The Desert//Ten Commandments /WeeksEnd wine

[Jonathan K]

2009 Shirah McGinley Vineyard Syrah - Entirely different than the last 4 bottles. This one was significantly less concentrated, weak on delivery and spice heavy. No focus. Worried about the variation.

Could be a food pairing issue. Do you remember what you had with the wine?

I had a similar experience the one time I tried this wine. I just figured it was closed down. The Thompson was much more approachable. I look forward to trying the McGinley again though. Maybe it is just bottle variation.

[Adam M]

Wow, very impressive wine and food consumption by you guys!

We enjoyed the following

2007 Hevron Heights Isaac's Ram. A mature new world Cabernet Sauvignon. At this point, very easy drinking with smokey chocolate notes. We paired this with a Stilton Blue cheese, which is handmade (with vegetable rennet) in England. This pairing, which is referenced on Stilton's website, was magical. Totally 1+1=3. And totally contrary to those who maintain that full bodied mature red wine doesn't pair well with blue cheese. For the fun of it, we also tried the Isaac's Ram with some good old fashioned NY style cheesecake. It wasn't as synergistic as the blue cheese pairing, and I would agree that it wasn't a perfect or even proper pairing, but it wasn't bad and I would even say it was pretty ok.

2011 Covenant Sauvignon Blanc - love this vintage. Salivatingly crisp and refreshing

2011 Dalton Rose - this is a truly fun picnic rose that doesn't require any brain power to enjoy. Very little if any complexity, but very enjoyable nonetheless. Analogous to the Recanati Rose

2010 Carmel Kayoumi Riesling - have commented on this before. Similar to the Covenant SB only slightly more fruity

2007 Capcanes La Flor - in my view this wine is at its very peak right now. It went very well with my wife's Iraqi grape leaves and onions stuffed with rice and Kobe ground beef, which is cooked in extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice and sautéed onions and tomatoes (the tanginess of the sauce paired quie well with the light, spicy, elegance of the Grenache)

2006 Covenant Cabernet Sauvignon - paired this with a 30-day aged prime rib roast. We loved the wine but found it to be very big and powerful and in my view still not as smooth and luscious as I would like.

2008 BR Cohn Cabernet Sauvignon - I got much more chocolate since the last time I tried this 6 month ago

2006 Baron de Edmund Rothschild Haut medoc bordeaux . Good with food but distinctly French with that (to lil ole me) off-putting dirty diaper stench.

2005 Tabor Mescha - drinking very well. It has a distinct sourness to it that I find very appealing, while some others do not (free country)

2007 Carmel sha'al dessert wine. Still going strong.

[YoelA]

[quote[ Pinchas wrote Thanks for keeping me in mind, remembering to include your notes on the Asif Viognier. Your notes match mine, but too bad you didn't have Asif's '08, as I think that is even more complex than the '09[/quote]

I wanted to buy the 2008 based on various tasting notes in the forum but couldn't find any. I was lucky to even find the 2009; only one wine shop I visited had it.

[Yossie Horwitz]

Agreed - sounds like I need to finagle me an invite to Issac's house next holiday! In any event, we enjoyed the following wines over the six holiday meals and did some nice damage on a good selection of meat and cheeses over the varied meals (interestingly and likely a first for me, we drank more non-Israeli wines than Israeli):

Livni, Pinot Noir, 2009. A huge disappointment and drinking terrible compared to my last bottle. Was sourced differently so hoping it was an off-bottle. Not necessarily spoiled, just extra "hot" and unbalanced with the herbs and sweet fruit blowing through everything else.
Shirah, Counter Punch, 2010. Was OK but not nearly as good as prior bottles.
BR Cohn, Trestle Glen, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2008. Drinking amazingly with plenty of time left (although not sure how much "better" the wine will get).
Covenant, Lavan Chardonnay, 2009. Delicious (developing differently than the 2008).
Dalton, "D", Fume Blanc, 2011. A long-time favorite and house wine of mine.
Hagafen, Roussanne, 2010 (ordered directly from the winery - I cannot believe that the "current" available vintage in many stores is the 2006). Great with nearly everything it was paired with.
Tzora, Neve Ilan Chardonnay, 2010. Was pretty hard to find but worth it.
Molon Lave, Riesling, 2010. A simple little wine, enjoyable but nothing more.
Porto Cordevero, Ruby Port, n.v. Much enjoyed over three meals (especially poured over Häagen-Dazs' "Five" Vanilla and Vanilla Bean and Espresso Ice Cream flavors).
Gat Shomron, "icewine" style Gewurztraminer, 2009. Amazing.

[Gabriel Geller]

Agreed - sounds like I need to finagle me an invite to Issac's house next holiday! In any event, we enjoyed the following wines over the six holiday meals and did some nice damage on a good selection of meat and cheeses over the varied meals (interestingly and likely a first for me, we drank more non-Israeli wines than Israeli)

I noticed essentially that you had only young wines, unusual for you I think. But well, since most were whites that makes sense. Surprised not to find here any Piada, Guiraud, de Fesles or any other dessert whites...

[Yossie Horwitz]

Yup - mostly whites and my guests were, essentially non-appreciators on whom I felt the nuances of aged stuff would be lost. I did forget to mention the Gat Shomron Gewurztraminer "Icewine" style dessert wine which I added to my post. Also, we only had two meals w/ guests at home (my wife is due in a couple weeks so less capacity for guests ), so the Port and Gat Shomron sufficed for those meals.

[Gabriel Geller]

Yup - mostly whites and my guests were, essentially non-appreciators on whom I felt the nuances of aged stuff would be lost. I did forget to mention the Gat Shomron Gewurztraminer "Icewine" style dessert wine which I added to my post. Also, we only had two meals w/ guests at home (my wife is due in a couple weeks so less capacity for guests ), so the Port and Gat Shomron sufficed for those meals.

1) Would be interesting to compare side by side the Gat Shomron and Yarden Heightwine. I guess you also tasted the Hevron Heights Icewine at Sommelier, any news about that one?
2) Beshaa tova Umutzlachat! (for the non-initiated: a Hebrew phrase indicating that the woman should deliver her baby "in a favorable hour").

[Isaac C]

I ended up drinking the following wines:

Shiloh Legend 2009 - This wine is a lot of fun, bursting with fruits, silky smooth tannins, a very enjoyable wine and one which is also very approachable. The nose and mouth on this wine shows strong notes of sweet berries and chocolate, gentle tannins, and a nice long finish.

Barrail de Zede 2000 - This wine was very enjoyable. I opened it right before drinking and it did not need any time to breathe. A very nice mature bordeaux, with a nose that is full of the terroir. The mouth on this wine is smooth, with gentle tannins and soft notes of berries and wood. The wine was pretty dead the next afternoon, took a few sips and then switched over to beer. Most of the bottles I have opened have been good right away and did not hold well even after a few hours, in some cases.

Yiron Syrah 2005 - This wine was excellent, very similar to the last time I had it, very full bodied, a delicious wine. I did notice the age on the finish, though if I had more of these I would feel comfortable keeping it for another year.

En Fuego Cava - I'm not much of a maven with sparkling wines/champagnes but it seems to be pretty good for $13. A dry Cava with just a touch of sweetness.

Golan Moscato - For moscato this seems to be the best - for those who actually like wine and for those who don't like wines besides the very sweet ones as well. Went well with the cheesecake.

Herzog LH Orange Muscat - This was interesting - the nose had very strong notes of orange, picked them up slightly in the mouth. A sweet dessert wine, but not one of those syrupy types, actually thought it was just a tiny drop watery for a late harvest dessert wine.

Zion Mihamartif - This wine has no vintage but says it was aged 32 years, so I guess the style is supposed to be like a Tawny Port. It is brownish-red in color, the nose is full of sweet raisins. The mouth is very smooth and syrupy, with notes of dried fruits, raisins. It seems to have gotten better every day it has been open, so far (4 days). It is an enjoyable dessert wine and definitely a unique and interesting one for the kosher market. It showed best when paired with cheesecake though It is definitely not worth the $100+ price tag. I would take the Porto Cordovero LBV or the Carmel Vintage over this in a heartbeat even if the prices were the same. In it's defense though, it is a unique style - maybe the 1978 Kedem Port is similar (I think someone mentioned tasting that recently).

[Gabriel Geller]

Golan Moscato - For moscato this seems to be the best - for those who actually like wine and for those who don't like wines besides the very sweet ones as well.

I've actually discussed the topic (Moscato) with a winemaker this week, I'm not accusing anyone here in particular and certainly not GHW, but he told me that many wineries use a concentrate ( ) to make their Moscatos. In other words, a bit of alcohol, syrup and CO2 and then you have a "wine"...
That said, whether syrup or not, I like the Golan and Binyamina Teva, the Dalton isn't bad either.

[Sam M]

2010 hagafen prix Chardonnay - realy enjoyed this . Not too oaky. I don't love Chardonnays because I prefer my whites lighter but this was bright and fresh.
2010 hagafen roussanne- I like this alot. Fruity, but not too sweet . Much better than the 2006.
2010 hagafen prix Reisling - I'm not a Reisling fan. So im not a good reference. There was some knd of aftertaste I couldn't identify.
2007- galil mountain yiron. Had a little each day over 3 days. It was enjoyable all 3 days.

Sam m

[Alek W]

Friday dinner: Psagot Cabernet Franc 2007 - green peppers subsided after one hour in the decanter, enjoyed it immensely
Binyamina Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2006 - excellent wine, the best I ever had from Binyamina

Shabbat lunch: Gamla Syrah 2009 - very nice; I wonder if it will benefit from bottle aging
Tulip Just Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 - the fifth bottle during the last five months, fun as usual
Teperberg Silver White Riesling 2009 - lifeless, did not like it

[David Raccah]

I had some interesting wines including some that many here have panned. I liked them, but none received a real A- or higher score:

http://kosherwinemusings.com/2012/06/01 ... her-wines/

The best wine I did have, that is not on my blog, was the older and newer N.V Four Gates Pinot Noir. They are both doing well, though the older N.V Pinot should be drunk in the next year or so, while the younger N.V. Pinot is rich and full and partying well!!

David