TNs: Tanya and Adir

[Gabriel Geller]

Hi, last night had some nice wines at a friend's house-warming party.

Tanya, Ivri (the winery's new series), Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz 2010: Needed about a couple hours to fully open up but then was drinking beautifully. A blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 15% Shiraz, 13 months in french oak barrels, 14.1% Abv. Deep garnet with purple reflections, the nose was first muted but then after about 15 min in the glass it opened on some very nice notes of spices, roasted meat and black fruit, the wine is full-bodied with on the palate blackberries and red plums, roasted meat, green olives, pepper, some dark chocolate and oak well-balanced with good acidity and almost mouth-coating tannins on a long finish. Very well-made, Yoram Cohen is back!, excellent value.

Adir, Cabernet Sauvignon Kerem Ben Zimra 2009: A very New World wine, dark garnet with black and red fruit on the nose, medium to full-bodied with on the palate concentrated black currants and blackberries, the bracing acidity here was in fine balance with the oak which is not as present as with the Tanya, nice mouth-coating tannins on the long finish. A very nice Cabernet Sauvignon that was typical of the region, reminded me of the style of some Dalton's Cabernet Sauvignon.

Best,

GG

[Adam N]

Gabe, I agree with you about the Adir Cab 2009. I think it's their best effort to date.

[Gabriel Geller]

The other Adir wines are also very good with my favorite being actually their blend, "A". The Shiraz is also quite a fine wine and while the Plato is excellent, it is IMHO a bit overpriced.

[Yossie Horwitz]

I also liked the "a" and actually preferred the 2009 Adir Shiraz to the Cabernet Sauvignon, but both are good wines, showing an appreciated and marked improvement over prior vintages. Has anyone tasted the recently released 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz?

[David Raccah]

I liked the Shiraz and the Cab from Adir. The Shiraz is a crazy powerhouse that is filled with tannin, oak, and balancing deep black brooding fruit. The Cabernet is more subtle, though powerful as well, where the fruit is center stage, with a balancing of the oak extraction in the background. I look forward to trying the A soon, as I brought some back from Israel.

[Daniel Kovnat]

Yossie,

The Adir Shiraz from 2010 was just released and I love it. It is a big, bold wine with huge nose filled with aromas of berries and wood and a long pleasant finish with a velvety mouth tasting of peppers, chocolate, and a savory steak fresh from the barbeque.

Their Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 is also an excellent wine and these two new releases demonstrate the continued striving for improved quality of Adir's wines. Kol HaKavod to Avi Rosenberg for his excellent work as the resident vintner.

[Yehoshua Werth]

WOW.. better than 2009 .. Realy liked that vintage.. so look to tasting these YUMM

[Elie Poltorak]

Hi, last night had some nice wines at a friend's house-warming party.

Tanya, Ivri (the winery's new series), Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz 2010: Needed about a couple hours to fully open up but then was drinking beautifully. A blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 15% Shiraz, 13 months in french oak barrels, 14.1% Abv. Deep garnet with purple reflections, the nose was first muted but then after about 15 min in the glass it opened on some very nice notes of spices, roasted meat and black fruit, the wine is full-bodied with on the palate blackberries and red plums, roasted meat, green olives, pepper, some dark chocolate and oak well-balanced with good acidity and almost mouth-coating tannins on a long finish. Very well-made, Yoram Cohen is back!, excellent value.

Tanya and "excellent value"? I never thought I'd hear those words in the same sentence. Is the Ivri available in the U.S. yet? I really like Tanya's wines but their prices (particularly here in the U.S.--they're significantly less expensive in Israel) have been stratospheric. I hope that as they grow, they have to bring their prices in line with the market in order to sell any quantity of wine. It's easy to sell a few bottles at a ridiculous price as a novelty item to taste once, but that doesn't work when you're producing a decent amount.

[Gabriel Geller]

Tanya and "excellent value"? I never thought I'd hear those words in the same sentence. Is the Ivri available in the U.S. yet? I really like Tanya's wines but their prices (particularly here in the U.S.--they're significantly less expensive in Israel) have been stratospheric. I hope that as they grow, they have to bring their prices in line with the market in order to sell any quantity of wine. It's easy to sell a few bottles at a ridiculous price as a novelty item to taste once, but that doesn't work when you're producing a decent amount.

I know. Until recently Tanya, while making some good to excellent wines (he has made some of my favorite Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc), were always priced quite high, especially in the States. That being said, while most the wines are very expensive there, I've just spotted the Tanya Halel Caernet Franc '06 at $35 on Gotham's website, which is a very good price IMHO.
Yoram didn't make wine in 2008 because of shmitta year and I personally got the impression that he was a bit rusty with the 2009 as none of the wines of that vintage were really much to my liking but he has released his 2010 wines with a new series, Ivri, earlier this year. I liked very much all of the new wines (CabSauv, Merlot, and a CabSauv/Merlot/Shiraz) with still a personal preference for the blend. All the 3 wines sell at my shop for 89 shekels ($23), which I think is very reasonable for the quality.

Best,

GG

[Adam N]

Having tasted the Tanya "Ivri" series last week, I agree with GG. Yoram did a great job and has kept the price down. IMHO, I still think he should have let it sit in the winery for another 6 months before releasing it.

My 2 cents,

[Elie Poltorak]

Tanya and "excellent value"? I never thought I'd hear those words in the same sentence. Is the Ivri available in the U.S. yet? I really like Tanya's wines but their prices (particularly here in the U.S.--they're significantly less expensive in Israel) have been stratospheric. I hope that as they grow, they have to bring their prices in line with the market in order to sell any quantity of wine. It's easy to sell a few bottles at a ridiculous price as a novelty item to taste once, but that doesn't work when you're producing a decent amount.

I know. Until recently Tanya, while making some good to excellent wines (he has made some of my favorite Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc), were always priced quite high, especially in the States. That being said, while most the wines are very expensive there, I've just spotted the Tanya Halel Caernet Franc '06 at $35 on Gotham's website, which is a very good price IMHO.
Yoram didn't make wine in 2008 because of shmitta year and I personally got the impression that he was a bit rusty with the 2009 as none of the wines of that vintage were really much to my liking but he has released his 2010 wines with a new series, Ivri, earlier this year. I liked very much all of the new wines (CabSauv, Merlot, and a CabSauv/Merlot/Shiraz) with still a personal preference for the blend. All the 3 wines sell at my shop for 89 shekels ($23), which I think is very reasonable for the quality.

Best,

GG

I look forward ti tasting the new series when it arrives on our shores--or next time I make it to Israel. The Halel CF is phenomenal and $35 is less than I've paid for it in the past, but still pricey compared to similar offerings from the bigger wineries (Ella Valley, GHW, etc.).

[Daniel Kovnat]

I see that the Adir Shiraz 2010 was chosen and the best of this varietal in Israel at the Sommelier wine competition called Eschol HaZahav. Sommelier.co.il calls their contest "The Oscar of Israeli Wines."

[Gabriel Geller]

Competitions... whatever.