This past week saw us hanging with friends and so no recipes this week.  Benyo from Four Gates Winery was there so we got to taste two wines that are very close to release, which I think will be nice wines.  Our friends made some unbelievable food, including a lovely vegetable soup (no cans here), fantastic challah, tons of salads, along with a main course of  Beef bourguignon, rice, and a few more side dishes that I lost track of!  Absolutely awesome food and great company to boot!  The following day for lunch we had fish, many more salads, roasted chicken, cholent, and gobs of side dishes.

The only thing we did was show up and bring a few bottles of wine, the wine notes are found below.  I begged Benyo to bring another of those wonderful old 1996 non-sulfite Chardonnay.  Once again it was a crowd pleaser with even more concentrated butterscotch!

Thanks so much to our friends for hosting us, feeding us, and allowing us to stay in their wonderful home, and making us feel at home as always!

2009 Tishbi Emerald Riesling Zichron Yaakov and Kfar Tavor – Score: B to B+
The nose on this light straw colored wine is exploding with apple, ripe peach, ripe melon, lychee, perfume, and apricot. The mouth on this light bodied wine follows the nose with apple, strong lemon showing, ripe melon, peach, and apricot. The mid palate is balanced with bracing acidity that calms down over time, perfume, and tart lemon. The finish is long and refreshing with a slight sweetness, tart lemon, melon, perfume, and bit oily texture. A wonderful quaffer that is goes great with spicy fare, light fish dishes, and soft cheese.

2005 Elvi Wines Ribera del Júcar Adar – Score: A-
The nose on this dark garnet colored wine, with slight browning on the edges, is hopping with coffee, licorice, black cherry, black plum, blackberry, rich oak, loamy dirt, and dates. The mouth on this full bodied wine is concentrated out of the bottle, that dissipates a bit over time, coffee, black cherry, black plum, and clear oak influence. The mid palate carries the concentrated flavors, and adds in lovely not yet integrated tannins, balanced acidity, and more oak. The finish is super long and a bit firm, which too softens in the glass, with tight and concentrated black cherry, oak, coffee, and dates. The wine is clearly at its peak or a bit over it. The wine is throwing sediment, browning on the edges, and showing date flavors that are not from the fruit but from age. That said, the wine is holding up quite fine with serious flavors, concentration, and oak influence. The wine does soften up a bit with time in the glass but never comes to a soft mouth palate that feels full in the mouth. rather this is a wine that is best enjoyed out of the bottle with little airing and watch how the wine evolves in the glass. It is a wine that is concentrated and will show that way. Enjoy with hearty Ragù, grilled meat, and/or hard cheese.

2008 Sol de Chile Estate Cabernet Sauvignon – Score: B to B+
We have had this wine before, but this time we drank from the bottle, leaving little time for the wine to air and show its best stuff. The nose on this dark ruby colored wine starts off hot, with some mineral and loamy notes, along with cherry, cranberry, and coffee. The mouth on this medium bodied wine has cranberry, cherry, and a soft mouth. The mid palate has integrating tannins, acid, and coffee. The finish is long and spicy, with a dollop of vanilla and a long and pleasing finish.  This is NOT an admonishment of the wine as much as it is an admonishment to me for not properly managing this bottle.  This wine needs time to open and allow itself to be shown in its best light, which we never let happen, so give this bottle a chance, but please open it a few hours in advance, taste at opening and then a few hours later to see the difference.