24,90€ at Istanbul Airport

Crafted from 20-year-old vines, Merzifon Karası, meaning the red from Merzifon, is a native grape, endemic to the Turkish Black Sea region, not so far from Samsun.

Originally wildly cultivated until the 1960s, it had been almost forgotten until a handful of wineries decided to revive it.

502 vineyards is one of them. The name comes from the Barcelona address where the founders lived when they envisioned the winery.

They use natural, low-intervention techniques, including wild fermentation and minimal to no added sulfites.

Now more about the wine!

Look at the beautiful dark ruby red colour!

On the nose, it displays aromas of red and black fruits (plum, cherry, blueberry and blackberry), spice (vanilla) as well as notes of balsamic and black olive.

The wine is medium bodied with a high acidity.

It’s juicy, fruit-forward. Tannins are subtle.

It’s very balanced.

On the palate, you get vanilla again.

2/3 is aged in Hungarian and French oak barrels and the rest in stainless steel tanks.

The umami taste is back again. It’s a beautiful combination of juicy fruits, umami and oaky notes. It’s quite complex. More than I expected.

I really indulged in the long peppery finish.