Kuzubağ Narince Chardonnay 2024
£14.95
The wine
A compelling blend of the native Anatolian variety Narince and French Chardonnay. Yellow fruits, quince and a hint of flowery white spice on the nose with a touch of butter. Vibrant acidity and a creamy mouthfeel, fresh and enjoyable on the finish.
Narince comes from Tokat in northern Anatolia and its name means delicate or graceful. It is one of Turkey's most important white grapes, capable of both fresh unoaked wines and barrel-aged ones, and its high natural acidity is what allows it to stand alongside Chardonnay rather than being swamped by it.
The producer
Kuzubağ
View all Kuzubağ winesKuzubağ was founded in 2007 by Salih Kuzu and his daughter Aslı Kuzu, who planted vineyards in their hometown of çal in Denizli province, inland from the Aegean coast of Turkey.
They then waited. The vineyards were given thirteen years to mature before a winery was built, a 3,000 square metre building discreetly embedded into the landscape at the heart of the estate, and the first vintage was released only in 2021. That patience is unusual anywhere and almost unheard of in a young wine industry.
Turkey has the fourth largest area of vineyard in the world and produces very little wine from it: the overwhelming majority of its grapes are eaten fresh or dried into sultanas. It also holds an extraordinary genetic inheritance, with something between 800 and 1,200 indigenous varieties, since Anatolia is one of the places where the grapevine was first domesticated some 6,000 years ago. Kuzubağ work çal Karası, Kalecik Karası, öküzgözü and Narince alongside French varieties.
