Öküzgözü – Turks Find it Easy to Say!
Let’s forget about spelling this native Turkish grape variety with the umlauts. Okuzgozu is such an unusual grape name that it will always be recognized, but the umlauts mean the correct pronunciation of the name will be more tricky, saying all the vowels deeply with closed, rounded lips helps!
The grapes are large, round and very dark and the varietal name means “eye of the bull” for reasons that are now becoming obvious. Okuzgozu is often blended with “Throat-burner” Bogazkere to produce a wine which is much nicer than the names of the grapes would suggest.
You will, we are sure, be as impressed with Turkish wine as we were. There are hundreds of indigenous grapes in Turkey and a handful
So having names, a long history and great flavor profiles that get your attention is a valuable thing when marketing in a very competitive business environment. The best way to try this wine is on one of our Turkey wine tours of course, but if you want to sip more quickly then ask your wine merchant to source some bottles for you.
The description below comes from James Goode’s wine blog and is spot on about this wine. As James quite rightly describes in his article, Turkey is the birthplace of wine, along with Armenia, Georgia, and Iran. This wine, therefore, provides a strong connection to the very beginnings of winemaking.
Kayra Okuzgozu 2012 – Anatolia, Turkey
13% alcohol. Wonderfully expressive nose of sweet red cherry fruit with some berry notes and leather and herbs. The palate is fresh and expressive with good acidity and tannins. There are warm, leathery, spicy notes accompanying the red berry fruits. It’s not a fruit bomb but it has structure and great harmony, with a lovely savory edge. It reminds me of Xinomavro or Aglianico. 93/100
