Amadeus Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

This is the first time that I tasted a wint of Amadeus thanks to a good friend, who recently went to Bozcaada for vacation, admired the island, and returned with this wine as a gift to me.

This is Amadeus Cabernet Sauvignon 2010. Considering that we are in October 2011, I wondered if it was too early to drink this wine. Curiosity won the battle and I opened the bottle.

When I tasted the wine immediately after opening the bottle, I couldn't sense anything but the intense taste of alcohol. After half an hour, I noticed that the taste of alcohol was softening and the fruity aromas started to appear slowly. After a period of aeration, the wine became a full bodied wine with intense taste and long, strong ending. However, the taste of alcohol was still to strong for me. I thought may be the reason for this was that the wine was too young, even immature. I don't really know if the strong taste of alcohol can be related to the age of the wine. I hope someone knows about it and shares their comments with us here.

Chateau Villemaurine (2006)

A French wine again. I am totally confused about French wine classification. Whenever I read about French wine classification, I learn something new that undermines my previous knowledge about it. 

On the other hand, I'm pretty sure that I can never age wine, as I can never wait until my meal on the palate becomes warm and I try to eat while it is still hot. If I buy wine, I want to drink it immediately. 

Whichever classification this wine belongs, it is a grand cru, so it is extremely prestigious. Contrary to what most reasonable people would do, I did not keep this wine for a special ocasion. Instead, I suddenly decided to open it in a regular night at home. 

I cooled it in a rush, prepared this small palate for myself and this itself was a special ocasion for me. I was ready to drink the wine. I was curious about the grapes of which the wine was made, but I could not see this information on the bottle. So, I asked google. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. 

The wine stayed in my glass for hours, but I still thought it needed airation. May be it was too early to open the bottle. Still, it has a beautiful taste, intense, fruity and full of strong tannins. I admired French winemakers once more, and I wished that I would admire Turkish winemakers as often as I admire French ones.

Camlıbag Cabernet Sauvignon - Kuntra 2009

Çamlıbağ Cabernet Sauvignon - Kuntra 2009

Camlibag is one of the well known winemakers in Bozcaada. I didn't try their wines when I was Bozcaada but I had the chance of tasting this one thanks to onlinemahzen's store in Atasehir.

I know Cabernet Sauvignon has a strong taste but I thing this wine is mostly shaped by Kuntra, as in the case of most Bozcaada wines. I have tasted 3-5 Bozcaada wines in the past year and their common characteristic was that their taste was a little too sharp and bitter.

To be honest, I'll remember this wine's too sharp and alcoholic and fruity smell. It stayed 3 days in hour refrigerator and I tasted it each day. I liked it best on the third day. Its aromas were milder and taste was softer, but it still had a full and tannic taste.

In short, this wine has not become one of my favorites, but just because of curiosity and also because I like Bozcaada, I'll continue to taste Bozcaada wines and also Camlibag wines with the hope of discovering something new one day.

Chateau Peyre-Lebade (2008)

Once again, I'm going to tell you about a French wine. French wine bottles provide information on bottle labels in a different way compared to Turkish wines. Let's see what we can get from the bottle.

Chateau Peyro-Lebado gives its name to the wine. It is the name of the place where the wine is produced in Haut-Medoc. Haut-Medoc is a part of Medoc area, which is located in Bordeaux, France. This chateau - the vineyard is acquired by Baron Benjamin de Rotschild in 1979. The bottle in the above picture is from 2008.

French wine are subject to a classification which is still a little complicated to me. I mentioned before that there is a classification dating back to 1855 which defines certain vineyards of Bordeaux as grand cru, which is the highest level. I tasted once a Grand Cru wine and mentioned it here.

I have read here that there is another classification in Medoc, which classifies wines as cru bourgeois exceptionnel, cru bourgeois superieure, and cru bourgeois. The wine I'm going to tell you about is a cru bourgeois, which is the third among those levels. I noticed that the pictures of this wine on the web show that the expression "cru bourgeois" is usually written on the label, but it's not written on my bottle. I don't know if this means anything (does anyone know?).

I think this is enough for classification. Let's talk about what is inside of the bottle. As in the case of most of French wines, there is no information on the bottle about the grapes of which this wine was made. Thanks to google, we can learn that the wine is made of mostly Merlot and also Cabernet Sauvignon.

We were 4 people sharing this wine on dinner and I can tell you that everybody loved it! It is a well balanced, round, very delicious wine with still noticeable tannins. This was brought from France as a gift to me, so I'd like to say thanks again!

Chateau Brondelle 200?

Chateau Brondelle 200?

Unfortunately, I can't give much information about this wine since I didn't take any notes. I remember only that it was a very nice, round, and delicious wine from Bordeaux, France made of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. I would remember more if I was the one who choose it from the menu.

We had this wine on a dinner in a very nice atmosphere with two persons that I love so much. In such lovely atmospheres, the wines taste much better :) but at the same time, since there are much more interesting subjects to cover, no one cares about tasting notes. Nevertheless, I would suggest that you also forget about the wine tasting notes but rather enjoy the nice conversation if you happen to be in such places with people you love.

Turasan Seneler Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Syrah (again)

Turasan Seneler Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Syrah 2008

I told you about this wine before. It is definately a wine that is worth to try. I didn't like it this time as much as I did previously though. May be this is because my expectation was too high.

This is a lively wine with very intense red fruity and spicy aromas, full body, and marked tannin. I think it needs to be aired for a very long time. I was not so patient and this is probably a reason for why I didn't like it this time as much as I did in my first try.

Corvus Blend No3 2006

Corvus Blend No3 2006

We had a dreamlike vacation in Bozcaada in the summer of 2010. I mentioned this vacation in one of the first posts of this blog as one of my steps going into the wine world. At the end of the vacation, we brough a few bottles of Corvus wines to home. The last one of those wine bottles was Corvus Blend No3 2006.

We bought this wine from Corvus's wine store, where they also have their production facilities, if I'm not wrong. I remember it was around $ 45. I knew nothing about wines and wine prices then, so, I thought that it was so expensive that we should expect a miracle from within the bottle :)

The person helping us to choose said that the best time to drink this wine would be 2011. We obeyed her and waited until 2011. Since we still don't have a wine fridge, we kept the bottle in a dark and relatively cool corner in our living room.

Corvus Blend No3 2006 is made of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot, Malbec, Karalahna, Okuzgozu, and Cabernet Franc which all grown in Corvus vineyards in Bozcaada. It has rested in French oak barrels for 24 months, in bottes (I don't know what botte is. I would appreciate if someone could comment to this post and explain what it is.) for 2 months and in the bottle for 6 months. The bottle is very elegant and there is a legend written on the lable. 

Corvus Blend No3 2006

Corvus produces a Blend from the best grapes of the year and gives a number to each Blend. I have to admit that at the time I bought this wine, when I didn't know anything about wine or about Corvus, I read the list of the grapes on the lable and I thought "this grapes can't be good, if they were good, they would produce seperate wines from each of them" :) I still bought the wine since I was curious. Well, it turns out I was wrong.

It is a strong wine with dark burgundy color, raspberry and cherry aromas on the nose, medium body, strong tannins and vivid acidity. I tasted it after it rested about half an hour in a big glass but it was not enough. Then I left home and left the wine in the glass. When I came back 9 hours later, I smelled and tasted it again. I smelled a strong, earthy aroma and the wine's taste and tannins were almost as strong as they were 9 hours ago. I liked the wine, but I think it still carries characteristics of a ypung wine. I could like it more when it rested maybe for a few months longer  in the bottle.

p.s. The bottle in the photos is in a wine box which includes wine accesorries. The box will be the subject of another post soon...

Terra de France, Merlot - Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Terra de France, Merlot - Cabernet Sauvignon

Last week, we chosed Cafe Zanzibar for a dinner with our friends. We arrived earlier than anyone and there was still time until dinner. So, we ordered wine and cheese while we were waiting.

The wine was Terra de France, Merlot - Cabernet Sauvignon 2006. I may have mentioned before, but there is no harm in writing again: Terra de France wines of Kayra are produced in France from grapes of France and imported by Kayra.

I liked the wine very much, and the cheese plate as well. Unfortunately, I did not think of making a photo of the cheese plate. So, you will need to settle for whatever you can see in the above picture. There was blue cheese, a cheese with grass and spices, white cheese (I believe it was made of sheep milk), old yellow cheese (eski kaşar) and I think another cheese which I could not exactly remember.

Coming back to the wine, it would not be very convincing if I say I did not like it after I drank most of it by myself :) It was a very nice, medum-full bodied, dark red wine with marked tannin, black papper on the noise and red fruits and fume oak on the palate. It had a nice, long lasting ending.

The cheese plate and 2-3 glasses of wine were pretty much a dinner for me, but I couldn't hold my self and grasped a slice of my husband's pizza as well :) It wasn't bad at all, but since it is not my field, I won't get into details of it.

Chateau La Croix De Queynac (2004)

Chateau La Croix De Queynac (2004)

I guess French people know this business. I'm sorry, I did not want to say that "the west" did it better, but they did it really better this time. So, I have to admit it.

You may remember that I had previously tasted French wines classified as Grand Cru and I treated them respectfully. This time, I will talk about another French wine, not Grand Cru, and costs around 22 TL (€10) in Turkey: Chateau La Croix De Queynac (2004).

It is produced of usual Bordeaux grapes, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabarnet Franc. 2004 yield in Bordeaux is not especially good, as far as I know. I can't stop thinking what would a 2005 yield taste like, considering that I liked this one so much.  

It has a pale burgundy color, which has lost its intensity and shine as a result of aging. In order to show what I mean with this, I took a picture of the tissue with a drop of the wine. 

We had to be carefull while pouring the wine into glasses due to the sediments in the bottle. I believe the wine achieved its top after 10-15 minues resting in the glass. It is a wine fruity and spicy aromas, full body, and a little tannin which do not disturb at all but add characteristic to the wine. It has a calmness of an aged round wine. I found it very well from the perspective of price / benefit. I could buy it again without hesitation. 

Diren Collection Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

Diren Collection Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

While I am preparing this post at my desk at home, I am still supping this wine, the subject of the post. Usually I do not do this. I rather take notes on the wine I'm tasting on some notebook (or sometimes only in my mind) and then wait for an appropriate moment to write a post about that wine. Sometimes, I feel like things may be skipped/forgotten in the time that passes between tasting and writing. Let's see how it works in this way. In fact, you will probably read this post a few days later because I'll wait a few days before I publish my post in case anything else comes to my mind that I'd like to add to the post.

Today's wine is Diren Collection Cabernet Sauvignon. As you may recall from the previous wines of this collection, there are two more grapes that are named in small letters on the bottle: Shiraz and Boğazkere.

Without going into the details about the effect of these two grapes, I'd like to say that I think this is the most delicious Cabernet Sauvignon that I ever tasted. All right, how many varietal Cabernet Sauvignon's did I ever taste? Well, there was Turasan's... Any more? I browse through my notes and I see that there was also Frontera. Maybe I tasted a few in tasting courses or on similar occasions. So, this proves that I am computing an inductive conclusion based on my very limited experience and I express an exaggerated appreciation. I may comfortably argue that there is no impact of the alcohol in my applause as the half of my glass is still full.

First of all, the color of the wine is a very beautiful, dark red. I can describe the aroma that I'm sensing as strong and fruity. I am currently pushing myself to sense and describe more, but I can tell you there is not much hope. Maybe it is because I could not get through the flue as I thougt I did a few days ago.

Diren Collection Okuzgozu 2007

Diren Öküzgözü 2007

You may recall that I was very delighted with the flavor/price performance of Diren Collection Merlot. A few days ago, I ordered five bottles of other wines from the same collection through the website of Diren. I gave the first rank for tasting to Collection Okuzgozu. I will be writing about the others in the following days. I brought Collection Kalecik Karasi to a friend of mine who invited us for the new year's eve, but we did not open the bottle that night. So, I will not be abble to comment on it only. That friend of mine is a follower of my blog (Turkish one), so I hope that he will provide me with his comments once he tastes it :)


Diren Collection Okuzgozu is made of the grapes produced in Elazığ ve Denizli. It has intense fruity aromas, soft tannin and high acidity. Although the name highlights only one grape, Okuzgozu, some Cabernet sauvignon was also blended with it. I believe this is a very nice, delicious wine considering its very favourable price at sarapshop (15,90 TL). It was not as impressive as Diren Collection Merlot, but I would still serve it to my friends without hesitation. In fact, I already did.

I understand that the wines of Collection series are not aged in oak barrels, but I smell oaki why? I would be very happy if someone can enlighten me. I plan to attend a tasting seminar soon. I hope I'll learn there how to evaluate the tastes and smells that I perceive.

Wine from Chile: Frontera

Frontera Merlot

 I had the chance of tasting two different Chilean wine from the same producer within a week. The first one was Frontera Merlot and the second one was Frontera Cabernet Sauvignon. I can't tell you the year of harvest or production since I forgot to take notes. If these were Turkish producers' wines, the year of harvest would be written in the front side of the bottle, but this is not the case as you may see on the photos.

Frontera Cabarnet Sauvignon

I chose Frontera Merlot from the wine menu when we had a dinner out. It did not dissappoint us. We were so badly starving that anything to eat or drink could delight us. The wine had fruity, sweet aromas which made it nice and easy to drink.

On the other hand, Frontera Cabernet Sauvignon was a choice by a friend of mine on another day. Since I tasted a very soft wine just before it, I expected that this one would be a little to strong for me. I did not come out so. It was almost as round as Merlot I guess. I am guessing because I did not taste it very carefully.

Frontera Cabernet Sauvignon

I drank both wines gladly, but let me say that I don't think it's necessary to import wine from Chile to Turkey in order to have a wine with this quality. I am certainly glad that I have the chance to taste different wines from different regions. I may continue to taste and enjoy Chilean wines in the future. However, I just don't want to make an impression letting you think that these two wines are better than Turkish wines in the same price range.

Chateau Prieure-Lichine 2007

Chateau Prieure-Lichine 2007, Margaux

This is the second Grand Cru Classe wine that I've ever tasted. I did not buy any of them, the first was offered to me during a dinner that I was invited, and the second was given as a gift when I invited the same person to dinner. Therefore, I do not know where to buy or for how much to buy.

I tried to collect information through googling as usual, but since their website appears to be under construction, I could only rely on information from third persons. Chateau Prieure-Lichine is a producer in Margaux, which is a significant place in wine production in Bordeaux, France. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc is produced in the vineyards of Chateau Prieure-Lichine and used in their wines, as far as I understand.  I understand that the biggest share of the blend belongs to Cabernet Sauvignon. It is followed by Merlot, and then by Cabarnet Franc and Petit Verdot.

I did not have the chance to decant the wine since we were about to start eating for dinner when the wine arrived. I desperately tried to concentrate on the change in the flavors of the wine as long as it stayed in my glass, but I lost my attention eventually.

It is a wine with burgundy color and a little fruity aromas. I believe I have not experienced this much difficulties before in identifying the aromas in a wine. After having tasted this wine, I think I understand what is meant with "minaral flavor". Without digging further, I can say that the wine goes through one's throat as soft as velvet, but also stays on the palate with a very nice flavor.

Wine Stopper

Wine Stopper

I bought this wine stopper a few weeks ago, but I just had a chance to use it. The wine bottles are too big for me. Since I usually drink only 1 or 2 glasses of wine, I can not consume the whole bottle even if I'm not alone. It makes me sad if I have to pour it out after a few days since it becomes impossible to drink.

It's not a good solution to put the cork back to its place, since it is difficult to put it back once it is out. If you turn inside out, it may give the wine its smell of cork and besides, small pieces of cork may fall into the wine. I did these by now and each time the wine's taste was worsened and aromas were gone.

I bought this simple stopper from Sensus in Galata at 10 TL (if I remember it correctly). Once you put it at the top of the bottle, you turn the metal part downward and the rubber part inside the bottle gets thicker so that no air can come in or out.

I drank Turasan Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Shiraz 2008 from a bottle which I closed with this stopper. I tasted it for three times, once for each evening after I opened it. Although it got a little lighter in the third evening, the strong blackberry and black pepper aromas were still there. I wrote my tasting notes about Turasan Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Shiraz 2008 before (when I tasted it for the first time). I can say once more that it is a very delicious wine with its strong but not disturbing tannins and its moderate body.

Talay Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

Talay, Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

We tasted (and drank it all) Talay Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 (ordered from onlinemahzen.com) a few days ago together with my friends. One of my two friends said that she normally likes only white wines, and the other one said it would matter to her which wine I choose. I tried to make a choice taking their and my husband's preferences into account. Well, after having chosen this one, I don't feel very succesfull. I think it would be better if I had chosen a lighter, easear to drink wine.

Talay is a producer in Bozcaada. They have their own vinery there. I do not recall that I tasted their wine when I was there, but I remember that local wines of Bozcaada had intense fruity aromas, bitter tannins and high acidity (too much for me). I thought that these characteristics come from the grapes, of which the wines that I've tasted were made of, but now I believe these may be the characteristics of the terroir of Bozcaada.

When I smelled the wine once I opened it, I was a little worried at first. It had a so sharp smell that I needed to check the cork if it seemed all right. After the wine rested in the wine glass for a few minutes, it started to show its beauty. It became a fresh and fruity wine as it got aired. I think the level of alcohol is relatively high. Unfortunately, the wine does not leave a flavor on the palate for more than a few seconds. It was still a good company with our conversation at that night. In fact, it did not take a long time until the bottle was empty and we had to make a new choice of wine.

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.

Dinner in Garden

I had the chance to sit on a big dinner table set in a beautiful garden full with fruit trees and flowers. Unfortunately, our wine was not as nice as the garden! Therefore, I'm going to show you the garden mostly, instead of the wine.

Since there wasn't anyone else drinking wine, I had the liberty to choose whichever wine I prefer among the available wines in the house. However, after I carefully cooled and opened the wine, I was very disappointed since the corck falled into pieces. The worst part was the vinegar-like taste of the wine in which small pieces of  cork were swimming. I believe the wine, Yazgan Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2006 was not really suitable for aging and since it was kept in imprpoer conditions, so it was spoiled.

When I saw how sad the host was, I opened another wine, Yazgan Dolcevita Cabarnet Sauvignon Boğazkere Syrah. I had to drank it almost immediately after opening the bottle, but it was ok. Since I coulf not cool it or dekant it properly, I'm not going to comment further on the wine's taste, but I'm just going to show you how it looks like.

This distastefully started wine experience could not ruing mu night because I'm a person who can settle for less :) I just enjoyed the atmosphere and the conversation that was going on.

I'd like to mention that the term "cooling" menas here that I put the wine into the regular refrigerator. This will go on as it is until I buy a wine fridge.