Well, I have been off for too long, that is for sure. First Passover, then travels to Japan and more work. Finally home for a bit, Passover was great as it was enjoyed with family and that is what makes the holidays so great!

I will keep this short and sweet – the wines were mostly good to great, except for one wine that I was really looking forward to tasting – sadly it was clearly not stored well. Other than the single disappointment – the rest of the wines were solid wines.

I also had the opportunity to enjoy some wines with friends at EZ’s house, with BC and CG. It was a lovely evening and we enjoyed 6 wines – the best of which was the 2012 Domain Netofa Latour Red, followed by 2010 Hajdu Grenache, 2011 Netofa Red, the 2004 Chateau Montviel (which is in drink up mode at this point), and the 2011 Hajdu Grenache. Many thanks to EZ and his wife for hosting us so graciously.

The wines are listed below – and I hope you had a great Passover as well:

2012 Herzog Petite Sirah, Clarksburg, Prince Vineyard – Score: A-
I found this wine to be showing better than the Hajdu PS, at least for now. Lovely blueberry jam and crazy black plum, with mounds of fresh vanilla, sweet cedar, with lovely floral notes, and sweet spices. Lovely full body wine with still searing tannin and lovely acid showing rich extraction and crazy spices with boysenberry and blackberry with rich sweet spices and elegance at the same time, along with ribbons of charcoal, and mineral. The finish is long and jammy, with rich leather, and mounds of mineral and black tea, with sweet tobacco, and sweet fruit lingering long. Drink by 2020.

2012 Hajdu Petite Sirah, Brobdingnagian – Score: A-
This wine was really a wine I was looking forward to tasting again, and it is either in a real funk, or it has taken a step back from its earlier stature. The wine opened quickly, it was not as closed as in the past, showing ripe blackberry, blueberry, and lovely dirt, and earth, with root beer galore and spice. The mouth on this full bodied wine is rich, but lacking the impressive extraction of old, with rich layers of blue and dark fruit, sweet oak, and tannin that does not let up. The finish is long with layers of dark fruit, leather, spice, Swiss mocha, boysenberry, and nice tart, and sweet fruit. This wine is on target, but lacking the complexity of old. Drink by  2021.

2007 Yarden Blanc de Blanc – Score: A- to A
Same as last time, deep, mineral, and attack that is almost hedonistic.

NV Gamla/Gilgal Hashmura Brut – Score: A- (crazy QPR)
This is the new vintage (which is now out of stock in most places). The way to know it is the most recent vintage is to check if the wine says extra dry – otherwise, it is a previous vintage and not as fun, the wine is mostly 2011 grapes. The nose on this bubbly is sick with lovely quince, apple cider, with straw and tart citrus. The mouth is full and an attack force of small mousse bubbles, followed by yeast and rich undertones, followed by layers of pear and madly refreshing with crazy acid and pith, and more bubbles that do not give up. The finish is long with dried fruit, nice dry mouthfeel, that flows into nice dried herb, and rich white tea. BRAVO!!!!

2016 Chateau Roubine Rose – Score: B+ to A-
OK, before the hate mail starts coming, this is a nice rose, but it pales in comparison to the 2015 vintage. Actually, having tasted most of the kosher rose out there this year, the 2015 Chateau Roubine has yet to be eclipsed this year. So, does that make this a bad wine, no? It simply makes it a wine that I will buy again, but one that is not as good as last year.

The nose starts off with all the right things, sick mineral, saline, saline, lovely gooseberry and great strawberry. The mouth is where things go astray, the wine is nice, but it lacks that focused acid, it has more weight than in 2015, showing more like an Israeli rose than a Provence rose, with good peach and pink grapefruit, good orange pith and nice spice. The finish is long and spicy with more mineral, tart strawberry, pith, and cloves lingering long.

2016 Covenant Red C Rose – Score: A-
Lovely strawberry heaven, with bright fruit, ripe grapefruit, heady lemongrass, and rich cloves. The mouth is lovely with good acid, but RS that bugs me a bit, with great spice, rich lemon, and great citrus, giving way to ripe red fruit, life saver raspberry, with sweet notes of honeysuckle that is balanced by good acid and spice. Long, spicy, and tart finish with crazy tart citrus, nice citrus pith, with sweet notes well balanced.

2013 Covenant Pinot Noir Landsman – Score: A-
The nose is turning a bit sweet to start, but with time it settles down. Lovely nose with crazy strawberry perfume, sweet Kirche cherry, the oak is settling down, but more sweet notes at the beginning show. The mouth on this medium to full bodied wine is rich and layered with spice and coffee, but now it is showing far more dirt and earth, followed by layers of fruit and nutmeg, candied cherry, blackberry, and really nice mouth coating tannin. The finish is long and spicy with cherry and blackcurrant, rich dirt, and mineral. With time the nose opens further with a perfume of earth, dirt, intense mineral, saline, and hints of barnyard. The mouth is still layered and concentrated with sweet white chocolate and sweet spices – BRAVO! Drink till 2020.

2015 Capcanes Peraj Petita – Score: A- (Crazy QPR)
This wine is a blend of 50% Grenache, 20% Merlot, 15% Tempranillo, and 15%Syrah. This wine is much akin to the 2014 vintage, in that it is immediately accessible, but I like the 2015 vintage more. Really nice nose, with rich toast, smoke, followed by rich tar, asphalt, with lovely black fruit, tobacco, and more mineral. The mouth on this medium bodied wine is really fun, layered and concentrated with dark fruit, blackberry, hints of blue fruit, with ribbons of scrapping mineral, graphite, followed by nice Kirsch cherry, with great earth and dirt. The finish is long and earthy, with great dirt, mineral, green notes, and hints of mushroom and black tea. Bravo!!! 2017 to 2020.

2011 Shirah Syrah Alder Springs Vineyard – Score: A-
This wine is 100% Syrah from Alder springs in Mendocino county. The nose on this wine is ripe and rich with blackberry, strawberry, boysenberry, and root beer. The mouth on this medium bodied wine is now showing beautifully, with nice extraction and good spice, with blue and black fruit, red berries and lovely mouth coating tannin that grips to the mouth. The finish is long and spicy with rich leather, tobacco, sweet fruit, crazy vanilla, intense blue fruit, and coffee. The wine is 13% ABV, not a classic Weiss Brothers number 🙂 Nice! Drink by 2018.

Wines from the tasting at EZ’s house:

So, of the six wines we enjoyed that night, IMHO, they came out in this order. The best was the 2012 Domain Netofa Latour Red, followed by 2010 Hajdu Grenache, 2011 Netofa Red, the 2004 Chateau Montviel (which is in drink up mode at this point), and the 2011 Hajdu Grenache.

2012 Domaine Netofa Latour, Red – Score: A- to A (QPR)
It has changed little from that tasting, other than the fact that it is just showing better now, with more complexity and more extraction. This wine is a blend of 70% Syrah and 30% Mourvedre, also known in the Rhone Valley and Australia as an SM blend. This wine is a riper version than the 2013 vintage.

The nose on this lovely wine is rich with ripe fruit, blackberry, boysenberry, and perfumed spice and sweet licorice. The mouth on this full-bodied wine comes at you in layers of blue and black fruit, but with an added sense of rich extraction, rich spice, intense graphite, mouth coating and draping tannin, all packed in an intense and inky structure, with bright and tart blackcurrant, that comes at you with concentrated and rich fruit, and tea. The finish is long, spicy, fruity and jammy, with black plum, coffee, tobacco, nice spice, root beer, along with mounds of earth and mineral. This is a lovely wine that is rich and layered and showing much better than at the winery. Drink by 2022.

2010 Brobdingnagian Grenache – Score: A-
The nose on this rich and perfumed wine starts with lovely aromatics, floral notes, orange rind, cloves, heavy spice, cherry, and licorice. The mouth on this medium to full-bodied wine lives up to Brobdingnagian name with crazy searing tannin, nice green notes, rich extraction, layers of concentrated red, black, and blue fruit, ribbons of blueberry, mouth coating tannin, and wood all melding together in an almost velvet like structure and mouthfeel. The finish is long and spicy with more bakers spices, dark kirsch cherry, nice espresso, dark chocolate, vanilla, herb, mineral, and spice. Grenache may be called the Rhone’s Pinot Noir, but there is nothing ethereal about this wine – it is a massive Brob wine that happens to be a Grenache! Give this time and it will show more of its black fruit that is hiding behind the spice and wood. Drink by 2020.

2012 Domaine Netofa Red (QPR) – Score: A-
Well, the last time I tasted this wine was last year at a tasting in the winery. The only real change is the more obvious and focused root beer.
This wine is a blend of 65% Syrah and 35% Mourvedre, also known in the Rhone Valley and Australia as an SM blend. The nose on this wine is richly spiced with lovely blackcurrant, blueberry, hints of feminine floral notes, charcoal. The mouth on this medium plus bodied wine is showing riper with mouth drying tannin, coffee, along with lovely blackberry, dry black plum, spice, with black tea, currants, and a clear focus of root beer coming into the forefront. The finish is long and spicy, showing tart fruit, focused mineral, with black and blue fruit, herb, cranberry, and more lovely root beer. Drink by 2018.

2004 Chateau Montviel, Pomerol – Score: A-
Sadly, this wine is on its last legs and needs to be in drink now mode. This wine proves that Merlot can indeed make a wonderful wine! This wine is redolent with mushroom, lovely barnyard aromas, dirt, mineral, and dried herbs. The mouth on this full bodied wine is crazy rich and refined with layers upon layers of dirt, mushroom, along with ripe blackcurrant, black plum, cassis, along with green notes that come at you in layers of lovely fruit, the tannin is fading sadly, but still shows nicely with dirt, toast, and herb. The finish is long and dirty, with butterscotch, vanilla, leather, crazy dried herbs, mushroom, herb, dirt, and fruit lingers long with still nice coating tannin – but fading now. Drink up!

2011 Brobdingnagian Grenache – Score: A-
The nose first starts off with ripe black cherry, black fruit fleeting in the background, nice loamy dirt, blood orange, and very floral. With time the wine explodes and becomes insanely redolent with a perfumed nose of blueberry, rich boysenberry, plum, peach, guava, and more black cherry, along with the loamy dirt now taking up backstage. The mouth is medium bodied with nice ripe and concentrated raspberry, plum, dark currant, more earthy notes, rich tannin, lovely oak, and rich extraction. The finish is long and mineral laden with good charcoal, chocolate, and more loam. The alcohol was persistent and present, but it did balance eventually. Drink by 2018.