Turkey - Red
2016 Gold: 3 Silver: 15 Bronze: 11 Commended: 19
2015 Gold: 5 Silver: 5 Bronze: 8 Commended: 11
It’s one of the oddities of the Sommelier Wine Awards that such a niched country as Turkey has established itself as one of the strongest parts of the competition. Moreover, it’s done so in a short space of time. From its first appearance in 2013, the wines have gone from strength to strength, winning dozens of medals and admirers along the way.
And this isn’t just a handful of good producers winning Golds every year – every year sees different names and different wines rising to the top, and while the number of red Golds is slightly down on 2015, the overall number of awarded wines (48) is twice as many as last year. This is a colossally successful category.
So, what’s good about it? Well, it’s different, there’s plenty of fruit (enough to counter occasional over-exuberance with extraction and oak) and the pricing is highly competitive. There were a lot of good entries sub-£12, and several that would probably have picked up Gold in the House Wine section, had they been entered there.
Yes, tasters all agreed that the way to sell these is probably By The Glass, to encourage trial. But the potential is enormous.
FROM THE TASTING TEAMS
‘I really didn’t know what to expect but they showed really, really well. A lot were over-extracted, and there was some overuse of oak, but the focus of the fruit really made up for that.’ Andrés Ituarte, Avenue Restaurant
‘At the entry level they give great value for money and generous rusticity. Where else would you find all this character for such a price?’ Sarah Jane Evans MW, team leader
‘It would be interesting for me to put one on By The Glass – a way to introduce Turkish wines to people, and build it from there.’ Victor Amaro, Hotel du Vin Tunbridge Wells
‘Though the good ones were good, they weren’t necessarily cheap.’ Ian Howard, The White Hart Inn at Lydgate
‘There’s something for everyone – different styles, different textures. There’s big potential, and I think there’s a market for it.’ Andrea Briccarello, team leader
‘It was the most exciting tasting of the awards. We didn’t expect so much variety.’ Dominique Raclin, consultant sommelier
‘The wines were exciting, showing complexity. They had an Old World style and they were not overworked – they showed freshness, which we didn’t expect.’ Olivier Marie, team leader