30 September 2015

Turkish Wine of the Week - Chamlija 2014 Albarino

You wouldn't really know it based on the weather here in Istanbul but summer is over. I'd sad face if it weren't for the fact that Autumn is my favorite season. Unfortunately that leaves me with a few bottles of white still in the fridge! While I'll get around to those at some point, this makes the last wine of the Summer White Wines Chamlija's 2014 Albarino.

I was in La Cave a little white ago hoping to find another bottle of the Chamlija Viognier (I really liked that one!). I did not find the Viognier but I did find a treasure trove of other Chamlija wines, both white and red. I deeply love Spanish wines, almost without exception, so finding out that Chamlija makes an Albarino (traditionally a Spanish and Portuguese grape) was pretty exciting.


Dark golden color, the nose is very fragrant. For a dry wine, the nose is quite sweet and full of apricot and apples.

It's a bit on the edgy side with noticeable acid. I'm pretty sure this was oaked but, unlike the Mirkwood Suvla, I did not find the resultant flavors of the Chamlija to be so overwhelming. In fact it added a nuttiness that I thought was a nit touch. It has a pretty big body for a white wine with a palate filled with citrus, maybe a hint of orange blossom?, apricot, apple, and white flowers.



I really think I might like this one. I don't think there is yet a Spanish grape I've met and haven't liked and considering Albarino is similar to Gewurztraminer, Muscat and Riesling (all grapes I generally enjoy) I think I was set up to like this from Go!

The 95TL sticker price is a little dear but with the current exchange rate I'm more than willing to shore up the local economy by putting money into expanding my wine collection with some higher quality wines!

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