This past weekend saw us out of the house and enjoying a wonderful shabbos with friends, a home away from home. As usual, our hosts pulled out all the stops and made mounds of wonderful food. The least we could do is bring some wine to pair with the bountiful spread. On a side note, the last time we had one of the bottles listed below; the 2003 Kiddush Hashem Syrah, it was DOA, this time it was alive and enjoyable. Once again, the lore and history that backs these wines is quite crazy, though in the end, they are ready to drink and the winery is out of business, at least for now.

Many thanks to our hosts for letting us crash for a few days and for making us feel so welcome and at home. The wines listed here were tasted in the order that they appear:

2009 Hameshubach Midbar Silver Label (Israel, Negev) – Score: B to B+
When we tasted this wine we could have sworn it was a Pinot with little to no Cabernet presence. The nose on this dark ruby to light garnet colored wine was filled with kirsch cherry, bramble, black currant, light oak, raspberry, and floral hints as it opens in your glass. The mouth on this light to medium bodied wine is soft and somewhat plush with nice tannin, kirsch cherry, raspberry, black currant, and rose notes, as it opens in the glass. The mid palate is somewhat out of balance with bracing acid, oak, and soft tannin. The finish is long and floral with cherry, black currant, and spice lingering after the wine is gone.

2003 Kiddush Hashem Syrah Great Oaks Ranch – Score: B++ to A-
This wine has been a hit or miss for me, some of the bottles are either DOA or worse. This bottle was actually a success, so that was nice. The nose on this dark garnet to black colored wine is filled with tobacco, oak, raspberry, currant, blackberry, plum, dirt, graphite, and mint. The mouth on this medium to full bodied wine displays a lovely full mouth feel from the integrated tannin, blackberry, raspberry, inky structure, and tar. The mid palate is balanced with acid, tobacco, oak, and dirt. The finish is long with oak, blackberry, tobacco, dirt, roasted meats, black pepper, and tar.

2006 Galil Mountain Winery Viognier (Israel, Galilee) – Score: B++
The nose on this light gold colored wine is filled with peach, pear, fig, apple, floral notes, citrus, cut grass, and toast. The mouth on this medium bodied wine is rich with peach, apple, pear, and citrus. The mid palate is balanced with core acid, citrus, cloves, butter, caramel, and a hint of oak. The finish is long and spicy, with oak, butter, peach, and a lingering finish of cut grass and butter.