Yossie's Corkboard

#137 – August 2, 2010 (more recent update)

While I enjoy the a top-tier wine as much as the next oenophile, one of my greatest pleasures is to find really great wines that are decently priced, thus providing great bang for your buck. As any regular reader of this newsletter knows, together with the wines of Galil Mountain, I have always felt the Recanati Winery is one of the wineries who succeeds at providing great value wines. For some reason, Recanati is also a winery whose ability to produce truly fine wines seems to consistently fly below the radar. Looking through the archives of this newsletter, I was shocked to find that, other than a brief blurb five years ago, Recanati had never been given it’s due on these pages. So, here’s to Recanati and its delightful offerings…

Established in 2000 and located in Emek Hefer in the Sharon region, Recanati was the realized life-long dream of Lenny (Leon) Recanati, a banker and true oenophile, who got his start in wine from his parents who made their own wine from their backyard vines. The winery’s stated goal from day one was to produce quality wines at reasonable prices – a truly noble mission statement which, as Recanati celebrates its first decade, it has accomplished beyond his wildest expectations. In addition to providing good value, Recanati is another winery from who you can buy any of their offerings and, while not every wine may be to your linking, you never have to worry about a bad wine.

The founding winemaker of Recanati, the incredibly talented and delightful Lewis Pasco, returned to California a few years ago and was replaced as head winemaker by Gil Shatsberg – formerly of Amphore and considered by many to be one of the best in Israel. 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. Gil has continued to elevate the winery and has imprinted the recent vintages with his signature style assisted by Ido Levisohn, another talented winemaker. Most of Recanati’s wines available today were conceived in the Lewis Pasco era, but Gil is the one making all the final decisions and the most recent vintages are all his creations.

The winery relies on their own grapes and sources additional grapes from certain contract vineyards, primarily in the Upper Galilee, including the highly-touted Manara vineyard. The winery produces wines in four series: their flagship wine, the Special Reserve, two varietal series, Reserve and Recanati and a table series called Yasmin. Recanati also produces some special edition bottles for Derech Hayayin (an Israeli wine store chain), including the awesome Petit-Syrah/Zinfandel Special Reserve I wrote about last year. Production is currently between 900,000-1,000,000 bottles annually.

One of the basic dilemmas in winemaking is the trade-off between earlier harvest (lower alcohol and higher acidity, but more “greenness”) and later harvest (better tannins and more developed flavors, but with the potential for “hotness” and green notes). At Recanati, where Gil and Ido seem to be pretty focused on creating ‘Israeli’ wines that will showcase the terroir without getting bogged down by the hot climate that leads to high alcohol, low acidity and an over-abundance of fruit with long and lingering finishes. Lewis Pasco’s baby in this regard was the delicious Petit-Sirah / Zinfandel blend, which is a good starting point for an “Israeli” wine. In comparison to the prior generation of Recanati wines, there is less greenness, a little more elegant fruit, higher acidity making for more food friendliness and smoother/rounder on the palate. They are making a concentrated effort to lower the alcohol percentage (target is a reduction of about 1% overall, which may not sound like a lot, but makes a difference and isn’t easy to achieve without sacrificing winemaking style). Some of the measures Recanati utilizes include slightly earlier harvest, to maintain good acidity and relatively short skin contact, to avoid the greenness which seems to be a personal pet peeve of Mark Squires (he covers Israeli wines for Robert Parker and doesn’t seem to quite “get” Israeli wines yet). The potentially lackluster color you get with short skin contact can be remedied by adding a small portion of grapes harvested a little later and granted longer skin contact. In short, Recanati is clearly joining the movement towards producing wines that are more reflective of the Israeli/Mediterranean terroir instead of aiming for California and Australian style wines as in the past that has been championed recently by Carmel (see their “Mediterranean” wine).

In addition to focusing on elegant wines with Israeli accents, the result of more subdued wines is lending itself nicely to less alcoholic and more food-friendly wines, which remain just as complex and sophisticated as their predecessors. I have also heard that the winery’s recent Merlot wines (from 2008 and 2009 in both the Recanati and Reserve series) are well worth seeking out and may help to catapult Recanati into the realm of Israeli wineries that do this grape justice (see my Ella Valley write-up from a few weeks back).

As with any large winery, listing even close to a representative of Recanati’s wines is far beyond the scope of this newsletter, listed below are a number of Recanati wines I have not reviewed in the past, one from each of their series.

Have a great week,
Yossie

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.

Recanati, Cabernet Sauvignon, Reserve, 2007: As you all know from prior newsletters, my favorite wine in this series is the Cabernet Franc, but this Cabernet Sauvignon is a delicious treat as well. While this wine is a classic representation of the varietal, the 2009 version should fully be a Gil and Ido production and I am eager to taste how they apply their style to this wine. The 2007 vintage is a brooding wine with strong tannins well integrated with the acidity and fruits. The wine opens (after a few minutes) with a rich nose and palate of black cherries and plums, raspberries, currants, hints of blueberries and thought-provoking spices, all overlaid with espresso and mocha and leading into a round and mouth-filling finish than lingers nicely.

Recanati, Chardonnay, 2009: You can immediately taste this difference between this wine and the majority of Israeli Chardonnays you have tasted – and it won’t be to every one’s liking. A medium- bodied and elegant old-world Chardonnay, with more crispy, flinty, minerals and high (but well balanced) acidity and less butter and oak than one would expect from an Israeli Chardonnay. Plenty of green apples, melon, red grapefruit and limes with a hint of vanilla and spicy wood throughout all leading into a medium and pleasantly creamy finish. This wine was partially aged in oak, with the balance of the wine in stainless steel tanks, which makes for a delightfully crisp and fresh experience which, for about $10 here in New York, is hard to beat.

Recanati, Yasmin, White, 2009: Probably the best summer wine in this price range (about NIS 35 in Israel) and a really surprising delight. Had I tasted this wine a few weeks ago, it would have without any doubt, débuted in my recent “Hidden Gems #3” newsletter, representing that genre better than almost any wine. A fruity, light and easy drinking wine with plenty of mouth-watering acidity to balance things out and make this an awesome outdoor picnic wine. Tangy and refreshing grapefruits, limes and summer flowers, in a crisp and refreshing blend of Sauvignon Blanc, French Columbard and Emerald Riesling with the sum of this wine being far greater than its parts. The below 12% alcohol further enhances its title as a perfect little summer quaffer.

#122 – April 11, 2010 (more recent update)

My first introduction to this winery was with their 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon – an interesting but uninspiring wine – and then further enjoyed the subsequent vintage in 20002. Following that, I did not encounter the winery again until the 2005 vintage was release and which included a number of great wines including their Nahal Halprim and Cabernet Franc (which is reviewed below). While I will give the winery the benefit of the doubt and only time will tell, I have a sneaking suspicions that 2005 and 2006 were the wineries best vintage years and, unless something changes at the winery, this will be one of the last times I review their wines as more recent vintages (2007 and 2008) have, as a whole, not been as good.

Located in the Gush Etzion bloc outside of Jerusalem, the winery sits on a plot of land renowned since ancient times for its wine growing capabilities as a result of, among other reasons, the day-to-night climate differential, the chalky soil and the high altitude. Operated and majority owned by the head wine maker Shraga Rosenberg (the Tishbi family holds a minority position), the winery produced its first wine in 1998 or 1999. Currently growing a number of varietals including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, White Riesling, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc, the winery’s current annual production is approximately 30,000 bottles. The winery recently planted vines of Gewürztraminer and Viognier, and are in the process of updating and expanding the winery which will have an annual production capacity of 100,000 bottles.

Set forth below are a few of the wines I recently had the opportunity to enjoy – most of them were wines I had previously tasted and was more than happy to revisit them (its amazing what you discover in your wine cellar when digging through it for Moshiach wines).

Gush Etzion, Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot, 2006: A big, muscular blend with soft caressing tannins that serve as a great backbone for black forest fruits and saddle leather tinged with spices. Drinking well now, the wine should cellar nicely for another 2-3 years and will continue to improve in the bottle. I look forward to re-tasting my next bottle in 9 months or so.

Gush Etzion, Shiraz, 2006: A fun spicy wine that is a good match for a large number of, it still needs some time in the glass (or the bottle) to develop and come into its own. If you drink it now, tasting a bit of the wine every 5-10 minutes over the course of 40 minutes or so will yield a window into its potential development in addition to providing a fun tasting experiment. Juicy plums, blackberries and raspberries with dark, rich earthy tones and spicy oak all combine for a delicious and full bodied treat.

Gush Etzion, Chardonnay, Dessert Wine, Organic Vineyard, 2006: A proliferation of wines utilizing the Chardonnay grapes from the 2006 vintage initially made me curious, but the success of most of these wines led me to care less about the reason and simply enjoy the result. From an organic vineyard in the hilly and rocky area around the village of Bat-Ayin where I actually once spent a summer pouring concrete, this medium bodied and straw colored wine was briefly aged in oak and is sweet without being overbearingly so. Peach, apple, citrus and pears dominate the nose and palate with hints of honey all nicely balanced by the acidity make this a wine that stays with you and that should cellar for another couple years. For the 2006 vintage, the winery also produced a non-organic, Chardonnay-based, dessert wine and a Riesling-based dessert wine.

Gush Etzion, Cabernet Franc, 2005: The first release of Cabernet Franc from this winery, and a pretty good effort; this wine has gotten better every time I have tried it. My love of everything Cabernet Franc aside (especially as this wine doesn’t provide the purest varietal representation), this deep garnet colored and medium bodied wine has finally come together is a beautifully and well coordinated symphony of aromas and flavors with each part lending exactly the right level of participation. Soft and well integrated tannins meld with notes of blackberries, gooseberries and currants, along with the more traditional notes of lead pencil, dark chocolate and asphalt. A pleasant spiciness is evident throughout, with hints of eucalyptus and mint on the medium to long finish. This one should last for a number of years, and is worth looking for and comparing to some of the other nice examples of this varietal like Ella Valley’s.

#249 – June 3, 2013

Unlike many of the wineries I have recently written about, Bazelet is one that I have already covered in some detail in the past.  That said, I last wrote about them over two years ago and much has changed at the winery, most importantly a noticeable step-up in quality.  My first indication of the improving quality was at the Sommelier Expo in November 2011 where I got to taste the newly released 2010 “regular” wines (reviewed below) and the 2009 Reserve labels.  During my quick visit to the winery this past winter and tasting some of the new releases, this feeling was reinforced and I was happy to see that the upward trend in quality is continuing.

Located on Moshav Kidmat Tzvi in the Golan Heights and named for the rich volcanic black rocky soil in which most of its grapes grow, Bazelet HaGolan winery was founded in 1998 by Yoav Levy and Assaf Kedem.  As with many other boutique wineries, Yoav started his path as a farmer growing Cabernet Sauvignon grapes and selling them to other wineries.  After doing this for over a decade, he was bitten by the winery bug and decided to start a winery of his own, utilizing some of the grapes grown on Yoav’s near 40 dunams of grapes for himself.  “Legend” has it that first made wine for his son’s Bar-Mitzvah, utilizing some leftover grapes from Shmittah and assisted by the Golan Heights Winery’s Victor Schoenfeld.  Once his homemade wine was overwhelmingly enjoyed by many, he started to think more seriously about commercial winemaking, including obtaining some professional training in Israel and abroad.  What started out as a pet project was initially conducted in his basement in the form hobbyist winemaking and slowly evolved into a full-fledged winery.  For the first few years the winery only Cabernet Sauvignon wines as these were the grapes that Yoav had been growing (and selling) historically.  In 2003 Assaf and Yoav parted ways and Assaf started his own (currently non-kosher) winery on the Moshav, known as “Assaf”.  Following Assaf’s departure, the winery became kosher for the 2004 vintage.  In addition to Yoav, the winery also employs two “cellar rats”, both originally from North America – Yechiel and Yaron.

Along with the changeover to kosher, the 2004 vintage heralded another change for Bazelet HaGolan, as the winery started to add a number of additional wines to it repertoire.  These included varietal Merlot and Chardonnay wines in addition to a number of blends.  Building on its typical hype and rush to purchase generated among the kosher consumers when any already recognized winery  becomes kosher, Bazelet HaGolan made number of successful wines in both the 2005 and 2006 vintages, including a delightful 2006 Reserve Merlot which I believe won a number of awards and was still drinking when I last tried the wine a number of months ago (as was the 2005 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon).  However, 2007 and 2008 were not great years for the winery which seemed to be coasting on its initial reputation and the quality of the wine declined dramatically, leaving me with very little interest in the wines or incentive to seek them out (including some unfortunate experimentation with a new grape source that resulted in some bottles of the 2008 vintage being sold in Ikea for ~$5).  Thankfully and to their credit, starting with the 2009 vintage and continuing through the current releases of the 2010 vintage and 2011 vintage, the winery has rebounded and is once again producing quality wines worthy of your attention, palate and wallet.

The winery is a mid-sized operation currently producing about 80,000 bottles in two series – the Reserve label which usually spends about 20 months in oak and a table wine series labeled simply Bazelet HaGolan (sometimes referred to as “Bronze”) which typically spends about eight months in oak.  The winery also produced a flagship blend named Chushnia after the archeological site close to the winery.  Chushnia is a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 50% Merlot, whose first vintage was in 2006 and the current vintage, I believe is 2008.  The wine is aged in oak for approximately 20 months and then spends another 10 months bottle aging in the winery’s cellar before it is released.  While specializing in red wines, I recently tasted and enjoyed their varietal Chardonnay, which is produced in an extremely limited edition (only 933 bottles made).  Similar to a number of other Israeli wineries, the individualistic style of Bazelet’s current winemaker – Yoav – is very evident in every bottle, enabling it to stand out among ever-growing number of kosher wineries.  The winery also produces a grappa that is very enjoyable as a digestif.

The winery is also building a new visitor center that will be located at the Amir Junction nearby, along with a restaurant, archeological site, cultural activities, parks and additional visitor centers for a number of other (non-kosher) winery’s located in Kidmat Tzvi.

Bazelet HaGolan, Chardonnay, 2011:  Only 933 bottles of this 100% Chardonnay were made.  It spent nine months in oak which helped to grant it many of the traditional Chardonnay toasty and other notes.  A bright nose of green apple, pineapple, white peaches, toasty oak, vanilla and some minerals is followed through on a medium bodied palate of tropical fruit, melon, stone fruit, more toasty wood, vanilla and chalky minerals; all balanced by good acidity that keeps the oak at bay and the fruit honest.  Rich, round and mouthfilling with a discernible, but in no way overpowering, oaky presence.  A medium finish rounds out this refreshing wine.  Drink now through 2014.

Bazelet HaGolan, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2010:  A medium to full bodied wine with nicely integrating tannins with a touch of bite that provide a nice backbone for the nose of lovely black fruit, baker’s chocolate, slight herbaceousness and spicy oak.  More black fruit and currants on the palate are joined by roasted Mediterranean herbs with good structure and balance between the bold tannins, characteristic fruit and hint of bitterness that pleases and leads into a medium finish of more oak, dark chocolate, tobacco and cedar.  A pretty wine that is drinking nicely now but could use some time to open in the glass at this stage and should cellar through 2016.

Bazelet HaGolan, Reserve, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2010:  A rich and deep nose of blackberries, plums, black cherries and cassis open this medium to full bodied wines, promising a gratifying experience ahead which doesn’t disappoint.  Robust tannins that are still integrating on the palate keep the ripe dark fruit in check and allow the oak to provide the necessary backbone for some nice aging.  Drink now through 2017.

Bazelet HaGolan, Merlot, 2010:  While not a traditional Merlot, this wine is very interesting and a refreshing change while still maintaining sufficient varietal characteristics to remain genuine while allowing Yoav’s terroir-based philosophy to come through.  A nice nose of mostly black forest fruit with some crushed red berries in the mix is bolstered with strong notes of anise and eucalyptus, together with toasty oak and warm Mediterranean herbs.  Much of the same on the medium to full bodied palate with gripping tanning that are just starting to integrate nicely with the fruit, providing a supple and solid backdrop for the wine and foretelling a nice bit of aging ahead for this wine.  A slightly spicy finish round out this wine.  While enjoyable now, I’d give the wine three months before enjoying (or some serious breathing time) and then enjoy through 2016.

Bazelet HaGolan, Reserve, Merlot, 2010:  With a rich nose comprised of mostly dark red forest fruit and crushed berries with a nice hint of herbaceousness on both the nose and medium-bodied palate buoyed by strong notes of slightly smoky oak, as with the “regular” version above, this is a delightful Merlot with a bit more bite than your traditional people-pleaser and a welcome addition at that.  Much of the same notes on both the nose and palate but more grace and less green notes than its younger sibling that combine to provide a substantially more elegant drinking experience.  Drink now through 2017.

Older Tasting Notes (April, 2011)

Bazelet HaGolan, Reserve, Merlot, 2006: As noted above, the first Merlot from the winery and, notwithstanding being aged in oak only 10 months (as opposed to the customary 20 months for the Reserve series), it was included in the Reserve series based on its merits of being a single vineyard wine. Regardless of the reason, its title is well deserved as this wine is rich, muscular and powerful while still being very approachable and almost sexy. Very full bodied with a dark garnet color tinged with ruby at the edges. A spicy wine but well balanced by loads of fruit including raspberries, black fruit, light hints of blueberries and hints of vanilla, mocha and fine dark chocolate. Notwithstanding the wines relatively high alcohol content, no unpleasant “hotness” here but a complex, deep and interesting wine that it drinking beautifully right now.

Bazelet HaGolan, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006: For a lower tiered wine this wine was a delightful treat and well priced to boot! Definitely one to search out and stock up on as a complex and interesting everyday wine which has improved in the last 18 months. Very approachable now, this medium bodied wine has soft and velvety tannins well integrated with hints of sweetness, blackberries, currants, plums and other red forest fruit with Mediterranean herbs running through as well lending it some “greenness” that is, in my opinion, one of the markings of Israeli terrior. A lingering finish of great rich espresso makes leaves you wanting more and more.

Bazelet HaGolan, Cabernet Sauvignon, Reserve, 2005: As great as the 2004 vintage was the 2005 vintage is even better! A beautiful and rich color, this full-bodied wine has almost sweet (and smoky) overtones and very well integrated tannins along with hints of spicy wood matched up nicely with the fruit. A velvety and caressing wine with juicy plums, blackberries and gooseberries on the nose and palate backed up by tingling hints of eucalyptus, musky wood and wet leaves on freshly turned earth leading into a medium to long, pleasantly bitter, finish.