How I Appear / WeeksEnd wine

[Harry J]

bsd
How I appear,such as my facial expression or body language (or label on a bottle for that matter); is that a true reflection of me? If my emotions are me then they probably are.
But for those who strive in realizing their inner core then an expression or a label is a tool but the truest self is so much deeper.
Have a good one; h

[Yossie Horwitz]

Planning to enjoy the Ella Valley 2007 Cabernet Franc and compare it to the Hagafen Prix 2008 Cabernet Franc (be interesting to see how it compares to the 2007 "regular" Hagafen that was really great in its heyday before it took a turn for the worse).

[YoelA]

2006 Edna Valley pinot noir

[Gabriel Geller]

2006 Edna Valley pinot noir

I guess you mean the Herzog Reserve?

Harry, hi, shavua tov,

Wednesday night, had a nice meal of Wiener Schnitzel (breaded veal sirloin) paired with a half-bottle of GHW Gamla CS '08 at Buffalo Steakhouse in Emek Refaim, Jerusalem. The wine took a little while to open up, then showed some simple dark fruit, essentially blackberries, medium to full bodied and dark garnet, nothing impressive but not bad either, as always with the Gamla CS.

Friday night: Had brought a bottle of GHW Yarden Syrah 2006 to my host but there were 2 other bottles and when asked, I advised to open:

Tabor Mes'cha 2005: Had offered this bottle to my host about a month ago for his birthday, we wanted for his son to be there to open it so last night was the right opportunity to do so. Dark Garnet toward ruby, full-bodied, a muscular but elegant wine (a CS-Merlot-Shiraz blend) that can be easily mistaken for the Yatir Blended Red. Dark fruits, blackberries and perhaps even some cranberries, mouth-coating tannins and plums all lingering nicely with some spicy oak on the long finish. The bottle was emptied out in no time.

GHW Gamla Nebbiolo 2009: I have a bottle of this wine but of the '08 vintage in my cellar that I planned to bring to the same host one day, however another guest brought the '09 and I was very very curious to taste it as I had never drunk any Gamla Nebbiolo before. The wine was indeed a bit too young, with tannins that still need time to integrate, but showed very nicely after 10 minutes or so in the glass. Knowing that Nebbiolo is a grape sharing some characteristics with the Pinot Noir, it wasn't a surprise for me to see that the wine was bright ruby/brick, medium to full-bodied with raspberries and violets on the nose, and even jasmine! On the palate, red fruit, raspberries and red currants with some hints of Mediterranean herbs and a mouth-filling finish, truly a great wine, and a lovely experience.

Shabbat lunch: Binyamina Reserve Shiraz 2006: This wine has been lying for almost 4 years in my cellar, and has aged beautifully, clearly at its peak now but should hold it for at least 2 more years I believe, if properly stored. Dark ruby and full-bodied, a refreshing nose of blackberries, oak and smoked meat followed on the palate by blackberries, juicy plums, oregano, roasted meat, white pepper, bakers chocolate and oak with a light spiciness on the looooong finish. Delicious!

Have a great week!

Best,

GG

[YoelA]

No, this was the Edna Valley Vineyards label. We drink both kosher and non-kosher wines.

[Jon Tabak]

Herzog Special Reserve Lodi Zindfandel 2006
Herzog Special Reserve Cabernet Zinfandel Syrah 2009
Herzog Special Reserve Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2008
Herzog Special Reserve Russian River Chardonnay 2009
Chateau Haut Condissas 2003 (can't get enough )

[Adam M]

2006 Yatir Cabernet Sauvignon. Lots of sediment and seemingly fully mature, which was surprising given that it has been sitting pretty in my cellar since I acquired it immediately upon release.

[Jon Tabak]

Adam - Had my last bottle a couple months ago and I don't recall there being any sediment, so strange indeed.

[E Segel]

Chateau Giscours Margaux 2003
Domaine du Castel Grand Vin 2005 (amazing)

[Andrew Breskin]

Enjoyed the Bartenura Prosecco, and a special half bottle of 2003 Castel Grand Vin. Surprisingly fresh given the format; some red fruits, citrus, lots of herbs, no tannins, and a pleasant tingle of acidity. Reminded me of the 2006; maybe a sneak peak into its future.

[Pinchas L]

Hi Harry,

Hagafen Roussanne Lodi 2006 - Since I am about to get a shipment of the 2010 vintage, figuring it was time to acquaint myself from fresh with this variety, I opened the last of my bottles from earlier vintages. The Roussanne, with its flavor profile so vastly different from that of the whites that dominate winestore shelves, does indeed require that one get used to it. For those whose experience with whites is mostly Chardonnay and Sauvingon Blanc, the intial introduction to the Roussanne would probably be shocking, given that the fruit flavors take a backseat. Even those that drink other whites such as Riesling, Gewurtztraminer and Viognier will find the Roussanne a breed of a different nature. For one, the Roussanne is austere, reserved and reticent, with quite a complex profile. Although, the 2006 is not my preferred vintage, it is still quite enjoyable and its flavors are in line with the other vintages. Drinking it this weekend, I found the fruit to have receded even further, with the only notes I picked up were those of apricot. On the palate, the apricots were in the background, and were overshadowed by almond, tea and white chocolate. The wine saw some oak, and its contribution in the form of vanilla is still apparent. A bitter streak permeates from the beginning through the finish, making this wine go great with food. The wine is creamy with a medium weight that belies the delicate flavor profile I've just described. The wine that most resembles it on the kosher market is Elvi's Ness Bianco. (David you'll know what I mean.) 13.7% AbV and $18 from the winery. I know that much of what I've written about Roussanne is based on my impressions from the wines of a single producer, so that I would like to hear from others with more experience whether my impressions are on target or not.

Castel Grand Vin 2004 - With several bottles left in my cellar, and curious to see how this wine, a Bordeaux blend, is progressing I decided to have one. The nose is fully developed with layers of ripe dark fruit and chocolate. The tannins are well integrated, offering a smooth and elegant mouthfeel, that nonetheless make their presence felt. The dark fruit takes the form of plums, cassis and cranberries on the palate, that are complemented by green olives, a mediterranean herbaciousness, and layers of chocolate and coffee that linger through the long finish. Although this wine is not made in my preferred style, I'd probably make sure to have a few on hand for the times I want something different for myself or to offer a guest who would appreciate it. My struggle is to define why I don't consider this wine to be in a style I prefer. Perhaps it is the ripeness of the fruit in combination with its high extraction and green notes, that doesn't work for me. I don't mean to single out this wine, since I feel the same about almost all Israeli premium Bordeaux blends and Cabernet Sauvignons. In conclusion, this wine is maturing nicely and should cellar well for several more years, placing me in no rush to drink up my remaining bottles. In the next few week I plan on opening bottles from the '06 and '07 vintages for comparison.

Best,
-> Pinchas

[Jon Tabak]

Eli - Just poured the 03 Giscours at a tasting Thursday night...I completely agree. I had the 05 Castel Grand Vin about 6 months ago and I found the oak component to be too pronounced for my palate. Here are my notes: http://www.kosherwino.com/index.php/201 ... -vin-2005/ What did you think?

Best,
Jon

[Gabriel Geller]

Herzog Special Reserve Cabernet Zinfandel Syrah 2009

Hi Jon, how was this one? The '06 is one of my top ten listed.

[David Raccah]

Rogov tasted this roughly a year ago:

Castel, Petit Castel, 2004: Dark garnet with a hint of clearing at the rim, medium- to full-bodied, with soft tannins, gentle notes of spicy oak and fine balancing acidity. A caressing wine that opens with a chocolate and berry-rich nose, thyose joined by cassis, black cherries, dark plums, bittersweet chocolate and pepper, all lingering on a long, polished and round finish. Remains elegant and supple but showing first signs of aging. Drink up. Score 91. K (Re-tasted 11 Feb 2011)

He said it was drink up last year! Not drink now - interesting at times what people think about drink dates.

My notes on the Roussane are from 2007 vintage not the 2006 vintage:

2007 Hagafen Roussanne Ripken Vineyard Napa Valley – Score: B++
The nose on this light gold colored wine starts off with a hit of fresh and almost plump peach, guava, apple, lemon, caramel, rich smoky/toasty oak, hay, vanilla, Crème brûlée, and butterscotch. The mouth on this medium to full bodied wine starts off super spicy with bright fruit and toasty oak. The mouth is concentrated showing peach, pear, guava, pineapple, caramel, rich fruit and a ripe mouth with a lovely fullness to it. The mid palate is nicely balanced with core acidity, toasty oak, caramel, butterscotch, hay or green tea, and lemon. The finish is super long, spicy, and bright with toasty oak, summer fruit, lemon drop, butterscotch, and a hint of green tea on the finish. It lingers nicely with lemon drop, butterscotch, and toasty oak. Drink up!

The wine has some of the similarities that the Blanco has, but the muscat flavors are really not inline with the Roussanne savory flavors. From a mouth feel and structure perspective, it may well be inline with the Blanco. It has been sometime since I tasted the Roussanne, but from the notes it felt like more of a heavyweight Chardonnay that was pulled towards the green side. To me the Blanco more resembles a Viognier or the White Rieslings out there than this wine. That said, I like the Blanco and the Roussanne, and this reminds me to get some on my next visit to the winery.

David

[David Raccah]

OOPS!!!! This is the correct tasting note:

Castel, Grand Vin 2004: Dark garnet with the once-firm tannins now integrating nicely with spicy wood. On the nose and palate currants and blackberries, those supported very nicely indeed by notes of raspberries, licorice and tobacco, all lingering long and comfortably on the palate. An elegant wine. Drinking nicely now but don’t hesitate to cellar until 2013. Score 93. K (Re-tasted 11 Feb 2011)

[YoelA]

Hagafen roussanne has been one of my favorite kosher whites since I discovered it a couple of years ago. It's too bad that there aren't any kosher whites available from the northern Rhone (Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage, St. Joseph, others), or at least none that I've seen, the home of this grape, so that we can see how this grape can really shine.

[Pinchas L]

Hagafen roussanne has been one of my favorite kosher whites since I discovered it a couple of years ago. It's too bad that there aren't any kosher whites available from the northern Rhone (Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage, St. Joseph, others), or at least none that I've seen, the home of this grape, so that we can see how this grape can really shine.

Hi Yoel,

We may have exchanged posts on this a while ago, but I'll risk repeating myself. I believe 2006 was Ernie's first experiment with this grape, and those that followed in 2007 and 2008 were even better, offering a more substantial mid-palate. I don't know if the improvement has been due to Ernie's increasing experience with the variety, or whether it was just due to the natural variation in the quality of the grapes from season to season, and 2006 being a poor vintage.

Best,
-> Pinchas

[Jonathan K]

Baron Herzog old vines Zinfandel 2008 out of a paper cup at a Shul function. Best I could tell it was a classic jammy zin with decent tannin structure, and some waxy notes which could have well been my paper cup. I liked it much better than the Ben Ami wines we had at the last function.

[Joel D Parker]

Hi Guys,

We had a bottle of the newly released 2008 Assemblage series wine by Barkan, called Eitan. The name, which means strong, also happens to be the name of our nine month old, so we're quite partial to it from the start. It's mainly Shiraz and Merlot with some Cabernet Sauvignon to round it out. It's all from the Judean Hills, while the counterpart, Reichan (aromatic) is from the upper Galilee. Despite being quite fruit forward for my tastes, it shows a relative amount of restraint and if you open the bottle about an hour or two before serving any unwanted oakiness already goes down to drinkable levels. It has fairly elegant acid levels and a nice finish that to me really does say a lot about the Judean Hills. It's interesting that I would say that it expresses the region well, since I typically wouldn't think a blend of Shiraz and Merlot could express an area, or in wine geek lingo, 'a sense of place'--but it does. And it does that well. It was great to drink on day two and even kept up its zing into the evening after Shabbat. We drank it slowly, since it has something a bit tough about it now; it's smooth, but a bit too muscular to be called a quaffer.

Purchased at Wine and More for 79NIS.

Btw, I once asked the late David about what kind of food with which one would drink a shiraz-merlot blend, and one of his suggestions was slightly spicy sausages. We had some fresh sausages I cooked from Hinnawi in TLV and it was indeed a great combo.

Best,

Joel

[Isaac C]

It was a beer weekend for me so I went light on the wine - I had Coq au vin on Friday night so I had a little of the HaSod Cabernet (2009?) that was left over from cooking. Drank beer at the meals and did a tasting with friends. I had these beers: Schneider Weisse Aventinus, The Lost Abbey Lost & Found, The Lost Abbey Judgement Day, Russian River Damnation, Maui Brewing Coconut Porter, Victory Hop Wallop Double IPA, Moylan's Hopsickle Imperial IPA, Allagash Curieux, and De Struise Brouwers Tsjeeses Reserva

[Yehoshua Werth]

2005 Chateau Royaumont Lelane De Pomeral

2007 Gilgal Cabernet Sauvignon

Note to come

[Harry J]

it could be me, it could be the bottle, it maybe even is the wine-yarden pinot noir 2007,first time i found nothing enjoyable with a yarden wine.h

[Yehoshua Werth]

Harry did you ever taste it when it was younger? How long did you let it open up?

I liked the wine yet agree did not IMPRESS.. still liked the wine

[Harry J]

Yehoshua-re the yarden pinot 07-its the first time i tasted it-wouldnt think thats old for a yarden,and tasted it after letting it breathe too. one of the issues i used to ahve with Rogovs notes is that it always seemed like Yarden can never have a wine that gets a rating below 85 and maybe sometimes should!just my opinion. h