This past weekend I enjoyed some lovely wines from Israel and California. The first wine is the 2010 Covenant Sauvignon Blanc and the second was the 2009 Adir Cabernet Sauvignon, Ben Zimra. The third wine was the 2010 Gvaot Pinot Noir that I loved and tasted at the Kosher Wine Society Tasting – New Wines and Vintage Experience, and the fourth wine which I also tasted at the KWS tasting was the 2007 Hevron Heights Merlot, Pardess.

The only wine in this lineup that disappointing me was the 2009 Adir Cabernet! I had the chance to taste this wine in Israel last year, and when I tasted it now it showed itself in a vastly different manner. Where before the wine was rich and layered, now the wine was still green but felt unbalanced and not all there. Again, it could be an issue of transportation or storage, but I bought the wine at a great store – called Liquors Galore. It has a fantastic selection and the prices are solid for wines that are on sale. For all other wines, shop and compare, but their selection is very impressive, and it is local if you live in Flatbush, NY.

Again, I believe the issue here is transportation and maybe the wine is a funk or quiet period, but in the end, it is a wine I could not recommend to others. The other wine I bought there was the 2010 Covenant Sauvignon Blanc, which was awesome and bright, ripe and clean, while showing nice minerality, slate, and crispness.

The other two wines were lovely, with the Gvaot Pinot Noir being the hands down winner, the Hevron Heights Pardess a close second along with the Covenant Sauvignon Blanc, and the Adir bringing up the rear.

Please find the notes below:

2009 Adir Cabernet Sauvignon, Ben Zimra – Score: B to B+
The nose starts off with nice graphite, blackberry, bramble, earthy notes, mineral, and raspberry. The mouth is where the wine flies off the rails, with nice medium body, blackcurrant, integrating tannin, however, raisin flavors peek out and the mouth overall is not coming together and feels disjointed. The finish is long and spicy with more earthy flavors, tobacco, and strong bitter and salty notes linger long.

2010 Covenant Red C Sauvignon Blanc – Score: A-
The nose is beautiful with ripe melon, kiwi, light ethereal floral notes, flint, mineral, and slate, all covered over by ripe fruit. The mouth of this medium bodied wine shows lovely ripe fruit, nice balance of acid, ripe grapefruit, little residual sugar (though not bone dry), that all flow into a long and mineral finish with good spice and citrus zest melding with hints of herbaceous notes that linger long.

2007 Hevron Heights Merlot, Pardess – Score: A-
The nose explodes with an intoxicating aroma of green notes, ripe plum, cedar box, and raspberry. The mouth is rich and layered with concentrated flavors of lovely black cherry, nice sweet notes, hints of blackberry, and sweet cedar that integrate nicely with good mouth coating tannins. The finish is long and rich with mounds of leafy tobacco, good fruit, a hint of date, and nice vanilla. An almost classic Merlot wine with a bit of restrained Israel in it.

2010 Gvaot Pinot Noir, Gofna – Score: A- to A
This may well be one of the best kosher Pinot Noir out there, but it is NOT one for long cellaring, drink this up in the next two years. It is a blend of 90% Pinot Noir and 10% Merlot. Right now the wine is great, so why worry about the future! The nose starts off with nice ripe cherry, good toast, black plum from the Merlot, and nice floral hints that peek out from under the oak blanket. The mouth on this medium bodied wine is lovely with good mouth coating tannin, integrating nicely with layers of concentrated fruit, including blackcurrant, and nice cedar, all coming together into a balanced and lovely mouth. The finish is long and spicy with good cloves, heavy toast, lovely espresso coffee expression, and crazy tannin. The tannins calm down quickly in the glass, which makes me think this wine is not one for long cellaring. Enjoy this within the next year or two.