Points : 7,5/10

Price : 67 TL

In Izmir’s restaurants waiters will often recommend you Yanık Ülke as “the” local wine. This winery is cultivating a lot of different grapes among them some Italian grapes you will find only in Sicily. Like Nerello Mascalese.

Nerello Mascalese is a dark skinned grape variety that grows mostly on the volcanic slopes of mount Etna in Sicily.

This one have been planted on the rocky volcanic slopes of Divlit volcano near Izmir. Like mount Etna, it shares the altitude (almost 1000 metres) and the type of soil.

This grape has a deep ruby red colour with purple reflections.

It makes fresh red wines with excellent minerality, fruity and herbaceous flavours and an earthy note. Its character is due to the volcanic soil, rich in ashes, mineral salts and sand.

On the nose this wine has a strong fruity scent of red fruits and sweet spices with an earthy note.

It’s perfectly well balanced with very soft tannins.

On the palate it has some flavours of vanilla, tobacco and a persistent trace of liquorice in the long finish.

It was my first bottle from this winemaker. I’m not disappointed. Very nice wine!