This past week has been crazy, so we settled for a simpler meal of Brown Basmati Rice, Lemon/Red Pepper Flakes Roasted Chicken, and fresh green salad. A nice relaxing meal. For lunch we finally got up to making a cholent. We really do not make “cholent”, but more like a vegetable stew with buckwheat as the binder. It works, and no one complains.

To match the food we went with a wine that I had higher hopes for. That said, I should have read Daniel Rogov’s review for it ahead of time, really more about his prognosis for the wine. It is a wine that has unfortunately hit its peak, and is now over the hill. The wine confounds me, when the wine is open it is a clear B+ wine, after a few hours the wine goes down a bit and it becomes more of a plain B wine. It is a real shame, I wish it was different but so it is.

2006 Tzuba Merlot Kosher Tel Tzuba – Score: B to B+
This is a wine that is on the other side of hill waving goodbye to those at or before the peak. It is a shame, as the wine starts off quite nice, but quickly fades into a red fruit and loam wine, which is still OK, but not its potential. Daniel Rogov had it dead right, this wine hits its peak at the end of 2009, and now it is dying.
The nose on this light garnet colored wine with brown leanings, starts off with lovely plum, cassis, blackberry, raspberry, oak, vanilla, crushed herbs, and minerality. After a few hours, the nose turns one-dimensional with vanilla, loamy dirt, raspberry, and cherry. The mouth is mouth coating with nice integrated tannins, plum, blackberry, and raspberry to start. Again, after a bit of time, the wine turns to loamy dirt, dark cherry, plum, a bit oxidized. The mid palate is acidic and balanced with slight oak, and minerality. The finish is long and spicy with toasty oak, loamy dirt, nice tannin, and plum.