Yossie's Corkboard

#112 – January 7, 2010

I frequently write about the ever-increasing selection of top-notch kosher wines available to the discerning oenophile that can stand proudly next to some of the world’s great wines. Drinking a Moshiach wine (a wine I would feel comfortable serving to the Moshiach would he ever happen to grace my doorstop with a slakeable thirst) is one of my favorite ways to celebrate the Chagim; and discovering, savoring and sharing a special wine is one of the greatest enjoyments any wine-lover can wish for.

That said, one pays for quality and the majority of great kosher wines require parting with a not insignificant amount of cash for the privilege of their company, something we cannot always afford to do. Luckily there are a substantial number of kosher wines that are readily available for the affordable price of $10-20. The problem is that most of these “bargain” wines are not really bargains at all since they are just cheap wines as opposed to good wines. Regardless of how “into” wine you are or how much you spend on any given wine, life is much to short to ever drink bad wine! As I frequently tell people, one of the main philosophies of this newsletter is to search out and recommend those well-priced wines that are excellent to boot. As much as I enjoy the fabulous Yatir Forest, for those of us with limited budgets I can’t always rationalize defend purchasing one bottle of the Yatir Forest 2005 over 6 bottles of the Yiron 2005…

As the kosher wine industry continues to improve (the previously horrendous Private Collection series from Carmel is now a very decent table wine), I am continuously and consistently impressed by how many good wines there are in the very reasonable price range of $10-20 and, even manage to find the odd great wine in that price range. While most of the truly fantastic wines (and more importantly, those with significant aging capabilities) are somewhat more costly, there are quite a large number of vineyards producing a wide variety of wines within that price range – all great news for the sophisticated kosher wine consumer.

In general, with a little preparation, advance knowledge and a few good guidelines, one can stock up on some high end wines. Below are some basic guidelines for ferreting out those wines that are both well priced and enjoyable as well. Please note that these should not be viewed as “set-in-stone” rules, but rather general guiding principals. I have also included at the end of the email a list of decently priced wines (between $10-20) that I enjoy and recommend.

While the majority of these wines provide neither the depth nor complexity of truly great wines, they are all good and provide a pleasant drinking experience. In addition to the issue of necessary frugality, sometimes I am in the mood for a casual glass of wine with dinner and don’t want to crack an expensive bottle (or make the effort in preparing the great meal such a memorable wine deserves).

1) In my opinion the winery that deserves the title of “Best Wine for your Shekel” is, without a doubt, the Galil Mountain winery. Not only do they produce the best wine at the $20 price point – the Yiron and Yiron Syrah, their regular series wines which include a Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon-Shiraz, Pinot Noir, Barbera, Shiraz, Viognier, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Rosé are all and always good.

2) Not far behind the Galil Mountain winery as a top-notch value producer is the Recanati Winery. Their table-wine Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are very well priced, good bets and reliable year in and year out. Their Reserve series also comes within the $20 price range and are very good (if somewhat unexciting) wines. Gil Shatzberg, the former senior winemaker at Amphorae has replaced Lewis Pasco as Recanati’s winemaker and has very quickly proven himself to be up to the task. Lewis brought class, sophistication and a distinct style to Recanati, and was a driving force behind its rapid ascension into the lofty company of Israel’s top wineries and Gil has continued to elevate the winery and imprinted the recent vintages with his signature style.

3) It is almost impossible to find a good (as opposed to drinkable – whatever that means) kosher wine for under $10. So much so that it isn’t worth trying to do so – it’s always worth spending the extra couple of bucks, guaranteed. You won’t regret it!

4) A wine from the table wine series of any top-tier winery is usually a pretty good bet for quality wine, as the better wineries tend to produce less drek than other wineries. Wineries I would mention in this regard include the Golan Heights winery (a great example is their Gamla series), Hagafen and the Herzog Special Reserve wines. As I mentioned last week, this guideline is equally applicable with respect to ordering wines in restaurants.

5) While there are plenty of great kosher wines from countries around the globe including France, Spain and the United States, when dealing the in the bargain basement price ranges, Israeli wines will usually be much better than their foreign counterparts.

6) If you are a white-wine lover in addition to preferring good value to quality ratios you are in luck. As a general rule, white wines are generally lower priced than their red wine counterparts. Among other reasons, this is a result of the increased effort (and related costs) involved in producing top shelf red wines, the increased aging time and the cost of the wine barrels used in the aging process. That said, while the foreign white wines available on the New York shelves tend to be the most recent vintages (2007 is currently available), the Israeli white wines tend to be of earlier, and sometimes no longer drinkable, vintages (2005 is still widely available and 2007 is the latest vintage for most wines while 2008 is the current vintage available in Israel (a Shmittah year).

7) This last tidbit is relevant to any wine drinker and not just those bargain hunters. Find yourself a good wine store and stick with them. A relationship with a wine proprietor can be very rewarding for both parties. Any self-respecting wine store will be happy to give a regular customer (irrespective of the amounts sent) a standard 10-20% discount (although some New York based stores seem to completely disregard this comment and smart custom) and can be an invaluable resource in your journey through the wonderful world of wine by assisting with discovering new wines, procuring rare and uncommon wines and providing a wealth of knowledge and experience.

Shabbat Shalom,
Yossie

Great Bets under $20
For the most part the vintages listed are what are currently on the shelves of the wine stores I frequent and a number of online wine sellers. While the vintages of these wines are almost all good, avoid white wines over 1-2 years old (with the exception of top flight wines like those of the Yarden Series or the Castel “C” Chardonnay). Most of the listed wines would qualify as a YH Best Buy. There are other good bets out there – this is not intended to be a comprehensive list, as always this list is solely based on what I enjoy drinking and hope you will as well.

Barkan, Reserve, Chardonnay, 2006
Binyamina, Special Reserve, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006
Capcanes, Peraj Petita, 2007
Casa da Corca, Douro, 2005
Carmel, Appellation, Merlot, 2005
Carmel, Appellation, Chardonnay, 2006
Carmel, Sha’al Late Harvest, Gewurztraminer, 2006
Dalton, Barbera, 2006
Dalton, Reserve, Viognier, 2006
Dalton, Sauvignon Blanc Fume, 2006
Ella Valley Vineyards, Sauvignon Blanc, 2007
Galil Mountain, Cabernet Sauvignon-Shiraz, 2006
Galil Mountain, Barbera, 2006
Galil Mountain, Avivim, 2006
Gamla, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006
Gamla, Pinot Noir, 2006
Golan, Cabernet Sauvignon
Goose Bay, Sauvignon Blanc, 2007
Goose Bay, Pinot Noir, 2007
Hagafen, Sauvignon Blanc, 2008
Hagafen, Lake County, White Riesling, 2008
Hagafen, Napa Valley, White Riesling, 2008
Ramon Cardova, Rioja Crianza, 2002
Recanati, Reserve, Shiraz, 2006
Tabor, Adama, Gir, Merlot, 2006
Tabor, Adama, Bazelet, Merlot, 2006
Teperberg, Meritage, 2006
Teperberg, Silver, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006
Teperberg, Silver, Merlot, 2006
Golan Heights Winery, Yarden, Viognier, 2006
Golan Heights Winery, Yarden, Odem Organic Vineyard, Chardonnay, 2007

#144 – October 8, 2010

This week I wanted to discuss the relevance of a vintage year. While there is a common misconception that vintage wine is better than non-vintage wine, you all know that vintage merely means that the wine in question has been made from grapes which were all harvested in a single year. The misconception may arise from the fact that true Champagne is sold both as vintage Champagne and as non-vintage Champagne (identified by n.v.) with vintage Champagne being far superior to non-vintage. Vintage Champagne is made only in exceptional vintage years while non-vintage Champagne is made by combining wines of different years which allows the relevant Champagne house to maintain a certain consistent house-style from year to year regardless of the year in which it was bottled. Vintage Champagne is far more expensive that non-vintage and will typically age for many more years but non-vintage Champagne allows us to enjoy this delightful type of wine without breaking the bank. However, what is true for Champagne isn’t necessarily true for the rest of the wine world; with non-vintage wine having the ability to be just as good at providing a good wine meant for early drinking which is produced around the world with great success.

However, as far as kosher wines are concerned, there are almost no non-vintage wines being made today, so the vintage versus non-vintage debate, while interesting, is a relatively moot point from a practical perspective. The only non-vintage kosher wines of which I am aware are being made by Binyamin Cantz, the wine maker of Four Gates whose non-vintage Merlot is delicious. If any of you are aware of other successful non-vintage kosher (other than Champagne) please let me know.

While vintage versus non-vintage may not be a pertinent issue for today’s kosher wine consumer, the specific vintage plays a somewhat more important role, primarily due to weather. Weather plays one of the most important parts in the quality of a grapes health and the weather in the months leading up to harvest time (in the late summer-autumn) is the most critical in a grapevine’s life. There is a reason that wines from certain regions around the world are deemed superior to others and it doesn’t all have to do with the French’s obsession with terroir. While an in-depth discussion around this is far beyond the scope of this newsletter and my current knowledge, in general – warm sun during the days helps to ensure that the grapes fully ripen (too hot and they will wither and die) and cool nights assist in making sure that appropriate levels of acidity are maintained while the grapes develop the right amounts of tannin, sugar, spice and all that is nice. One problem is that a mediocre growing season can be saved by a few perfect weeks of weather right before the harvest and conversely, months of perfect growing conditions can be destroyed with a few days of torrential rains or hail in the days leading to harvest – all of which makes good vintages hard to predict and the life of a winemaker extremely nerve-wracking.

However, the weather is far more important in cold-weather climates (like most of Europe, especially France) where different years see vastly differing amounts of rain, sun, hail and rapid climate change than New World wine growing regions. Even within those cold-weather regions, vintage year carries more weight certain areas like in Burgundy, which grows the fickle Pinot Noir grape than Bordeaux and Sauternes. Even so, vintage is paramount in both Bordeaux and Sauternes as evidenced by the ’61 Château Pétrus or 1921 Château d’Yquem which are two of the greatest wines from two of the greatest vintages of the 20th century. Further diminishing the importance of vintage is the tremendous technological advances made over recent years, which give the winery far more control over the quality of the grapes, irrespective of the weather. Given the fact that the majority of kosher wine today is produced in two New World regions with relatively stable weather – Israel and California, the importance of vintage is diminished even further for kosher wine aficionados.

After all that – is vintage at all important for us – the kosher wine consumers? The answer is yes and for a couple of reasons. First, while relatively consistent, the weather in Israel and California can be erratic at times and both Israel and California can and do suffer from bad vintage years. 2002 was a relatively poor year in Israel and, unfortunately for all the bambinos congratulated above, 2010 is looking to be a particularly bad vintage year in both Israel and California (on the flip-side, I hear Ontario is having a great 2010). The main effect of a poor vintage year in Israel relates to cellaring ability and many otherwise high-quality Israeli wines from the 2002 vintage suffered from a relatively short life (although I tasted the Tabor, Meshcha, 2002 last week and, to my complete shock, it was still glorious) without much in the way of aging capabilities but the actual quality of the wine can be affected as well.

A number of years ago I wrote about the 2003 vintage in and its excellence and the relatively large number of superior wines produced that year by the Golan Heights Winery. At the time, the 2001 vintage had been very good, 2002 had been poor and the 2003 was deemed excellent. Subsequently and perhaps driving my point home, the subsequent vintages of 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 were all also considered excellent and the Golan Heights Winery has continued to produce Katzrin, Single Vineyard and Rom wines with a certain regularity leading me to believe that almost all vintages in Israel are great for the grapes. Some may say that the many additional vineyards that the winery has developed over recent years are the cause, some may point to a growing market for over-priced kosher wines and others may see a growing over and somewhat misplaced use of the word exceptional (akin perhaps, to people throwing around the word genius way too much).

Usually, the best wines from a vineyard go into the best wine of a winery and the next level grapes go into the next series and so on and so forth. Therefore, it stands to reason that the “regular” Yarden Cabernet Sauvignon would be better in years in which no Katzrin or El-Rom was produced ensuring that the best grapes went into it. On the flip side, years in which the Katzrin and El-Rom are produced are usually great vintage years in which all the wines should be good. As with most things in life, it’s probably a little bit of both.

As a repeat of my 2003 experiment from a few years back, I recently had the opportunity to taste the Katzrin (which was 95% Cabernet Sauvignon), the Single Vineyard Elrom and the “regular” Cabernet Sauvignon from the Golan Heights Winery – all from the 2004 vintage which were all amazing and well worthy of your purchase and space in your cellar to allow these wines to mature and come to their full potential. My notes for all three wines are below.

Shabbat Shalom,
Yossie

Golan Heights Winery, Katzrin, 2004: Long considered the best kosher Israeli wine with the longest cellaring ability, and notwithstanding having such a title recently called into question by the Yatir Forest, Carmel’s Limited Edition, Castel’s Grand Vin and the Rom and Single Vineyard wines of the same winery, this is still a great wine. A blend of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Merlot, this is a fruit forward wine with loads of black fruits on both the nose and palate including plums, blackberries and cassis together with coffee and cigars and a touch of spicy wood. Plenty of wood that is matched nicely with herbs and chocolate and tinged with citrus. A long luxurious finish rounds out this deep and rich wine. Perhaps no longer Israel’s star wine but still an amazing specimen and well worth cellaring (mine are still cellaring – this was tasted with ES from his more ample stock).

Golan Heights Winery, Yarden, Elrom Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2004: I definitely enjoyed this wine more than the Katzrin. Truth be told, I think the Katzrin needs more time before its ready while the Elrom is amazing now – even though both are good for at least another 10 years. This wine is even more elegant than the Katzrin with great structure and beauty. Blackberries, black plums, cherries and hints of raspberries all compete for your attention on the richly layered nose and hang around for the palate where they are joined by asphalt, cigars and damp forest leaves with hints of black pepper. Another velvety and rich finishes lingers.

Golan Heights Winery, Yarden, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2004: Notwithstanding recent very positive developments at many other Israeli wineries, this wine remains the reigning Israeli champion wine in cellarability. The 2004 is delicious right now but is amazingly still developing and should continue to improve and change over the next 5-8 years (I have become more optimistic of these wines over the years with respect to their cellaring abilities). A very traditional Israeli Cabernet with blackberries and plums on both the nose and palate, accompanied by vanilla, oak and chocolate.

Louis de Sacy, Grand Cru, Brut Champagne, n.v.: One of the things to be wary of when buying non-vintage Champagne is how long it has been sitting around since bottling (the bottles are stamped with a code indicating the bottling time but these are highly secret). I purchased this straight from the cellar of Sherry-Lehman thus guaranteeing myself a good result. Made from a traditional Champagne blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay (with some Pinot Meunier thrown in for good measure and character). Nice tangy berries including raspberries with plenty of lime and oranges to go with hazelnuts, some honey and yeasty bread all blend together for a delightful treat that went amazingly well with our celebratory dinner. Tons of tightly wound bubbles that lingered throughout the entire bottle also contributed to making this a wine to which I will return (especially now that my favorite Nicolas Feuillatte is no longer available).

#156 – December 30, 2010

As the Gregorian year comes to an end, I find myself reflecting on a number of trends in the kosher wine world that I have noticed over this past year – the majority of them positive. So, as a follow up to my Best Wines of 2010 newsletter from last week, I wanted to briefly share some of my observations with you as to the current state of the kosher wine world and where I see it going over the next 12 months. I note that not all of these trends occurred solely over the past year, and some have been a few years in the making.

Additionally, I have included some additional wines that are worth mentioning but just fell short of making the cut for last week’s 2010 “Best Of” list. I have also included a short list of wineries that have either massively improved this year, or are up-and-coming wineries I warmly recommend introducing yourselves to.

Increasing Sophistication

The biggest and most important trend has been the increase in appreciation of quality wine, sophistication and consumption among the kosher wine consumer. Over the past few years there has clearly been an explosion of interest among kosher consumers, manifesting itself in increasing awareness and consumption. While the increased consumption predominately occurs during Shabbat feasts, more and more people are drinking wine during the week, a trend I hope to see continue. A good indicator of this trend is the recently released annual Kosherwine.com Best of 2010 Wines – as selected by its customers. For the first time ever, more than half of the wines are truly great wines, which is a pleasure (I was also happy to see that the blue-bottled abomination was dethroned). With the massive increase in available quality wines at all pricing and complexity levels, this is a trend I only expect to continue. Another good indicator is the number of people shelling out $100 to attend Royal Wine’s amazing annual wine tasting (coming your way the end of February – details to follow soon).

Rising Prices

The flip side of the increase in sophistication is that prices of kosher wines have risen across the board. While I am not party to the pricing and retailing secrets of wines and the wineries that make them, I personally find the approximate 20% increase across the board in the prices of kosher wines to be unacceptable. Wines that used to be safely ensconced in the $10-12 range are now $15 and those that were $15-18 are now creeping over $20. A good indication of this is that I had far less YH Best Buys in this year’s newsletter than prior years.

Another related trend is boutique wineries making their first few vintages available for sale, are demanding $35-45 per bottle – totally outrageous pricing for a new/unproven winery. While I am sympathetic to the massive capital outlay required to get a winery off the ground – if you can’t take the heat get out of the kitchen – but don’t dump your costs on the consumer before you have proven yourself (and one high score from Daniel Rogov does not a good winery make). In my opinion, the over-pricing of wines in the US such as Bustan, Katlav and Tanya is a major contributor to their failing to gain traction. This is a shame given the improvement in quality of both Katlav and Tanya over the last coupled of years. While I believe that the increase in consumer interest is a primary driver behind these price hikes, it remains to be seen if they are sustainable given the top notch wines from proven wineries like the Golan Heights Winery, Dalton, Ella Valley and Yatir which are available at those price points.

It will be interesting to see the effect (if any) of recent vintage years on this pricing (while 2008 was a fabulous year it was Shmitta and very few Israeli wines were imported, and both 2009 and 201 are considered mediocre vintage years especially when compared the recent run of great vintages like 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2008).

“Kay Syrah Syrah”

Looking over the newsletter and my tasting notes from 2010, I found that I have been drinking less and less Cabernet Sauvignon and far more Syrah, Pinot Noir, sparkling wine and unoaked Chardonnay (among others). The reason for this is twofold. First, most good Cabernet Sauvignon wines are released to the market far too early for drinking and typically need some cellaring time before they are ready. Given that 95% of wines sold are consumed shortly after they are purchased, obviously a lot of good wine is being drunk way too early which is extremely unfortunate. I get a lot of emails from people who splurged on something special only to find the wine bitter and not to their liking. Age the wines my friends – age the wines! On the flip side, most kosher Syrah and Pinot Noir wines are drinkable off the shelf and, while I have mature wines in my cellar, I tend to save those for special occasions or to be shared with fellow wine lovers – opportunities I have far too infrequently. Second, I enjoy drinking wine with food and Cabernet Sauvignon is typically a big, tannic and powerful wine that doesn’t go with as many dishes as the other wines I mentioned. I highly recommend drinking more Syrah – the ones from Ella Valley, Karmei Yosef and Yarden’s Ortal vineyard are especially good. The Shiraz from Carmel’s Kayoumi vineyard is also amazing.

Terroir and Variety

Another welcome trend is the increase in types of wines being available to the kosher consumer. Whereby we used to be restricted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Chardonnay, today kosher winemakers are successfully producing true French Champagne, Prosecco and other sparkling wines, Viognier, my favored grape – Cabernet Franc, magnificent Syrah, Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Sauternes and other delightful dessert wines, Port, Sangiovese, Nebbiolo and many other interesting varieties. Israel’s talented winemakers continuously experiment with new varietals and blends to bring us the best the land has to offer, often competing quite successfully on an international scale. Israeli winemakers have also started to move away from the internationalized style of big rich and fruit forward wines and have started to explore producing wines reflective of the uniquely delicious Mediterranean flair with more restrained fruit and quiet elegance. Carmel is a among the wineries leading the charge on this with their aptly named Mediterranean wine leading the charge. This trend is only beginning and I would guess that it will take folks some time to decide what an “Israeli Wine” should taste like – but they need to as only that will get Israeli wine its own recognition outside of being “kosher” and allow Israeli wines to compete on a global level with wines from similarly situated (in the developing wine world) countries like Chile, Greece and Argentina.

Quality Control

While there is unfortunately still a significant amount of drek being pushed on the innocent kosher wine consumer, there is far less than in the past. In today’s market (pricing issue notwithstanding) there are far less undrinkable wines than in prior years. Improvements to technology, maturation of the kosher wine industry and increasing consumer interest are all among the major contributors to this welcome trend. Barkan’s Classic series which used to be atrocious is now a completely acceptable table brand with the Pinot Noir and Petit Sirah being standout wines (these wines are mevushal to boot). Carmel’s private collection series is another good example of this trend as are many of the Tierra Salvaje, Cantina Gabriella and Borgo Reale wines (not great by any stretch but affordable quaffers which is far more than they used to be). Additionally, more and more small and garagiste wineries are producing delicious wines in their first vintages (see the Weiss brother’s success with their Syraph and One|Two Punch).

International Acclaim

While Israeli wine is still primarily associated with kosher wine and rarely receives individual international attention, Israeli wines have been receiving more and more positive international press recently from all the big names in wine like Wine Spectator. Even Robert Parker has been (mostly) positively reviewing Israeli wines for the last three years. His associate, Mark Squires has been assigned to Israeli wines and once he figures out that those “green notes” are part of the positive aspects of Israeli terroir; he will score them even higher. While Castel seems to receive more international press than any other winery, Carmel recently took home one of the wine world’s greatest honors by winning Decanter’s best Rhone varietal award with their scrumptious Kayoumi, Shiraz, 2006.

Yossie’s Corkboard

On a personal note, I launched my companion website to the newsletter – Yossie’s Corkboard where you can subscribe to the newsletter and see some samples of my writings. Readership also increased from 650 subscribers to over 1000. This was also the first year in which I managed to publish a newsletter basically every week – with this edition being the 47th edition of 2010 (my prior record was 31). Hopefully this trend will continue, and if you know anyone who might enjoy this please have him or her sign up.

Most Improved/Improving Wineries to Look out for

New Wineries – Lookout for and Try: Gvaot, Karmei Yosef (Bravdo), Tzuba.

Most Improved / Improving Wineries: Barkan, Carmel, Odem Mountain, Psagot, Tanya and Teperberg.

As I mentioned above, I have included below a number of additional great wines I tasted this past year that have distinguished themselves either with their individualism or by just missing the cut to make into the 2010 “Best Of” list. In addition to the Covenant Solomon and Capcanes Flor de Flor I mentioned last week, another just-released wine that I haven’t tasted but expect will be on 2011’s “Best Of” list is the 2006 Hagafen Mélange – stay tuned.

Shabbat Shalom,
Yossie

I “Almost” Made The List:

Binyamina, Late Harvest, Cluster Select, Gewürztraminer, 2008 and 2009
Brobdignanian, Grenache, 2008
Carmel, Appellation, Carignan, 2006
Dalton, Matatia, 2006
Dalton, Reserve, Wild Yeast, Viognier, 2009
Four Gates, Cabernet Franc, Santa Cruz Mountains, 2005
Four Gates, Chardonnay, 2004
Galil Mountain, Meron, 2006
Golan Heights Winery, Yarden, Ortal Vineyard, Syrah, 2004
Hagafen, Prix Reserve, Moskowite Ranch- Block 61, Zinfandel, 2006
Katlav, Cabernet Sauvignon, Dessert Wine, 2006
Louis de Sacy, Grand Cru, Brut Champagne, n.v.
One|Two Punch, 2008

Immediately following December 1 of every year, we are assuaged with lists in magazines, newspapers, blogs and elsewhere, all touting the best of the previous year in all categories including movies, events, food and wine. To keep with that tradition and to try and get ahead of the scrum, this newsletter contains the tasting notes for the best wines I tasted during 2010.

As always, a couple of qualifiers. Given that my day job limits the amount of time I have to dedicate to drinking wine and my limited wallet puts a damper on the number of wines I get to taste each year, it is basically impossible for me to taste all the new kosher wines released each year which is currently hovering around the 1500 mark (that is not to say that I don’t make a concentrated and valiant effort to do so). Tasting is also subjective and, as always, this list reflects my personal opinion taking into consideration what I deem “best”. As a result, I am sure there are plenty of great wines released this year that are not on this list and I’d love to hear from you which were your favorite wines this year.

Reflecting the international nature of this newsletter’s readership, a few of these wines are not widely available in the United States (like the Bravdo and the Castel Rosé) and some are pretty tough to find even in the US (like the Syraph) but these wines are all worth of your perseverance and I highly suggest having a few shipped to you from Israel. I have also excluded from this list some of the spectacular wines I have tasted that had been aging in my cellar for a number of years, like the 2001 Elrom Cabernet Sauvignon – mama mia, and have focused on relatively newly released (or newly available wines).

Given the proliferation of exceptional kosher wines available, there are obviously many deserving wines that didn’t make this list but two special wines come to mind. The reason for their exclusion is noted below but you can bank on them making next years list. They are the Covenant, Solomon Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2008 and the Capcanes, La Flor del Flor de Primavera. The Covenant wine is made with grapes from Leslie Rudd’s famed vineyard but, at $150 a bottle, I have not yet tasted any of my purchased bottles. The Capcanes I just tasted last night (pre-release) but need to taste it again, in a quieter setting before I’m ready to pen a detailed tasting note. Therefore, both these wines will have to wait until next year to be acknowledged and (probably) showered with appropriate accolades.

I included a bit about the wineries themselves to the extent there were lessor known and, given that these are the best of the year, the notes are obviously a little longer and more effusive than usual – enjoy!

Shabbat Shalom,
Yossie

Capcanes, Peraj Ha’abib, Monsant, 2005: This is probably my favorite non-Israeli wine of all times and is an incredible wine – hands down!! The usual blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and three Spanish varieties of grapes, this wine is a full bodied, complex, elegant and layered wine, consistently excellent, year after year. One to drink slowly and taste how the flavors change in the glass over the course of 10 minutes to half an hour. Flavors and aromas of black forest fruit and berries, coffee, oak and vanilla with toasty wood notes and then more blueberries and herbs on mid-palate. The wine finishes with a flourish leading into an extremely long and slightly minty finish. An absolute and unmitigated pleasure and one that will probably be around for another decade or so in Magnum format.

Carmel, Limited Edition, 2005: Carmel’s flagship wine continues to excel and excite with a luscious blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Merlot and Cabernet Franc (the Cabernet Franc being a new addition to the blend coming in at 3%) all coming together beautifully in a full-bodied and supremely elegant wine. On the nose a massive first attack of black forest fruit including juicy cherries, plums and blackberries along hints of freshly ground white pepper. A very elegant and well balanced wine that is also deep, complex, layered and continues to tease and delight with every passing minute you allow it to open in your glass. Give this one some breathing room in your glass and you will be rewarded with dark minty chocolate, freshly roasted coffee and black licorice tinged with those awesome vanilla notes you get from freshly baked rugalach. A long and velvety finish lingers on and on.

Castel, Rosé du Castel, 2009: Castel Winery has long been the favorite winery of many wine aficionados. While I love their wines and truly appreciate their elegance, balance and structure; Castel is not among my all-time favorite wineries, a fact mostly based on personal preferences and wine-making style (I tend to prefer Israeli style over French). All that said, their first Rosé wine, like all their other offerings, is a resounding success and well worth seeking out. Unfortunately only 3000 bottles were made of this first run, none of which were imported into the US. However, if you can get your hands on a bottle or two from Israel as I did, you will be richly rewarded as this Rosé, made from 100% Merlot and drunk well chilled is wonderful. Almost orange in color – crisply dry, loaded with strawberries, guava and sunshine with just the right balance of acidity, tannins and spice to get everything bouncing around nicely on your palate, it actually evolved over the hour or so it took us to get through the bottle. A perfect picnic wine (other than its more-expensive-than-usual-for-a-Rosé price tag of about NIS 80), and one that is guaranteed to enhance any outdoor summer experience. At 14%, the wine is carrying a little more alcohol than I would like for an outdoor summer wine but (other than for its potential affect on you) it isn’t noticeable.

Castel, Grand Vin, 2006: The Grand Vin continues to be one of the very best Israeli wines available today and the 2006 is one of their best ever. An excellent Bordeaux-type wine with a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, serves up a distinctly different wine than most versions of Israeli Cabernet Sauvignon, deliver in a full-bodied, rich, supremely elegant and complex wine. A silky smooth wine with velvety tannins coating the palate and opening up in the black forest fruits, plums and a spicy underlay. On second waft you get hit with juicy plums, some earthiness, along with Mediterranean herbs and some green pepper backing them up. A very long finish that carries a hint of mint along with the earthy overtones and some bitterness. While the lack of long-term cellaring remains the Achilles heel of this winery, the 2006 vintage should cellar nicely for another 4 years or so.

Covenant, Lavan, Russian River, 2008: Jeff Morgan continues to demonstrate his extraordinary winemaking abilities (in addition to his writing skills) with another delicious blockbuster of a wine. Lavan is a worthy addition to Covenant’s portfolio, comfortably taking its place with the incredible Covenant and the sophisticated Red “C”. The grapes came from the Bacigalupi Vineyard and the wine was made with the help of David Ramey (the noted winemaker of Ramey Wine Cellars). This wine has a delightful nose of luscious fruits including apples, pears, apricots and mangoes those following for the most part onto the (ever-so) slightly sweet palate. A delightfully long finish. They seemed to have relatively clear of an oak overload which make this wine even more so pleasant, allowing us to more fully experience the fruit and structural nuances. I found this to be an utterly delicious wine and am quite thankful that it is priced closer to the Red C than the Covenant!

Golan Heights Winery, Yarden, Rom, 2006: Two things hit me right off the bat with this wine – the first was how utterly approachable it was at release and right out of the bottle; and the other was how strongly the Syrah dominated the nose and palate of this wine. An interesting blend of 37% Syrah, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon and 29% Merlot, the wine was the result of collaboration between GHW’s chief winemaker Victor Shoenfeld and Zelma Long. Zelma has been assisting GHW for almost 20 years and was one of the first vintners to make the direct link between wine growing and wine quality through extensive experiments in the vineyard resulting in GHW’s current focus on individual vineyards and their different qualities and characteristics. The name Rom means summit in Hebrew meant to reference the culmination of their partnership over the years. Tons of fruit on the first attack including red cherries, juicy blueberries, tangy raspberries with loads of juicy Syrah notes reaching out of the glass in a full-frontal attack. Notwithstanding the abundance of fruit, the great structure and body on this wine indicate its cellarability and potential for elegance. I look forward to opening a bottle in about 8 months from now.

Golan Heights Winery, Yarden, Single Vineyard – Ortal, Syrah, 2004: A wine that is finally starting to come into its own. Part of the incredible Yarden Single Vineyard series by the Golan Heights Winery that seems to produce one blockbuster wine after another, this wine takes its place comfortably among its other exalted brethren. By far the most delicious Israeli Syrah I have ever tasted. This full bodied wine can only be described as lusciously opulent and exceedingly elegant. Even at release the wine was delicious (I couldn’t resist opening a bottle as soon as the package from Avi Ben arrived). The structure and balance of the wine’s tannins, fruit and wood made it clear that an even more amazing wine awaited and all it was asking in return was for a bit of patience. While great now, I’d give this bottle yet another year before opening and it should cellar nicely for another 10 years– I really look forward to tasting this wine in 24 months. A ton of fresh, juicy fruit on the nose which gives way to plums, cherries, currants and tangy raspberries all backed up beautifully with earthy tones, toasty (but not judicious) oak and lightly smoked spices.

Karmei Yosef, Shiraz, Bravdo, 2007: The winery is located in the vineyards of the yishuv of Karmei Yosef which is in the Judean Mountains enroute to Jerusalem. By the time the winery became kosher in 2007 production had grown to a little over 20,000 with additional, significant, increases in production planned over the next few years. The winery is currently producing a Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz, and Chardonnay. This is my favorite Karmei Yosef wine to date given its very distinctive personality. A somewhat earthy wine balanced nicely by blackberries, gooseberries and black plums to go along with a white pepper overlay and a slight but pleasant bitterness. Probably could use another year or so in the bottle to allow the somewhat robust tannins time to find themselves but drinking very nicely now and the 16% alcohol content not as noticeable as one would think.

Psagot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Single Vineyard, 2007: Probably the best wine to date from this winery. A full bodied wine that still needs some time for the wood and tannins to settle down and play nicely with the fruit but the good balance bodes well for this wines delightful future. I would give it another 6-8 months in the bottle before opening but if opened now, it can still very much be enjoyed with some swirling and waiting 10 minutes or so between pouring and drinking. Rich and juicy black forest fruits on both the nose and palate mingle with a slight bitterness and hints of espresso. The wine recently scored an 88 from Parker’s Wine Advocate but deserved a much higher score. I find that WA tends to underscore Israeli wines which could be a result of their unfamiliarity with (or personal dislike of) the green notes that are part of Israel’s terrior and which I feel provides Israeli wines with a delicious individuality.

Recanati, Special Reserve, 2006: My son Zevi’s first taste of wine was the excellent 2003 vintage at his Bris. Recanati’s excellence gets at least partial credit for Zevi’s clear preference for excellent dry red wine, for which I am most appreciative. While the 2005 wine was a blockbuster, the 2006 is a more elegant but still intense wine and was made under Lewis’ regime, so it probably doesn’t showcase the new direction of the winery as much as the 2008 blend will (which included almost 20% Petit Sirah whereby the 2009 has no Cabernet Sauvignon). Among the best priced so called “Super-Israelis” and a longtime favorite of mine, the Special Reserve continues to go from strength to strength. Every year sees different components and percentages making up this treat with the 2006 vintage comprised of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon and 18% Merlot and aged for almost two years in oak. The 2006 has plenty of robust tannins that are still in the process of getting acquainted with the fruit and acidity, but so far seem to be playing nice in the sandbox with the other kids. It presents with a bold and elegant structure that vindicates my loading up on this wine (in honor of Zevi’s birth year – hopefully to be enjoyed with the GHW’s Rom at his Bar-Mitzvah). I would hold off opening this wine for at least another year, probably closer to two, in order to allow for the various pieces to come together as they were intended. Dark royal purple in color, this is a softly full-bodied wine with a rich nose of blackberries, currants and black plums, together with cassis, slightly pungent forest floor and espresso, leading into a palate loaded with more black forest fruit, asphalt, fine bittersweet chocolate, spices and almost sweet cigars.

Syraph, 2008: These wines are made by former employees of the Herzog Winery – Shimon and Gabe (Gavriel) Weiss. After sourcing some Syrah from the Laetitia vineyard from San Luis Obispo county and Grenache from the Cuyama Valley in Santa Barbara, they produced four barrels of mouth-wateringly delicious wine (approximately 80-100 cases). Outside of Port, their wines are those with the highest alcohol levels I have ever tasted with the Syraph clocking in at a mean 16.85% and the One|Two with a slightly lower 15.83% but, somehow the Weiss Brothers managed to keep them from becoming overly “hot” – the fruit and wood have the alcohol completely under control. Given the deliciousness of the wine, you just need to be careful how much of it you drink… I am very much looking forward to their next endeavor! A blend of 85% Syrah and 15% Grenache with the muscular Syrah somewhat dominating the Grenache. Crazy alcohol at 16.85% and made with super-ripe grapes, the nose on this wine screams “I’m from California” at you and is locked, cocked and ready to rock. Tons of juicy black plums, blackberries and ripe cherries on both the nose and palate surround a hearty oak and tannic core that bodes for some nice cellaring ahead, all of which is supplemented with great spice and milk chocolate. The Syrah brings notes of graphite and freshly paved road to the party, livening things up considerably and nicely tempering the milk chocolate notes. A really long finish lingers and makes you wonder where the bottle went until the pounding in your head reminds you to find some friends with which to share your next bottle.

Yatir, Yatir Forest, 2005: Yatir has long been one of my all-time, absolute favorite wineries and their flagship wine continues to shine year after year. Having recently driven the kosher wine market into a state of near-frenzy with insane price hikes, it has now receded back to more-or-less, acceptable levels. Regardless of price, nothing can detract from the absolute pleasure one derives from this spectacular wine which is drinking awesomely right now and fully enjoyed over Chag. A deep, opulent, rich and luscious wine whose bountifulness cannot be contained. A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Merlot, this dark, inky colored wine is perfectly balanced and very elegant with black forest fruits and cherries mixed with light hints of both white and freshly ground black pepper and underlying hints of oak, pine trees and bursting with currants, raspberries and blueberries. A caressing wine that calls for pour after pour until the bottle is gone (way to fast), with only the lingering dark rich espresso and eucalyptus scented finish tinged a pleasant lingering bitterness. Peaking as we speak, this wine should continue to cellar for another 5 years or so – a very special treat.