The next wines that I enjoyed on my last trip to Israel and Europe, came after I had finished tasting wonderful wines from the ever capable Yaacov Oryah (head winemaker at Psagot Winery) at one of the newest hip kosher wine bars in Jerusalem – the Red and White Wine bar – kitty-corner from the beautiful Mamilla hotel (8 Shlomo HaMelech Street at the corner of Yanai Street).

After going to see the Kotel (following the tasting at the Red and White bar), I made my way to where I was staying. It was not far from where we would be having the next two tastings, at our friend’s home DD. While, our host was fantastic, the wines were not so much. Much of that was a shocker to us all, because the wines we brought were not lightweights, they just did not show well at all.

There were some winners, a bottle of the epic Von Hovel kosher Riesling – that we will talk more about in a later post, but for now – the notes were very similar and the wine was insane. It was intoxicating (in its flavors) as much as it was intense, showing mineral, sweet notes, and acidity all at the same time.

The real winner of the night to me (other than the epic Von Hovel) was the 4 Vats red which was really nice and a solid QPR wine.

My many thanks to our friend DD for hosting us in his lovely home! To be honest after all the wine tastings I had up until this point, I was done for, so my notes were not very good this time. The wine notes follow below – the explanation of my “scores” can be found here:

2016 Yaacov Oryah Light from Darkness (Blanc de Noir) – Score: A-
This is a white wine made from Yaacov Oryah’s Rhone varietal vineyard, using Grenache, Cinsault, and Mourvedre. The juice of the grapes was pressed out of the grapes with no skin contact. The juice of red grapes is clear until it is left to macerate with its red skins.
Really a fun and unique wine never had such a wine showing red fruit notes in a white wine, showing grapefruit, sour cherry, rich mineral, yeasty notes with lovely minerality, green olives, and saline. The mouth is well integrated with lovely acid, rich peach, lemon and grapefruit with tart citrus, dried orange and more saline and slate galore, with nice pith on the long finish. Bravo! Drink by 2018.

2015 Matar Sauvignon Blanc / Semillon – Score: B+ to A-
The nose on this wine was lovely, showing ripe grapefruit, flint, spice, kiwi, and green notes. The mouth on this medium bodied wine has just enough acidity, showing nice focus with slate, saline, and nice peach, with pink grapefruit, yellow pear, and lovely acid. Drink UP!

2014 Von Hovel Hutte Oberemmel Riesling, Mosel, Gefen Hashalom – Score: A- to A
This was my initial notes for this wonderful wine, without knowing I would taste this very wine in the Von Hovel winery and bring a few home! Stay tuned for that post soon.
A nice Riesling wine, great funk, with rich petrol, honeysuckle monster, with great spice, with heather, lavender, with yellow apple, and yellow plum. The mouth is rich and layered and rich acidity that is insane, with layers of rich blossom honey, and layers of never ending oily texture that is dripping with acid and white peach, lovely funk that gives way to minerality and intense lovely saline, with the sweet notes showing instead of the ripping acid/slate that the 14 Nik showed. Bravo!

2016 Teperberg Pinot Gris, Essense – Score: B to B+
Flat and boring with a bit of acid. Pineapple and grapefruit and not much more.

2015 Shirah Furmint -Score: B
This wine was clearly wrong, maybe the travel caused its early death – no idea. I loved this wine a few months prior and think it was a bad bottle. The nose is grapefruit, and kiwi, with green apple, and spice, with oak galore. The mouth is a bit flat, and bad

2015 Matar Chenin Blanc – Score: B
I wrote very little, all I know was I disliked it.

2016 Gush Eztion Sauvignon Blanc – Score: B+
I had high hopes for this wine, but sadly it was not what I was hoping for. The nose on this wine was lovely, showing classic Sauvignon blanc notes, gooseberry, grass, cats pee, with good kiwi. The mouth is nice with good acidity, tropical fruit, passion fruit, kiwi, that is missing a bit in the middle, with cloves, slate, good pith.

2016 Carmel 2 Vats Rose – Score: B
Sadly, the 2015 Rose was far better (in 2016), this wine was a letdown. Sweet nose and funk and sweet and flat

2016 Capcanes Peraj Petita Rosat: Score: B+
I tasted this first in Israel and had it again in the USA, and posted here.
Nice funky nose with good grapefruit, peach, and raspberry. Nice enough. Drink Up!

2012 Adir A red – Score: B+
Nice nose of green notes, dark fruit, raspberry, dark cherry, bell pepper, and lovely foliage. The mouth on this medium bodied wine is pushed and ripe, but no date, with nice currant, and nice mouth coating tannin, rich spice, earth, and nice salinity that gives way to dark fruit and spice. The finish is long and hot, but nice with leather, and green notes.

2012 Yatir Petit Verdot – Score: B
The nose is green, mineral, smoke, dirt, and menthol. The mouth was pure date juice, really fruit forward, not a wine I would buy.

2016 Carmel 4 Vats – Score: A- (GREAT QPR)
Interesting nose, raspberry, jammy fruit, with pushed fruit, but not dates, spice, cloves, mineral, and roasted animal. The mouth is lovely with minerality, ribbons of graphite, but sweeter fruit with nice mouth drying tannin, with rich saline, ripe blackberry, earth, green notes wrapped in blueberry and heady and lovely spice. The finish is long and green with good acid, fresh and tart fruit that gives way to graphite, garrigue, and rich earth, with mushroom in the background. Bravo!

2010 Gush Etzion Cabernet Franc – Score: B
All I have is no.

2014 Agur Karka – Score: A-
Eran Pick from Tzora Winery planted Oseleta grapes in 2009 and he was interested in using them in Tzora’s wines. In the end, the grapes did not work for Tzora, so Agur started to use them and this is the wine that was made with them.
Interesting nose of dark cherry, currants, rich licorice, and nice earthy and good spice. The mouth on this medium bodied wine is nice with good ribbons of mineral and graphite with bitter notes, that gives way to more mouth coating feeling as it ages or opens in the bottle, good acidity and great fruit focus that is backed by ripe red fruit, along with dark plum, nice sweet spices, nutmeg, earth, and dry flowers. Overall this is a well-made wine, balanced and biting, and yes it has bitter notes – I like that but some have issues with it. Nice! Drink by 2021

2015 Ella Valley L – Score: B
This wine felt really rushed and unprofessional, all I have on it is: unfinished and not clean not professional wine.

2013 Lueria Grand Vital – Score: B+ to A-
I have very little in terms of notes. The wine was professionally made, well built with good acid and fruit, but a bit too fruit forward for me at this point. I would drink by 2019.

2012 Mia Luce Rosso – Score: NA
corked

2015 Mia Luce Syrah and Stem – Score: B
Again, little in terms of notes. This was not a fun wine. It showed flat and really not expressive. What can you say, 2015 was a horrible vintage.

2012 Tzora Misty Hills – Score: A-
I do not know what happened, all I know is that this bottle did not taste like the wine of old – which I loved a few years ago. This wine is a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon and 45% Syrah. The wine still shows well, and I did not take much in terms of notes, but what really shocked me was how ripe the wine was. Even in the notes the wine was ripe, but well controlled. Maybe it lost that control, the acid was not as obvious as it was three years ago. I would start drinking up.

2010 Chateau Du Rocher – Score: B
This wine is in serious drink up mode, it was flat with tannin. Drink UP!