TN: Ramot Naftali Petit Verdot 2009

[Gabriel Geller]

Hi...

A customer brought me back last week a bottle of Ramot Naftali Petit Verdot '09 as the cork was purple... So I've decided to open the said bottle this morning and see whether the wine was or not spoiled. Well, great news, it's not!

Ramot Naftali, Petit Verdot 2009: Showing even better than at IsraWinExpo in February. Dark royal purple, with on the nose loads of red fruit, spices and ripe plums, full-bodied with on the palate an attack of red plums, cinnamon and basilic, on the mid-palate ripe blackberries, basilic again, oak and then backers chocolate with near-sweet and almost chewy tannins rising on an endless finish. An excellent wine. I confirm that this is my favorite Petit Verdot.

Best,

GG

[Alexander F]

Doesn't chunky tannins characterize an opposite of excellent wine? At least Rogov always accompany it with low scores.
About a year ago, I tasted both 2008 and 2009. The first was excellent, the second was too young, too tannic and a bit astringent. I assume 2009 has developed since then, like '08 a year ago.

[Gabriel Geller]

Chunky tannins doesn't necessarily mean that the wine is not good, but could mean also that the tannins have not yet fully integrated. However that said, please excuse my mistake as I actually meant "chewy" rather than "chunky" and have thus corrected that now. It is true that wines described as such by Rogov z.l. where often followed by a low score but not always. What matters is structure and balance and this wine is indeed well-balanced and has fine structure and my guess is that it could cellar well for 4-5 years from now.

[Jon Tabak]

Why would a purple cork indicate spoilage?

[Andrew Breskin]

Perhaps it was purple in entirety, indicating a faulty seal, as wine was leaking and allowing oxygen to enter. Or perhaps he was a cork smeller and violated KosherWino VinEd Rule #2!

[David Raccah]

The cork on the top of the bottle, not the bottom. In other words there was leakage of wine from the bottle as the cork was not seated well. Happens often enough - good to hear the wine was not damaged.

I have had many a bottle with a poorly seated cork and the bottle was fine and many where it was poor. Mostly just the luck on how much aired seeped in before you opened it for real.

David

[Gabriel Geller]

Dave is correct.

[Yossie Horwitz]

My TN:

Ramot Naftaly, Petit Verdot, 2009: One of the few varietal Israeli Petit Verdot wines (the 2008 Yatir is fabulous) and a rousing success. As with most wineries, the Petit Verdot was initially planted to be used as a blending agent (as with the Barbera below), but the quality of the resulting wine was so good that the winemaker decided to make it as a stand-alone varietal that received raving reviews (he has increased production in subsequent years). A dense and inky black full-bodied wine from Petit Verdot grapes grown in Terra Rosa soil that spent, like most Ramot Naftaly wines, 12 months in new French oak with a surprisingly relatively low 13% alcohol. A rich nose of black forest fruit with hints of red fruits wrapped in a solid robe of muscular tannins that bode well for the future of this wine but still need some time to settle down and play nice with the fruit, slightly spicy wood and acid. More black fruit on the nose, together with some red cherries and raspberries accompanied by baker’s chocolate leading into a long and lingering finish of fruit and minty chocolate. Drinking beautifully after a few minutes in the glass, the wine can be enjoyed through 2015. Suggested retail is 120 NIS.

[Gabriel Geller]

My TN:Ramot Naftaly, Petit Verdot, 2009: (...) Suggested retail is 120 NIS.

It's official now: I'm not so pricey, I'm selling it for less than that!

[Daniel Kovnat]

I actually meant "chewy" rather than "chunky" and have thus corrected that now.

What's the difference between chunky tannins and chewy tannins?

[Gabriel Geller]

Hi Daniel, in my book chunky means more that the tannins lack focus, unbalanced and are overwhelming, disturbing the overall tasting experience. It may calm down with time but it is true that most of the time it's not a good sign. However chewy means to me strong tannins that you can literally feel on your teeth but not in a too overwhelming way, without shadowing the flavor profile of the wine and even adding interest to the wine. It's the case also with the Segal Rechasim Argaman '08, that characteristic grabs your attention there too without taking over the whole drinking/tasting experience. Actually Rogov z.l. discussed the topic and I mostly agree with his description that you may find here: viewtopic.php?f=29&t=27933

[Daniel Kovnat]

Hi Daniel, in my book chunky means more that the tannins lack focus, unbalanced and are overwhelming, disturbing the overall tasting experience. It may calm down with time but it is true that most of the time it's not a good sign. However chewy means to me strong tannins that you can literally feel on your teeth but not in a too overwhelming way, without shadowing the flavor profile of the wine and even adding interest to the wine. It's the case also with the Segal Rechasim Argaman '08, that characteristic grabs your attention there too without taking over the whole drinking/tasting experience. Actually Rogov z.l. discussed the topic and I mostly agree with his description that you may find here: viewtopic.php?f=29&t=27933

Hi Gabe,
I tried to view the topic but your "link" wasn't functional. Perhaps you could provide it again, or send it to me in an email. I sort of get a sense of what your are talking about, but perhaps your might describe the chunky ones as hard tannins and the chewy ones as soft tannins. Hard is a word that better describes a negative characteristic and soft, a positive one. It might seem to be merely semantics, but sometimes words can be like a swords.

Dan

[David Raccah]

The link is fine - but here it is again in a click-able format

viewtopic.php?f=29&t=27933

David

[Daniel Kovnat]

The link is fine - but here it is again in a click-able format

viewtopic.php?f=29&t=27933

David

Thanks, that's a fascinating discussion. I, being a super-novice, was not aware of the complexity of all the different descriptors of the different types of tannins. i felt that I was doing pretty well to identify that there were tannins present. I guess that I've got a long way to go. Anyone know of where I might find "Wine Tasting Workshops?"

Dan

[Gabriel Geller]

Anyone know of where I might find "Wine Tasting Workshops?"

Now this is something I'd like to set up at my shop! Find me a public and I'll make it happen.