Monthly Archives: July 2008
Yarden Katzrin Chardonnay 2003
This past weekend was one of those lay low varieties. The meal comprised of spicy chicken and a killer creamy (with no cheese) risotto with cubed portabella mushroom, sweet potato, and yellow squash. The sweet vegetables were pre-caramelized to give the risotto a killer sweet twang and the portabellas added a lovely firm texture to the creamy mixture. The chicken (my wife’s specialty) was awesome – chicken breast that was cooked just right and seemed to add more than just spice to the risotto.
The wine of choice was the 2003 Yarden Katzrin Chardonnay. Yarden has three lines of wines – from the bottom up:
- The Golan line
- The Gamla line
- The Yarden line
- Yarden label
- El-Rom and Ortal vineyards
- Katzrin Yarden
The Katzrin line is either the red variety or the Chardonnay. The red variety can be found at very specialty shops – only, because of its high cost (100+ a bottle). The Chardonnay Katzrin on the other hand, is an affordable bottle and sometimes worth the extra few dollars. This was not one of those times.
Just a few words on Katzrin. Like more and more vineyards nowadays, Yarden markets the vineyard that the grapes came from on the bottling. Katzrin is a smallish city – but it is still the largest city in the Golan Heights. On my last trip to Israel, I once again ventured up to the Golan Heights and was met with a scene that will stay with me for a long time. The bus was rolling up the hills to Katzrin and half way up the climb, this cool rolling fog came in out of nowhere. The windows on the bus starting to fog over from the condensation and it was then that I realized what made Katzrin and the rest of the Golan Heights so special. It was the hot summers, cool evenings, rocky volcanic soil, and its altitude. The Golan Heights and the rest of the Upper Galille wine region has flourished since the creation of the Yarden Winery.
Now back to the wine…
Yarden Katzrin Chardonnay 2003 – Score B+
This was a nice wine – just not what I was hoping for. I love fruity yet complex white wines. Wines with a body and fruit that play off each other and have enough acidity to keep the fruit in check. In the end, this one was just being overpowered by the oak. Way too much of it. There was still fruit, but the oak and the over the top acidity was not in balance – it felt all over the place.
The nose on this golden colored wine had notes of peach and nectarine along with a huge dollop of oak. The mouth on this medium+ bodied wine starts off with a nice hit of peach, green apple, and nectarine. The middle hits you with what I can only describe as sour apple candy – without the sugar – crazy acidity. The finish is strong with oak and a hint of nuts. However, the acidity is almost puckering and just throws everything off balance. Really quite a shame. The more I read about wine makers creating soups of concoctions (adding tannin, acidity, fining agents, etc), I wonder if there was a healthy dose of ph added to this wine during or after fermentation. The ph is so off and is not integrated with the wine at all. Just a thought.
Best Wishes to all
Rogov’s site is moving….
Flattery is not a trait that we use here on KosherWineMusings. Daniel Rogov is a man that has brought focus to the Israeli wine world. He is a world renowned wine critic and one that I have learned an immense amount from. Anyway, his long standing forum (www.stratsplace.com/rogov/) is being taken down – with the untimely death of the forum’s founder; Art Stratmeyer. He has moved his prose to the wine lover’s page site. It is run and founded by another worldly wine critic Robin Garr. So the new site is: http://www.wineloverspage.com/forum/village/viewforum.php?f=28. I have updated my link to his site.
Best Wishes!
Herzog and Four Gates Wines
This past week we met with some friends and I must admit we brought the dud of the evening 
which is a real shame. Herzog Winery makes some fantastic wines, but the Syrah Special Reserve line is one that is fantastic right out of the chute. I have had a few of my friends get burned on this wine line. The 2001 vintage was supposed to be the bomb, and in the end, it bombed. The 2003 vintage was even better out of the chute, yet unfortunately it too has met a similar demise. All I can say for now on this varietal follows the adage from my hometown (Chicago – go WhiteSox) - drink early and often 
. And if you wish to test fate – buy one more at most and if it is the bomb feel blessed, and if it bombs, chalk it up to another learning experience (albeit a bit of an expensive one).
So if my donation to the evening was the dud, all we can say is that the Four Gates Winery wines we had were the hits. The evening started with a Four Gates Cabernet Franc 2005 and ended with a Four Gates Syrah 2004, with my dud was sandwiched between them. In closing, to be fair, the 2003 vintage of Herzog Syrah Special Reserve may be a poor showing of its original self, but the new vintages are doing fine – and showing well, just drink them now and enjoy.
In order of what we drunk – best wishes!
Four Gates Cabernet Franc 2005 – Score: A-
The Four Gates Cabernet Franc was a real joy to drink, it is a classic Cabernet Franc with a Tasmanian Devil attitude. I need to stress that this is not a copy of one of my favorites which is a Cabernet is a Franc’s clothing. Nope this one is a real Franc – but with a bit of tude to boot. The nose on this dark garnet colored wine just explodes with cranberry, cherry, raspberry, and vegetal notes. Stopping for a editorial comment – a Cabernet Franc must have floral, berry, and herbaceous flavors to make it a Franc to me – end of editorial. This one has all of those along with an acid core that solidifies the wine’s body. The mouth on this medium bodied wine explodes with a red fruit attack that is wrapped in an acidic core that tames the fruit, while accentuating the fruit quality. The mid palate is filled with continued acidic notes and lovely herbaceous flavors. The finish is long and filled with fruit and wood shavings. All and all a real winner. This one stood up to some serious food, but I would not throw it at lamb or such.
Herzog Syrah Special Reserve 2003 - Score: B
This line of wines (Herzog Syrah Special Reserve) need to be drunken early – maybe two to three years after the vintage year. They must be doing something to them to make them so accessible early. They have no cellar life – a real shame!!! The spicy, fruity, and tar flavors are long gone. The color is still a nice purple, but the nose has gone south. There are aromas of blackberry, oak, and a bit of nutmeg. The mouth of this medium-full bodied wine is almost fruitless at this point. There are still hints of black fruit. The mid palate has a slight burn of alcohol and the finish is woody with a hint of pepper.
Four Gates Syrah 2004 – Score: A-
This wine was enjoyed with the last bit of lamb and then continued on to desert. When thinking about the wonderful lamb – only one word comes to mind – steamrolled. The poor lamb had no idea what hit it. The Syrah continued its assault on the peach cobbler and the two were actually quite a nice pair, though not as nice as the lamb pairing. The sugar in the cobbler was nice with the acidity and body of the Syrah, but the spicy and tangy flavor of the lamb paired better with the acidic and full bodied Syrah. Enough editorial. To be truly fair this wine needs a few hours of airing – as the alcohol flavor blows off by then and the lovely fruit, tar and inky flavors come pouring out. The nose on this purple colored wine (with orange halos) is filled with blackberry, tar, and tons of oak. The mouth on this full bodied wine is packed with black fruit; blackberry and plum along with a huge inky and viscous mouth-feel. The wine almost levitates in your mouth, almost like time stands still while it wishes about in your mouth. The mid palate is filled with more ink characteristics and leather notes. The finish is long and satisfying with notes of tar and wood.
This Past Week’s Wines….
We hung out with our friends last week and so, we brought some stuff and so did other guests and the host. The food varied, which was nice, but really had a bit of a hard time keeping up with the wine. The hearty bean soup did quite nicely – up against a Four Gates Merlot, the rest felt like the wine was pushing forward on the palate, which is fine – just need to think about that when rating wine. There was a few experimental wines at the table, and as such, will not be included in the notes.
Four Gates Merlot - La Rochelle 2001 – Score: A-
The Four Gates Merlot was a joy to taste. It was even better, because we got a chance to taste it up against the M.S.C. 2001. The color on this wine is a crazy blackish blue – with a shimmer of orange thrown in. The nose was strong with black fruit (a distinct shift from our previous review), sweet wood, and a hint of tobacco. The mouth feels fuller, definitely softer, and powered by a strong fruit presence. Cassis starts early and is joined by black plums and raspberry. The mid palate is ruled by an iron fist of acidity which really adds great zip and depth to the wine. The finish is strong with wood and spice. The softness is what throws me on this wine, as I was used to the harder lines. Those lines have softened to reveal black fruits and a nice backbone of acidity, but still a bit more tannin would have been perfect.
Four Gates Merlot - M.S.C 2001 – Score: A
The M.S.C. has what I wished the La Rochelle had – a bit more body and tannin. The color on this wine is a deep and brooding black – with a shimmer of orange. The nose had aromas of black plums and cassis, oak, and a nice sized dollop of chocolate. The mouthfeel on this full bodied wine was firm yet balanced. The tannins played nicely with the cassis, plum, and cherry. The mid palate is backed by an acidic core and nice layers of complexity around the fruit, tannins, and vegetal flavors. The finish is strong with wood and spice.
Psagot Edom 2005 - Score: B
This was not the favorite of the night (even lower then the aforementioned experimental bottle). The wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (75%) and Merlot (25%). The color on this wine was a nice deep ruby red. The nose was crazy good – filled with cassis, plum, and strong green aromas. The mouth is where things fell apart. Really, there was none. The mouth is filled with a bit of tannin and a medium to full bodied attack. The fruit was non existent and the feeling in your mouth was of a good Cabernet, but nothing more. Sorry, I would pass on this one.
This past week’s wine…
. We tried this wine that I was very excited about – but did not live up to my hopes. I talk of Hamasrek’s King Blend. Daniel Rogov gave the 2003/2004 N.V (Non-Vintage edition an 80), but then gave the 2004/2005 edition an 86. So there seems to be two vintages. What perturbs me about this wine is that there is no clear way to see what N.V. vintage we are talking about – the 2003/2004 or the 2004/2005 N.V. Why you may ask? Because they used the same labels! I hear rumors that you can tell the difference between them via the cap (where the top of the new vintage has an impression on it) – but I would love to know what others have heard about this.The nose on this purple to black colored wine changed over time. It started off with a zinfandel nose – loads of cranberry and raspberry along with a nice amount of smoked wood. After a bit of time the nose turns into a cab nose. Blackberry, cassis, along with a hint of chocolate. The mouth on this medium – full bodied wine was very fruity initially. Over time it lost the fruit and most of its complexity also disappeared. Which left a lightly acidic core and wood, with a bit of dark fruit. The finish was gone as well. It is a shame. This wine does not compare to a similar attempt by Herzog (though that one is going down hill – I have yet to tase its 2005 brother) - one I love and spoken of often. Not enough “stuffing” for this puppy to be there. That said – it is drinkable and if I had more of it – I would drink it now and fast.
This past week…
We had a few friends over and we had a few wines. Two were solid winners – while the other was passing. The meal was meatballs and rice, so we thought we would go with wines that had enough firepower (acidity, power). So Syrah was the wine of choice. These are them.
2003 Herzog Syrah Special Reserve – Score: B
This was the ‘M’ version of the wine, which means it is Mevushal (cooked). The color was a lovely purple, but the nose was non existent. All I got was wood and a bit of spice. The mouth feel of the full bodied wine was fruitless. It was a nice balanced and spicy full bodied wine. But without fruit or a good finish this wine is lacking.
Galil Mountain Winery Syrah Yiron 2004 – Score: A
The Yiron Syrah was the best of the night. It is a wine that will be best if opened two to three hours before serving. The wine’s color is a crazy purple, which shimmers with a halo of orange. The nose on this purple monster is filled with luscious ripe blackberry, cranberry, wood, and sweet notes of figs and dates. The mouthfeel on this full-bodied wine starts with a full plate of black fruit: blackberry, cassis, and plum. The middle of the mouth is filled with wood and chocolate. The finish is a long and satisfying stroll – filled with nice acidity, wood, and pepper.
This wine pairs wonderfully well with roasted lamb, thick beef stew, and rich, creamy dishes. The acidity and sheer power of the wine is able to stand up to almost any pairing. Finally, chilling the wine a bit before drinking it will add yet more to what will surely be a wonderful experience!
Herzog Cabernet Sauvignon/Zinfandel/Syrah Special Reserve 2002 - Score: B+
The wine is much like we blogged about this before, but it is going down hill. The color was a bit more brown then before. Also, there was some funk in the flavor for sometime, but when it finally did blow off, some of the good flavors left as well.
