Well, to say I was busy in the past two weeks would be a minor understatement! I had people calling me, emailing me, and god knows what other forms of communication, including the time-sink of them all – Facebook!!

So, while getting ready for Passover I also posted some four articles on my trip to Israel, this past December 2012. I have tons more to write up, but for now I need a break – LOL!!! Still, as I have said many times, this blog is more about my journal than a real peek into my insane life of wine.

So, this Passover was the usual madness of hurray up and then wait and then hurray up and wait! Clean one part, boil water and wait. Clean something else, than wait for it to try, and then pour water – man these laws!! Anyway, in between all the madness I was posting about my Israel trip and never got to post about the wines I wanted to enjoy this Passover or even the past Shabbos wine! By the way, the Barbera was awesome from Ramat Naftaly, but man that bottle was crazy! The bottle had cracks going down both sides of the bottle. The cracks were actually done at the time the glass was blown, they need to do a better job of checking their bottles!

So, instead of a life’s story – this is simply a list of wines I enjoyed and some I did not! LOL!! (too much Facebook). We were eating out so much during the first two days that thankfully we had little to prepare, so there is little to talk on the food front. Wines notes follow:

2010 Ramat Naftaly Barbera – Score: A- (maybe more)
The nose is rich and redolent with smoked animal meat, a hint of blue fruit, deep earthy notes, loamy dirt, and super ripe black and red fruit that go on forever. The mouth is rich and layered and so ripe with a medium+ body (the ripeness and mouth feel make it feel fuller) with ripe black plum, ripe boysenberry, dark cherry, toasty sweet cedar, cranberry, and blackberry, all wrapped in a caressing canopy of soft mouth coating tannin. The finish is braced with awesome acid, super tart and zesty fruit, lovely chocolate, mineral, and sweet tobacco that lingers long with forest berry and boysenberry jam – Bravo!

2010 1848 White Blend, 5th Generation – Score: B
This wine is a blend of 70% Chardonnay, 24% Chenin Blanc, and 6% Semmilon. The wine tasted like it was on its last legs. I tasted the 2011 recently, and while I did not love it, the 2011 is alive and kicking, though not my taste. This bottle seemed dead. I tried to let it breathe and to taste it cold and warmer. No matter what I tried, the wine tasted watered down and with little acid backbone. There was classic unoaked Chard fruit on the nose, white peach, melon, and even a bit of tropical fruit. However, the mouth lacked much fruit and the finish was a bit short – drink up!

2012 Yikvei Zion Dolev Semi Cabernet Sauvignon – Score: NA
I used these for the four cups and yes it is a sweet Cabernet Sauvignon, but it is low in alcohol and goes down easy enough, which is the point of the 4 cups. The wine is not mevushal and was “drinkable”, sorry no notes.

2009 Covenant Red C Cabernet Sauvignon – Score: B+ to A-
This was a lovely wine with rich and redolent nose of black cherry blackberry, blackcurrant, lemon zest, and crushed herb. The mouth is medium plus in weight with supple tannin that is soft in the mouth, but giving way to layers of big red and black fruit, mouth coating tannin, and nice oak that fills the mouth. The finish is long and spiced with kirsch cherry, chocolate, light date notes, and dark raisin. The spices, herbs, and dark fruit come together quite nicely.

2007 Yarden Chardonnay – Score: A-
This wine is still a bit closed to start, but then it opens to a bushel full of tropical fruit, oak, and oak influences. The nose on this gold colored wine has butterscotch, butter, lemon, toasty cedar, green notes, pear, peach, and apple. The mouth on this full bodied wine is viscous, rich, and velvety, with good body, yellow apple, rich toasty wood, lovely balancing acid, and caramel notes that linger long with white chocolate. The finish is long with super spicy with cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, and cedar that lingers long.

2007 Yarden Chardonnay, Odem Vineyard – Score: A-
The nose on this light gold colored wine is screaming now with rich toasty oak, pineapple, brioche/toast, fig, baked green apple, grapefruit, almond, citrus, and pear. The mouth on this rich full-bodied wine is filled and coating with nice toasty oak, ripe fruit, and rich and viscous mouthfeel that warms you along with creme brulee. The finish is super long and spicy with more toasty notes, great balancing acid and oak. A truly super rich and lovely wine that lingers long on the palate and one that can linger for another two years, hoping that the oak will subside some more.

2008 Celler de Capçanes Peraj Petita – Score: A-
LOVE IT!!! What a lovely and ripe nose – that perfectly matches the sweet and sour brisket I am eating with it. The nose as usual is riddled with Brett, classic for Capcanes, along with ripe black plum, cherry, and raspberry, along with black fruit, and loamy earth that reaches from the ground and grabs you. The mouth is ripe and rich with caressing and now soft integrated tannin that hold the mouth together with enough acid to keep your attention, with ripe blackberry, layers of fruit that does not give up, and spicy oak that is tantalizing and date that starts to enter into the picture over time, but who cares – YUUMM! The finish is long, bracing, and softly tannic with mouth coating tannin, chocolate, and more mineral to keep your attention and make you think it is complex.

2007 Hagafen Cabernet Franc, Napa Valley – Score: A-
This wine has finally come together – when I have no more – LOL!! We have been waiting for this wine to find its sea legs and we have all sacrificed many bottles of this wine too early – before it was ready. If you have any left drink it now – it is lovely!!!

The nose is super redolent and perfumed with ripe black and red fruit, tobacco, licorice, smoky notes, and sweet wood. The mouth on this medium bodied wine is rich and layered and concentrated with rich butterscotch that hits your palate first, followed by raspberry, blackcurrant, blackberry, plum, and insane mouth coating tannin that are soft and caressing, but with tons of gas still in the tank, along with sweet cedar to bring it all together. The finish is long and mineral with nice graphite, chocolate, tobacco, and more sweet notes on a long and luscious finish.

Even still, after an hour of being open the wine goes back into a dead spot, do not fear, it reemerges in another hour or so. So, drink right up or drink a little and watch it evolve back and forth!

2007 Hagafen Syrah, Napa Valley – Score: B to B+
This wine is black and tar and dirty all over, and not what I want from a ripe California region. The nose explodes with crazy eucalyptus and menthol, followed by funk that blows off, deep rooted and loamy dirt, and black fruit. The mouth is full and tannic with nice mouth coating tannin, blackberry, black cherry, plum, spicy cedar, and green herb. The finish is long and spicy with black pepper, cloves, tar, and hints of leather that is receding. Green bell pepper, menthol, and blackberry linger long with soft caressing tannin, and chocolate.