Turkish sparkling wine survey : I’ll be honest and as you know I’m enthusiastic about Turkish wine in general, I can say without shame that … it’s not great. I tried the Suvla Kınalı Yapıncak 2012 traditional method and it was a big disappointment especially from a brand I really love and respect and also at such an expensive price (179 TL).

Two days ago I’ve been to a Turkish sparkling wine tasting organised by a passionate and dedicated American Turkish wine expert and the result was clear : there is still a lot of work to do for Turkish sparkling wines to compete with French, Spanish and Italian wineries.   

We tasted that evening the Sava Premium Blanc de Blanc (CO2)… well, anyway, there is usually nothing to expect from Sava so, no big surprise here…

Then we tried the Turasan Sparkling Blanc de Blanc … and the result was not any better … a pity from a brand which usuallydoes good wine at a decent price.

The third Turkish sparkling wine was the Cameo Blanc de Blanc from the great Kayra wineries and the result is not bad at all for this wine which was made with Marchat method, a cheaper one than the traditional method. It’s a blend of three grapes – Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Misket. So no surprise, this is very sweet with flavours of peach, grapefruit and orange. Something very similar to an Italian Asti Spumante. A very girly sparkling wine! 119 TL.

Now the last sparkling wine we tasted was Yaşasın produced by another great Turkish winery, Vinkara, which also does very good wine at a decent price. This is without any doubt the best of all Turkish sparkling wines. Traditional method (méthode champenoise), Blanc de Noir (made with a local black grape called Kalecik Karasi, quite similar to a Pinot Noir), it has flavours of apple and bread. Good acidity, the finish is medium, nothing exceptional but I must say this has the level of a very average French champagne. Congrats. Really not bad.

P.S : one of the guest brought a bottle of English sparkling wine… you would have expected from a Frenchman a horrified expression of the most profound disgust but as I had previously heard about it very positive comments, I was ready to taste it with great interest. The result was… amazing!!!! Fine bubble, aromas of brioche, beautiful bottle… the level of a great Champagne… incredible! Well done Nyetimber!!!!