Pano Saraphanesi, Istanbul, Turkey
Ξ June 2nd, 2008 | → 0 Comments | ∇ A Day at a Time, Restaurant Reviews, Wineries |
Kalyoncu Kulluk Cad. No. 4, Galatasaray, Istanbul
Last week I was lucky that my final evening in Istanbul fell on a Friday, as that’s when the locals like to party and I could get a taste of the real social life of this vibrant Metropolis. My friend Murat, always keen to indulge my wine obsession, had proposed a visit to one of two famous wine houses (Saraphanesi) in the Taksim district, Viktor Levi and Pano. Both of these establishments have been in operation for the best part of a century or more - Pano founded in 1898 by Panayot Papadopulus and Viktor Levi opening his in competition in 1914.
Murat had been to both and knew either would be an enjoyable experience for me, and it was Viktor Levi’s we reached first as we walked through the Galatasaray area, flags still hanging across the narrow streets in celebration after their football team won the Turkish title. However the doors were locked, so we continued towards the British consulate where Pano is situated, walked past the impressive bar with racks of bottles and a set of wine barrels overhead and settled into a table on the empty ground floor, it was only 7pm and too early for most people who didn’t have to worry about a dawn flight home the next day!
The inside of the restaurant is decorated with wine related murals, paintings and pictures and local music was playing in the background (for a taste of which go to their website, which also contains the full wine and food menu, although only in Turkish). My last post was a review of “A Hedonist in the cellar”, but a true Hedonist appears to have been the 11th & 12th Century Persian poet Omar Khayyam whose Rubáiyat has been described as a Bible for drunkards and has been adopted by Pano, where they hand out postcards with some of Khayyam’s quatrains and have a plaque on the wall, just above a picture of Turkey’s own famous wine lover, founder of the Republic and its first President Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. 
The menu contains a good selection of local wines, many specially produced for Pano by Turkish wineries Doluca, Kayra and Yazgan. Happily they sell all of their wine by the glass as well as the bottle, although the glasses are of a short, wide-rimmed style so were not overly useful for swirling! We started with a white, the 2006 Pano Vasilaki (Marmara region) from the small island of Bozcaada (Tenedos in Greek) in the Çanakkale district, a few miles down the coast from the ancient city of Troy. The island only has a population of about 2,500 but has a long history due to its strategic location at the mouth of the Dardanelles and wines that were renowned for centuries during ancient Greek, Byzantine and Ottoman rule. Vasilaki is one of Turkey’s many indigenous grapes and this one had a fresh grassy nose and was dry in the mouth. There was a rich texture, full bodied with a long bitter finish and a hint of burnt rubber, which reminded me instantly of a Santorini Assyrtiko I had a couple of weeks ago. 85-86pts.
Appetizers were ordered; a cheese plate containing a delicious selection of smoked, soft and hard cheese, and a mixed Meze plate with, amongst other things, stuffed vine leaves, smoked aubergine paté and octopus. A second glass of white was required, the 2006 Pano #59 (Marmara) which was an Emir and Narince blend from Sarköy, on the European side of the Bosphorus. 
This had a smoother, richer nose and was more full-bodied, not as dry as the Vasilaki. There was some citrus and tropical fruit and a good biter finish which worked remarkably well with the smoked cheese. 87-88pts.
We moved onto red with the 2006 Papazkarasi (Marmara), containing grapes from the European areas of Edirne, Tekirdag and Kirklareli. The varietal name translates to “Priest’s Black” (or “Black Bishop”) and is local only to these Thracian regions, preferring dry growing conditions and typically used to produce young drinking wines. There was an aroma of roasted cherries, with a hint of balsamic vinegar and the wine was a little unbalanced, more acid than tannin and the fruit was a touch overwhelmed. 82-83pts. This was a light rustic wine for quaffing, which we did with the warm appetizers that followed, excellent tender pieces of liver, delicate enough to be calves liver, fried with onions and dill, and succulent prawns fried in lashings of country butter, all it lacked was garlic, but delicious nonetheless.
As we waited for our final dish to arrive, Lamb Shish Kebab with rice, we moved up market with the 2006 Pano #10, an Öküzgözü (Elazig, E. Anatolia) and Bogazkere (Diyarbakir, S.E. Anatolia) blend. These are two of Turkey’s most famous red varieties and the wine had an earthy nose with a touch of cherry and a lot of vanilla which developed into tobacco and ash over time. This was a full and rich red with some tannins and forward acidity and for me was an enjoyable 87-88pts. The kebab was nice to, with a dark smoky barbecue flavour, although not as tender as the meat we’d had the night before on the old mountain road outside Bolu on our way back from Ankara.
With the evening drawing to a close (at least for me, the restaurant was busier than ever and people were waiting for tables) I selected my last glass, the 2005 Pano Papakosti - a blend of Papazkarasi, Cinsault and Karasakiz varieties from Marmara and the Aegean. The nose was somewhere between the Papazkarasi and the #10, light with a hint of smokiness. There was strong acidity but plenty of tannin structure to back it up, woody aspects and some pine resin which was nice. A peppery heat, not overdone, led into a long finish. This was a lighter style wine than the #59, more astringent, but had surprising complexity in both aroma and taste which made it an enjoyable drink. 86-87pts.
A Turkish coffee brought to the close a superb evening, we left just after 10pm with all 3 floors packed and an Istanbul party night in full swing. To finish I’ll choose Omar Khayyam, Rubaiyat Quatrain 478 (as translated by E. H. Whinfield l):
“Wherever you can get two maunds of wine,
Set to, and drink it like a libertine;
Whoso acts thus will set his spirit free
From saintly airs like yours, and grief like mine.”
Greybeard
