WTN: Kavaklidere KalecikKarasi '05..(short/boring)

We tried last night the mystery wine:
1. Kavaklidere Kalecik Karasi/Ankara/Turkey (14%; www.Kavaklidere.com) 2005: Med.light color; very light earthy almost Pinot-like clean slight dusty nose; soft pleasantly fruity/Pinot like light earthy clean/smooth light flavor w/ little tannins; med.long smooth light/fruity/Pinot-like light earthy/dusty finish w/ light tannins; actually a very pleasant wine and somewhat like a delicate RedBurg. Bit pricey at $18.00 (CB)
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And a wee BloodyPulpit:
1. This was a btl I picked up at DarrellCorti's. I like to unleash strange/bizarre mystery wines on my group to expand their horizons and get them to think outside-the-box. I was expecting this to be a lot like SouthernItalian or Morrocoan or Algerian ot Tunisian wine; decidedly hot-climate, rough/rustic/coarse, and rather unclean/goat-pen in character; maybe overly grapey and off-dry. It was not at all that. It was quite refined, well-made, and really quite pleasant.
The grape variety is Kalecik Karasi....new one for me.
And don't ask for the pronunciation.
Tom

You're making this up, right?

You're making this up, right?

As usual, how the hell would anyone know?

A long time ago I worked in Ankara and for a while rented an apartment in the district of Kavaklidere, which means the poplar tree valley. My balcony overlooked the winery of that name and its pretty little model vineyard, although the wines were actually made from grapes grown elsewhere, all of which were, as far as I recall, indigenous varieties. As it was illegal then for Turks to import foreign wine there was little competition, so understandably the wine wasn't especially good. That your '05 Kavaklidere is still drinkable after six years indicates they have probably improved. Kalecik Karasi literally means something on the order of little-castle land, although idiomatically that's probably not quite it. My Turkish has rusted beyond retrieval.

I see that Wikipedia has an entry on the grape Kalecik Karasi at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalecik_Karas%C$%B1

Kalecik refers to the district near Ankara where the grape is traditionally grown. Karasi, as I previously indicated, refers to the land.

When last in Istanbul (I love saying that) we had some Kavaklidere wines and, while they weren't outstanding, they were pretty darned tasty. Paired quite nicely with a standard dish of spicy chicken and vegetable stew made and served in a heavy porcelain dish (forget the name). And I specifically remember some damned good bread from a bakery just across the street.

Loved Istanbul.

Tom, Hoke, I have a question. Many years ago, Kavaklidere all other Turkish winemakers bought cheap, short, hard-as-a-rock corks, obviously not designed for export or aging. Do you recall the type of corks that were in the bottles of Kavaklidere you had?

Tom, Hoke, I have a question. Many years ago, Kavaklidere all other Turkish winemakers bought cheap, short, hard-as-a-rock corks, obviously not designed for export or aging. Do you recall the type of corks that were in the bottles of Kavaklidere you had?

Nope, don't recall. Sorry, Clint.

Tom, Hoke, I have a question. Many years ago, Kavaklidere all other Turkish winemakers bought cheap, short, hard-as-a-rock corks, obviously not designed for export or aging. Do you recall the type of corks that were in the bottles of Kavaklidere you had?

Nope, don't recall. Sorry, Clint.

Clint,
It was just a standard-cork cork. No problem removing it.
Tom