This past week, I was once again in Israel and it gave me the chance to taste the recently released 2008 Yarden Rose Bubbly, which was one of the highlights of my trip. I also finally had the chance to sit with and enjoy a bottle of the 2011 Teperberg Malbec, that I tasted at the winery, and it lived up to my hype. Finally, I tasted the recently released Yarden Malbec, and though it is a well constructed wine, it was too sweet for my palate.

Please be clear – the Yarden Rose will not be making its way to the United States, for reasons I do not know, but it is a wine that is well worth finding in Israel. The wine notes follow below:

2008 Yarden Rose, Brut – Score: A- (and more)
To call this brut wine a rose, is such a misnomer that it is not even close. This should have been called a Rose Brut, like the 2007 Blancs de Blancs is called a Blanc! Still, what can you do the labels are printed and such is life. The wine is made of 30% Pinot Noir and 70% Chardonnay, and then was bottle aged for 5 years on its lees. It is a classic bubbly wine that I have now had the chance to spend a Shabbos with and taste three times. I asked a few winemakers about it, and each replied with their own leanings, some find it a perfect match to Champagne and some find it too light for them, liking more the Blancs de Blancs brute force and style. To me both wines are a wonderful gift to the kosher wine world and a must for anyone drinking sparkling wine. As of now the wine is not going to be imported to the US – so buy it when you are in Israel.

The nose on this beautiful pink salmon colored wine is rich and redolent, but shy as well, with classic yeast notes, followed by pink grapefruit, strawberry, and peach. The mouth on this medium to medium plus bodied wine starts off with a lovely attack of fine bubble mousse, freshly baked and then toasted brioche, along with green apple pie, freshly roasted almonds, pear, and cherry notes. The finish is long, luscious, and captivating with bracing acidity, candied currant, fig, and white chocolate. BRAVO!!!

2011 Teperberg Malbec, Terra – Score: A- (plus more)
I finally had the chance to drink this wine over a shabbos and I was NOT disappointed! After having had the chance to taste the Yarden Malbec and the Ramot Naftali Malbec, I can say safely that of the Malbec wines from Israel, that I have tasted, this is the best one.

That said, it is not an overly complex wine, yet it is a supple, rich, and layered wine. This nose is downright insane, with what I can only call a California Grenache/Syrah nose, showing ripe blueberry, boysenberry, black cherry, lovely smoked meat, along with earthy notes, and rich smokey notes. The mouth on this full bodied wine, has layers of ripe and rich blue and black fruit, along with mouth coating tannin, blackberry, black plum, tart raspberry, and lovely sweet cedar. The finish is long and tart, with sweet ripe and tart fruit, great balancing acidity, nutmeg, cinnamon, root beer, rich chocolate, and good sweet spice. BRAVO!

2010 Yarden Malbec – Score: B+ (Sweet / New World wine)
This wine continues Yarden’s long tradition of creating very professionally made wines, with a bent towards ripe and new world styled wines (excepting for their whites, sparklers, and higher end wines). That said, there will be many people who truly find this wine lovely and captivating. Much along the lines of the Tishbi Malbec that I had a few weeks back, this wine was truly ripe and driven with clear roasted animal notes that seem to jump out of the glass and slap you upside the head.

The nose on this black colored wine shows freshly roasted animal notes, along with ribbons of blue fruit, good earthiness, and cherry. The mouth on this medium to full bodied wine shows its colors with overly ripe fruit (for my palate), with date, rich chocolate, more ribbons of blue fruit, blackberry, black plum, all coming together with good concentration and fruit structure, while being kept together with good searing tannin and spicy oak. The finish is long and super sweet, with balancing acidity, almost salty notes, mineral, graphite, with good sweet spice, and root beer. This is a nicely and well built wine, that will have its fans for sure, just not my cup of tea.

2011 Carmel Riesling, Single Vineyard, Kayoumi Vineyard – Score: B+ to A-
The nose on this light gold colored wine screams with rich and vibrant floral notes, wild mineral, nice petrol hints, ripe peach, kiwi, vanilla, and grapefruit, and more citrus. The mouth on this medium bodied wine is drier than the 2010 yet crazy rich and gives you a sweet perception from the very ripe fruit, the floral notes flow well through and mingle beautifully with the bracing acidity, along with more sweet fruit, light oily texture, lychee, tart/sweet apple compote, herbal notes, and good spice. The finish is long and spicy, with great acid, nice melon, great slate, and lemon fraiche.