Sunday, November 19, 2006

Turkish Delight


It has been a long time since I last wrote in October. To make up for it, I will introduce a rare find from Turkey. It came when I was having my wine workshop at Holland Village and one of my visitor happens to be from Turkey. He asked if I am interested in tasting a Turkish wine. Being curious as always, I gladly accepted the offer and looked forward to tasting this wine.

The wine that I would be tasting is a Sauvignon Blanc 2004 from Sarafin. Since Turkey is surrounded by the Mediterranean sea, the climate is most conducive for wine grape production – long sunny warm days followed by cool evenings. Having chilled the wine to its optimum temperature 10-12C, I opened it for tasting. In order to explore the depth of this wine, I only prepared bread, cold cuts and salad to accompany the tasting.

It has a straw yellow color reflecting the climate. First nose is strongly aromatic which surprises me for a Sauvignon Blanc. It dissipates quickly after a few attempts of swirling and the classic grassy, citrus notes take over, somewhat rich flavor with hints of minerals. It is slightly tart but with a long lingering finish. On pairing with my simple food, this wine complements well with the cold cuts and salad that has a small dressing of spiced olive oil.

I kept the remaining bottle of wine for my next tasting which is 36 hours later. The strong floral aroma has mellowed down quite a bit and the wine palate was modified over time. It is more crisp and balanced, losing some of the rich flavor but I prefer it this way. I guess the flora aroma may have been too overpowering earlier on. This time, I had some green olives stuffed with cheese and dipped in olive oil to accompany the wine. I love it! It is a perfect combination for a Sunday afternoon if all you want is to relax reading a book with soft jazz music in the background.

Copyright of Wine Treasures Pte Ltd

By Cher Lim
Wine Treasures Pte Ltd
Website: http://www.wine-treasures.com
Email: limce@singnet.com.sg

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