I was'nt expect delivery before the other day.

So, I bought 7 bottles of wine. I just noticed that I had not thought where I would keep the wines. The weather outside has recently been between 12-17 Celcius degrees. I though this is much better than inside of the house, which is never below 22-23 degrees and put the bottles in the closed gallery (which is closed with glasses). They are lying there in the carton box of onlinemahzen.

I started to drink them with Cankara Boğazkere 2002 first. I chosed it only because of curiosity. I was wondering how a variatal of Bogazkere would taste like. Besides, I actually ordered Bogazkere 2005 but they sent me Bogazkere 2002, so I wanted to see if this misunderstanding has resulted in something good or bad :)

When I poured the wine into the glass, the color surprized me. I had seen several pictures in the books showing color differences among young vs older wines, but I didn't really pay attention to them. When I noticed the color of this wine, I realized how different it was compared to the fresh red color of mostly the younger wines. This one had a color between orange, brown, and tile color. I made a photo to show you the color but it is not really meaninful since there isn't any other photo of another wine to compare with.

Color of Cankara Bogazkere 2002

I doubted that the wine might have a defect since it was quite old (compared to the wine I drank before), but then I tasted it and  there was no sign of decay. I actually tasted a very nice wine of Bogazkere that had flowery and spicy aromas on the nose, intense tannins on the palate,and a medium-full body. I think Bogazkere alone can produce very nice variatals (I know this is  too much generalization). I will taste more Bogazkere's and will continue to share my experiences with you.

Turasan Seneler Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Syrah 2008

Turasan Seneler Cabarnet Sauvignon Merlot - Syrah 2008

When I heard that my brother was travelling around Kapadokya, I urgently called him and ordered wine from Kapadokya. He complained that he was travelling for business reasons and had no time for shopping etc., but he could not escape since his company surprisingly organized a trip to Turasan's wine production facilities :) Then he called me to tell that he would not let me drink the wine alone and that he was going to come to dinner to us soon.

I ordered Turasan Seneler Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Syrah 2008 based on the writings about it on vinografi.blogspot.com. This wine gained golden medal in Concours Mondial, Bruxelles 2010.

While opening the bottle I told to my brother and my husband a few things about wine tasting so that they could enjoy it properly :) Then we tasted it and we loved it!

We drank our first glasses without waiting so much, so basically without airing it, but we drank our second glasses after approx. 30 minutes of resting in a carafe.

The wine has a beautiful dark red color, medium-full body and noticeable tannins. There were also blackberry and oak aromas on the nose. I liked the very much.

This wine can be bought in İstanbul for around $ 26. If you visit Kapadokya, you may buy it there for around $ 20. In both cases, I think it is worth buying it.

Chateau Lascombes Margaux 2007 (Grand Cru)

Chateau Lascombes Margaux 2007

It was a great experience for me to taste a Grand Cru wine brought from France, expecially considering that I am still a beginner in wine tasting.

As far as I could learn, Grand Cru is the classification concerning the highest quality vineyards in France. Since the subject of this post is classified as Grand Cru, I understand it is a very important subject for a blog post!

This wine was brought to the table while I was drinking myTerra Shiraz in a modest mood. When I noticed the price label on it saying that it costs € 90, I though I was about to feel like I was upgrading from hamburger to foie gras.

Chareau Lascombes 2007 was a very very nice wine that is made of Merlot (50%), Cabernet Sauvignon (45%) and Petit Verdor  (4%). Medum bodied and round, it flows through the throath so softly. I still think offering it to me (so amateur in winetasting) was basically wasting it :) I believe it would be a much different experience to me if I had the chance of tasting it after I had tasted at least 30-40 different wines consciously.

Kayra Terra Shiraz 2007

Terra Shiraz 2007

I continue with wines made of Shiraz. I think Terra Shiraz 2007 is the one I liked most among the wines of Shiraz that I have ever tasted. I'm not sure if it was due to the nice atmosphere or the nice conversation we were having, but I'm sure the wine itself has contributed to this. It is a wine of Kayra's brand Terra produced in Elazig.

I think I am close to understanding what is meant with saying that a wine is "round". Terra Shiraz 2007 was a round and bodied wine, based on my notes. It has fume-oak and fruit aromas on the nose. I looked around the web and noticed that nobody ever mentioned about fume or oak in this wine. I would appreciate if someone could provide their own comments about the aroma of this wine and let me know if they smelled fume or oak :) I would but this wine again without even thinking about it.

Tannin in Wine

When I first started to read about wine, I used to see the word tannin and wondered what it is. I don't remember how I learned what it was, but I'd like to write one a post from which other people can learn what tannin is.

If you eat grapes like me, meaning that you first separate the skin of the grape from the rest of the fruit and keep it in your mounth until you swallow the sweet and juicy part first, you actually know what tannin is! I don't expect that there are many people enjoying grapes like a chilf (like me) :) so I will explain further. There is a bitterness on the skin of the grape. The same bitternes can also bee sensed when one drinks Turkish tea, especially when it is a dark red tea, as the Turkish people like it. Tannin is the element in the skin of the grape that provides that nice bitterness.

When you taste wine, even after you swallow it, you may sense that beautiful bitterness. If you do, please let me know so I could buy the same wine as well :) I love tannins in wine! Maybe I should only say that I love tannins these days, because I think what I love in wine can change with time and depending on my mood.

Doluca Safir 2008

Doluca Safir 2008

Doluca Safir taught me that I should think twice before turning down a white wine.

Just seconds after I turned it down and took a sip from a red wine instead, I realized that everyone alse was showing admiration to this white wine and I took a sip from it too.... Mmmmm! Now I know that a sweet & white wine can be something delicious. I still continued with my red wine though, but I think it is a nice choice for white lovers with a rather low acidity and strong sweet flowery aromas.

Pamukkale Anfora Shiraz 2007

Pamukkale Anfora Shiraz 2007

When I visited Metro recently, I bought Pamukkale Anfora - Shiraz at appr. $ 8 along with other wines costing around $ 25. I admit that I thought that there would be noticeable differences between the wines that costed $ 25 and this one. I was wrong! Either the price is a misleading factor, or I have to learn a lot more about wine tasting. Well, the latter is probably true.

I tasted and drank Pamukkale Anfora Shiraz (2007, Denizli - Guney) in a very quite atmosphere. I still have difficulties in concentrating in the wine in crowded places. Once I took my first sip, I new that it was a big mistake to have prejudice against cheaper wines. The wine clearly exceeded my expectations. According to the  tasting criteria that I just learned :) the color is dark red and the mody is medium. I smelled fruit and spices. I think the finish was a little short, but I should not comment about this because I don't have enough experience yet. It was a nice wine, I would definately buy it again.