Great wines this past weekend:
2008 Wilm Riesling: A-/*** Still vibrant and fresh, but starting to show a hint of age.
2011 Recanati Rose: B+/*** Delicious fun rose
2009 Ella Valley Cabernet Franc: A-/*** Elegant and exquisite
2009 Ventura Cabernet Franc: A-/** Very acidic and food friendly, with great varietal character, the green notes really shining. Showed MUCH better than the last bottle I had. Wish I had more. Elchonon, are you listening?
2007 Ella Valley Cabernet Sauvignon: A-/*** Another winner from Ella. Perfectly balanced. Delicious graphite and a bit of green.
2009 Herzog Alexander Valley CS: B to B+/** The only wine I like from the Herzog reserve series and one of the few decent mevushal wines. Nothing too exciting here but just a well made, balanced, restrained cab.
'10? Binyamina Reserve Merlot: B/*** Surprisingly decent quaffer. Light and fruity but balanced and not overly sweet.
The cherry on top was the notorious Kinor Dovid Sherry: A for nose, B+ to A- for first attack, B for mid pallate, and F for lack of finish/* This wine is the biggest tease EVER. The nose is just incredible, bursting with kirsch, rapsberry, spices, and enough other notes to fill a page. But the moment the wine hits your tongue it begins fading, with no finish to speak of. Incredibly frustrating! I found this wine impossible to score, as the good parts are GREAT but the bad is ugly. In the end, I'll stick to the 8 year K'port, which is much better balanced, more satisfying, and much cheaper.
