20 January 2016

Turkish Wine of the Week - Likya 2013 Pinot Meunier

A while ago I was at La Cave in Cihangir looking for new wines and picked up this Likya. I've never heard of Pinot Meunier and decided it was worth the 70 TL investment to find out what it was all about.

Turns out it's all about Pinot Noir. Pinot Meunier, which is one of the three grapes used to make champagne, lives in the Pinot Noir family from which it is likely a mutation. Lighter in color and higher in acid than a Pinot Noir it does share some similar flavors but has less of the earthiness often found in Pinot Noirs. Thus says Google.


In the glass Likya's dark purple Pinot Meunier was darker than I anticipated after reading the Google search results. The nose was a lovely blend of black fruits, plum, raspberry, pomegranate, clove, and rose.

In the mouth it had more tannin than I expected being from a grape out of the Pinot Noir family. The high acid was really evident though; this one needs some airing.

I had an up and down relationship with this one. Initially it was a little sour, like unripe raspberries and pomegranate. I could taste some dried herbs and tobacco but they were really buried under the tartness. However it really mellowed as it opened, the tannins go away a bit, and the black fruit and tobacco become more prominent.

At 70 TL a bottle I did not like this enough to buy it again but I was glad for the experience. Three stars.

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