Getting Across /WeeksEnd wine

[Harry J]

bsd
Going in a straight line might present the shortest route,yet a circular one can imply personal striving. And striving to reach a point can often be the elixir of human existence.
Have a good one; h

[Birger Vejrum]

Hi Harry,

Good one, just like working with children.

Tonight Barolo "Capalot" 2006 from Crissante Alessandria.

Ciao
Birger

[YoelA]

Salmon tonight, with 2008 Wild Earth (New Zealand) pinot noir and 2009 Handthaler Stollberg bacchus kabinett (Franconia, Germany)

[Gabriel Geller]

Harry, hi, and Shavua Tov!

You need to tell us how was your Tabor Mesc'ha '05 and/or your Carmel Appellation Cab Franc '07!

Friday night: Odem Mountain, Volcanic, Shiraz '08: Still my favorite shiraz here and one of the very best QPR on the israeli market! Dark purple toward garnet, full-bodied, plums, smoked meat and wood, also blackberries on the nose and then again on the palate with a nice blend of the very juicy plums and the blackberries showing very lively thanks to the bracing acidity in there, and in good balance with some spicy oak and again the smoked meat on the round and long finish. Delish!

No wine shabbat lunch as I was the only wine drinker at the table and needed perhaps a brief pause

Have a great week all!

Best,

GG

[Pinchas L]

Hi Harry,

Asif Viognier 2009 - Apricots and orange rind dominate the nose and the palate, granting this wine its fruity core. The finish is punctuated by spicy ginger, that somehow tricks me into believing that the wine possesses more acidity than it has in actuality. The texture is oily with a very discernible beeswax feel and taste. This version of the wine has some residual sugar, that I believe stands at about 2%. I did not find the sugar to distract from the wine, nor that it makes the wine a poor match with food. I had it with fatty salmon, and it went well, but I could understand those who would prefer a drier wine with greater acidity to go with that dish. The '08 version, which I haven't tasted yet, is completely dry. And I'm looking forward to see how that one compares to this. 13% AbV. Yoel, its now your turn to comment on this wine.

After discussing the wine with Oryah, the winemaker, I would like to make a correction, and rather than modifying my original post I decided to add this clarification. The '09 vintage of the Viognier is the dry version, and the sweetness I felt, is just perceived sweetness as a result of the wine's fruity character. The '08 version, is the off-dry version, with residual sugar about .8%, even though its alcohol level is even higher, standing at 14.5%. My original assessment that the wine has residual sugar as high as 2%, was not based on my perception of a sweetness of that level. It was based on the knowledge I had that of the two vintages, one was off dry and the other was dry. After looking at their respective alcohol contents, noticing that the '08 has 14.5% AbV and the '09 has 13% AbV, assuming that the brix levels at harvest were similar, I incorrectly concluded that the '08 must be the dry version, hence it higher alcohol content, and the '09, with its lower alcohol content, must be the off-dry version, the result of some of its sugar not converting to alcohol. I made a rough calculation, figuring that had the residual sugar fermented into alcohol the alcohol content of both wines should have been approximately on par, using a conversion ratio of .55, and guessed that the residual sugar should be about 2%.

Ella Valley Merlot 2005 - Its a good thing I chose to pop the cork on this one, since the wine had worked its way up almost to its tip. The wine itself was drinking well. On the nose and palate are plenty of dark fruit, mostly plum, that has an overlay of chocolate and toffee. The wine is too green for my tastes. In general, I've been turning away from Merlot of late, and this wine won't make me change my mind. The wine has a hefty 14.5% AbV, which in my opinion exacerbates the green notes.

Best,
-> Pinchas

[Shlomo R]

Went with a white this Friday night - my last bottle of Willm Gewurtztraminer. Have to try and get some more.

[Isaac C]

I had the Yarden Merlot 2007 - it was extremely closed Friday night and was just OK. Shabbos day it finally opened up in the glass and was excellent. I would recommend letting this one cellar a little longer.

[gaston k]

Last bottle of Galil Mountain Yiron 2007. Buy of the year from Varietal sale a while back. Wine keeps improving.

[Philip Aron]

CARMEL RIDGE CARIGNAN SHIRAZ,2010.

three bottles for 100 N.I.S @ Stop Market ,Tsomet Yagur

Red fruits, very good acidity and easy Tannins, its a really great QPR red that makes the purchasing quick, simple and very rewarding. The whispering giant got it right all in one.

[Jonathan K]

Three Vineyards 2008 Field Blend. Fruit forward with blackberry, raspberry, and chocolate notes. Not complex but substantial and a pleasure to drink. With fried chicken.

[Adam M]

2005 Castel Grand Vin. Very good, as one would expect.

[Harry J]

hi; tabor shiraz 2009.tried it a few months ago and didnt like it.it has settled down and is really good.chocolate ,plums and spice.and you dont really feel the 14.5 (unless thats just me h

[David Raccah]

We went the beer route this week with some lovely La Fin du Monde - rich and spicy, with nice effervescence, and mild bitterness. Really quite unique and a beer that can age easily two to three years if stored correctly.

http://winemusings.wordpress.com/2012/0 ... -du-monde/

David

[Z Spigelman]

Friday night our hosts opened a bottle of Yarden Mt. Hermon Red 2005 for Kiddush. They are semi-dry white wine drinkers so this bottle was probably sitting in their house under the kitchen sink for several years. We were surprised that the wine was actually drinkable but nothing more than that. After Kiddush, we switched to shots of Balvenie 10 year for the remainder of the meal.
Shabbat lunch - Galil Mt. Avivim 2008 - pleasant & refreshing.
Zvi

[Gabriel W]

We went the beer route this week with some lovely La Fin du Monde - rich and spicy, with nice effervescence, and mild bitterness. Really quite unique and a beer that can age easily two to three years if stored correctly.

http://winemusings.wordpress.com/2012/0 ... -du-monde/

David

I also had some La Fin du Monde this week. Still one of my favorite Belgian style Ales.

[Craig Winchell]

Hey Gabe, that's not what you served at your vort! By the way, your kallah looked beautiful. You, on the other hand, cleaned up pretty well, but that's the best that can be said. Mazel Tov again!

[Harry J]

mazal tov Gabe-may you both find great joy together. h

[Harry J]

and tzvi-im with you on the mt hermon. there was a fellow on the old froum called YSG-he brought me a mt hermon that was years passed the TN window but was properly stored and tasted fine. heck i just picked up a yasmin 09 thats past its window- h

[Gabriel Geller]

Gabe Weiss: A big MAZEL TOV, I wish you only happiness and success!

Hi Harry and Zvi, my parents made alyah just 6 weeks ago and their stuffed was delivered today from Switzerland. Included, a bunch of creepy stuff:

A whole case of GHW Yarden Mount Hermon (RED) 2006...
A whole case of Tishbi Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2006.
Half a case of the only (nowadays) available kosher wine from Switzerland (believe me it's gross). Mont-Sur-Rolle 2007 (made from Chasselas white grapes, presumably a Swiss native variety).

But also some interesting wines:

2 GHW Yarden Brut (probably 2000 or 2001)
1 GHW Yarden Blanc de Blancs 2005
4 GHW Gamla Merlot 2006
1 GHW Yarden Blanc de Blancs 1998 (supposed to be an amazing vintage, I already know when I'll open it!)

All look very well preserved as they were stored in an upscale Swiss cellar but when it comes to bad to average wine, they might be still alive but probably not better. Anyway, starting from next week (I'm hosted by a big wine lover and planning some good wine for this coming shabbat) some interesting TNs to be shared. Many GREAT TNs expected to be shared as well in the upcoming future, further explanations to follow very soon...

Best,

GG