The night of the KFWE London tasting, right after I left the tasting, I took the tube to the airport. I slept there overnight and at 7 AM I took a plane to Lyon France to start my journey to meet up with the Taieb wines and to taste through their current offerings.

If you remember the story, I had gone from California to Paris, on to London, for the Blue smoke dinner and then the KFWE London tasting. It was after the tasting that I took the train to the airport. I had heard many things about the Taieb wines and it was time to actually taste through the wines myself.

I had to take a plane to Lyon, two trains, and then a car ride to get there, but I think it was worth it, as I had the chance to taste through wines that are rarely seen or tasted here in the USA. It was the same for the way back, so yeah I could have starred in two movies!

Let me get one thing aside right now. Not all the wines are easy to find here in the USA, other than the Burgundy wines, because of the horrible wine distribution of Victor Wines and Touton wines, here in the USA. As you will see Taieb makes some very solid QPR (for France pricing) wines. You can find some of the wines here but most of them are just in France. With that said, Saratoga Wine Exchange, out of NY, seems to stock almost all of the wines, I have no idea why as they are not a kosher wine or near a large Jewish community.

Taieb Wines

Taieb started making kosher spirits 50 years ago and since then he has added kosher wine to the company. many of the Bordeaux wines that he now makes have been in production for decades. Taieb is famous for the Phenix Anisette, a liquor made from Anis.

Recently, I have been loving the wines coming from Taieb, because they are making some really great Burgundy wines, including maybe the best Burgs to be made kosher in quite some time, the epic Domaine Lescure and the 2012 Domaine d’Ardhuy Gevrey-Chambertin, which may well be the best Burgundy in some time, though I find the 2014 Domaine Lescure to be as good.

Taieb has been spoiling us with great Burgundy wines and the only reason why we know about them is because of Nathan Grandjean and Andrew Breskin. Sadly, distribution of these and many of the lovely Bordeaux wines from Taieb have no distribution here in the USA, without Breskin. Victor Wines officially imports Taieb Wines, but the wines rarely show on shelves, I really hope this will be fixed soon, as the Taieb wines I had in France were wonderful.

Sadly, Domaine d’Ardhuy stopped doing kosher wines with Taieb, after the 2015 vintage, and while Domaine Lescure was epic in 2014 and 2015, the 2016 vintage had some issues. The bottle I had at home showed aspects of Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S), while the bottle I had at the winery had no issues. Others have said they had off bottles as well, though when the wine is good it is great, so I am torn.

The line of kosher wines includes entry level wines for restaurants and weddings. It then has a myriad of wines at the next level, from lovely a Sancerre wine to Brouilly wines. The next level includes some very solid Bordeaux wines and Burgundy wines as well.

Overall, I was very impressed with the lineup of wines and I really dream of being able to have these wines more accessible here in the USA. For now, Liquid Kosher has the wonderful 2015 Domaine Lescure and the very nice 2015 Domaine d’Ardhuy Aloxe Corton.

Jean-Philippe Marchand

In 2017 there was a new wine line from Burgundy, the Jean-Pierre Marchand wines. With the loss of Domaine d’Ardhuy from the kosher ranks, following the 2015 vintage, the Taieb’s went out and made the Jean-Philippe Marchand wines. The baseline Bourgogne is really solid for the price, while the upper line wines are nice as well, but as with all things Burgundy they come at a price. Truly Burgundy’s Achilles heel, especially in kosher, is the price. Also, the upper-level wines from Volnay, Gevrey-Chambertin, and Nuits-Saint-Georges are not available here in the USA.

Again, the theme of Taieb wines being very solid but hard to find in the USA is a consistent one and a sad one. My many thanks to Georges and Yoni Taieb for taking the time to meet with me on short notice. I hope we will have the chance to taste their wines again later this year.

The wine notes follow below – the explanation of my “scores” can be found here:

2016 La Chablisienne Chablis La Pierrelee – Score: 90
The nose on this lovely wine, is beautiful, with rich creme and butter, and lovely green and yellow apple that gives way to smoke and lovely earth. The mouth on this medium bodied wine is beautiful with great acidity showing a beautiful and ripe wine, with great lemon and grapefruit, with screaming mineral, and lovely balance. The finish is long, creamy, and green, with great acidity lingering long. Drink by 2022. (available in France)

2017 Joseph Mellot Sancerre – Score: 91 (QPR)
What a lovely wine showing beautiful gooseberry, with crazy cat piss, and lovely lemon, passion fruit and citrus galore! The mouth on this medium bodied wine is lovely, crazy acid, with lovely crazy citrus, orange blossom, and more gooseberry, with searing acid, slate, and grapefruit galore. Wow! Drink by 2020. (available in USA and France)

2017 Joseph Mellot Pouilly Fume – Score: 88
The nose on this wine shows wax, and rich lemon, with orange blossom notes, with nectarines. The mouth is nicely acidic but less interesting than other Pouilly, with nice notes of orange, backed by grapefruit, and lovely slate. Drink now. (available in France)

2017 Domaine de Grava – Score: 84
The wine is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot. The nose on this wine is simple, but nice, with good green notes, red fruit, and a bit of black fruit in the background, with crazy green notes, and loads of foliage. The mouth on this wine is green and tannic, and not much more, but nice enough, bitter notes, with pith and foliage. Drink now (available in France)

2015 Chateau De L’anglais, Troisgros Cotes De Castillon – Score: 90+ (QPR)
The nose on this wine is nice, really impressive for the price, with red and black fruit and foliage galore. The mouth on this medium bodied wine is really nice, well balanced, with great acidity, and lovely structure, with great balance and lovely tannin that grabs and gives way to a nice mouthfeel, with blackberry, raspberry, green notes, and great structure. The finish is long, green, herbeacu]ous, with mint, menthol, and hints of tar, lovely tannins that grip, and herbal notes that linger long with dark chocolate. Nice! Drink by 2023 (available in USA and France)

2016 La Chenaie du Bourdieu – Score: 90 to 91
The nose on this wine is lovely, with great notes of blue fruit, along with red and black fruit, that gives way to cherry, sweet oak, foliage, and nice garrigue. The mouth on this medium bodied wine is lovely, balanced, well made, with sweet oak, tobacco galore, with great acidity, gripping tannin, that give way to blackberry, sweet blueberry, cedar galore, and dark cherry, that is mixed with milk chocolate, and menthol, with tar, and pith lingering long. Nice! drink by 2024 (available in USA and France)

2014 Chateau de Lamarque, Marquis d’ Evry – Score: 88
The nose is green, with red fruit, and herb galore, that gives way to menthol, and garrigue. The mouth on this medium bodied wine is rich, layered, but green, with raspberry, dark currant, and nice roasted herb, that gives way to dark cherry, crazy gripping tannin, showing dark fruit in the background, with earth, mineral, pencil shavings and fun fruit, but still a bit simple, with lovely garrigue, menthol, tar, green notes, and red fruit lingering long, with crazy tannin, and loads of earth. Nice!!! drink by 2025. (available in France)

2016 La Colonne – Score: 91 (QPR)
The nose on this wine is nice, green, with hints of blue fruit, raspberry, with mineral, and earth. The mouth on this medium bodied wine is richly layered, with lovely earth, with green notes that give way to chocolate, with crazy intense gripping tannin, with intense concentration, and crazy extraction, that is filled with tar, smoke, green notes, blackberry, cassis, and sweetly roasted herb, that is intense. The finish is long, green, pencil shavings, with crazy mineral, dark chocolate, with sweet dill, herb, and yet even more gripping tannins that linger and give way to earth and garrigue, and menthol, bravo!!! drink from 2022 until 2028 (available in USA and France)

2014 Chateau Roquettes – Score: 91
This is the second time I have tasted this wine, and my last bottle had issues, as it fell apart after a few hours.
The nose on this wine is an oak monster, showing intense cedar, but with time, that calms down nicely, with crazy milk chocolate, with rich and ripe fruit, and lovely dark and red fruit. The mouth on this medium to full-bodied wine is rich, layered, and oaky, with rich chocolate, dark fruit, forest berry, giving way to raspberry, with nice balance, yet oaked, that give way to rich gripping tannin, sweet fruit, and lovely roasted herb that is intense and elegant, with nice salinity, with crazy gripping tannin and oak, followed by beautiful blueberry, that is followed by tar, scraping mineral, and lovely earth galore, with rich mineral, green notes, well balanced, and earthy. Nice!! drink from 2022 until 2028. (available in France)

2014 Chateau Tour Baladoz – Score: 91 to 92
The nose is rich and blue, with lovely rich oak, showing lovely blueberry, with rich dark fruit, showing green notes with black fruit, and sweet oak, giving way to rich minerality and pencil shavings galore. The mouth on this medium bodied wine is lovely, rich and layered, with lovely balance, green and black fruit, giving way to sweet oak, with dark chocolate, blackberry, freshly tilled earth, lovely garrigue, mushrooms, and lovely fresh green notes, with gripping tannin, and lovely tart/juicy raspberry, with hints of cranberry, and spice, with tart and juicy notes. The finish is long, green, tart, with great menthol giving way to rich concentration, good extraction, and nice elegance. Nice!! Drink from 2021 until 2028. (available in France – the 13 is available in the USA, stay away from that wine)

2015 Chateau Clauzet – Score: 92
The nose on this wine is very feminine, showing green, red fruit, and nice perfume of earth, and floral notes. The mouth on this wine is nice, well layered, and rich, with nice elegance, showing good fruit focus, with a nice mineral focus, showing earth, green notes, tar, and good sweet oak, that is well balanced with acidity, and a mineral and mushroom core, followed by forest floor, and sweet oak/cedar that is controlled, elegant, and really fun. Bravo! The finish is beautiful and showing gripping tannin, with green notes, menthol, and scraping mineral, graphite, and pencil shavings, with dark chocolate, and tobacco. Bravo!!! Drink from 2022 until 2030. (available in France)

2017 Jean Philippe Marchand Bourgogne Hautes-Cotes de Nuits – Score: 92 (QPR)
The nose on this wine is lovely a pure Menthol forest, with pine sap, truffle, tilled earth, with lovely red and black fruit, with forest floor, meaty notes, and foliage. The mouth on this medium-bodied wine is layered and rich, with dried currant, wrapped in powdery tannin, but showing lovely earth and dirty mouthfeel, with junipers berry, capers, and salinity, all backed by more dirt, forest floor, and mushroom. The finish is long, green, foliage, but really dirty, with herbal notes galore, mint, oregano, chocolate, and saddle leather. Bravo!! Drink from 2020 until 2026. (Available in France and from onlinekosherwine.com)

2014 Domaine D’Ardhuy Cotes de Beaune Villages – Score: 93
Note Liquid Kosher brought in a 2014 Domaine D’Ardhuy, but that one which is called 2014 Domaine d’Ardhuy Ladoix, “Les Combottes”, and it is sold out and it was a different vineyard.
Lovely, with crazy mushroom, with a lovely nose with great notes of truffles, earth, and rich cherry, and salinity, followed by dark fruit, mineral galore, and tilled earth. The mouth on this rich and layered wine is beautiful, really lovely, incredible, layered, rich, and extracted like crazy, with crazy layers of dirt, cherry, dark raspberry, incredible gripping tannin, so bright/tart, and incredibly balanced, with more mineral, graphite, with massive gripping tannin, and intense mouthfeel, mushroom, and rich earth, WOW! The finish is crazy long, incredible, with dark chocolate, hints of barnyard, and tobacco, with tar, and green notes. Bravo!!! Drink from 2023 until 2030. (available in France)

2017 Jean-Phillipe Marchand Volnay, Sous Luret – Score: 92
The nose on this wine is richly redolent with crazy terroir, freshly tilled earth, with lovely green notes, followed by red cherry, with dark raspberry, and minerality that is backed by rich loam. The mouth on this medium to full-bodied wine is lovely with green and red fruit, with a really massive and concentrated attack of extraction and rich mineral focus, followed by gripping tannin, with crazy dark cherry, cranberry, and dark currants, that give way to sweet notes of cedar, and tannin that go on forever, truly painful at this point, but lovely. The finish is crazy long, green, with a mushroom-core with crazy earth, and mineral, with graphite and dirt that lingers long with tart strawberry and coffee galore. Bravo!!! 2023 until 2030 (available in France)

2017 Jean-Phillipe Marchand Nuits Saint Georges, Aux Herbues – Score: 93
The nose on this wine moves to much darker fruit, with crazy dark black and red fruit, with dark currant, rich cherry, pure elegance, followed by dark chocolate, with beautiful sweet oak, and mushroom. The mouth on this full bodied wine is rich, extracted, layered, and beautiful, with rich elegance of still the rich and deep tart fruit focus, but then layered with the elegance of the darker fruit, dark cherry, blackcurrant, with crazy draping and richly extracting tannin, but so elegant, followed by sweet notes of fruit, but so well balanced with crazy tart red and black fruit, rich salinity, and impressive acid, followed by earth, and crazy mineral. The finish is long, green, red, and well layered with chocolate, coffee, and tobacco galore. Bravo!! drink from 2023 until 2031. (available in France)

2017 Jean-Phillipe Marchand Gevrey-Chambertin – Score: 92 to 93
The nose on this wine follows the rest with the common now rich red fruit, with crazy herb, roasted herb, mint, and green notes galore, with more mushroom, and lovely elegance, and sweet dill. The mouth on this medium bodied wine is beautifully elegant, not as richly extracted as the Georges, but lovely with elegance with lovely acidity, red fruit, raspberry, tart ripe green fruit, tart cranberry, with dark cherry, and raspberry, all red fruit here, with still gripping tannin, but more drinkable than the Georges, with sweet fruit, roasted herb, and rich mushroom, and mineral. The finish is long, green, mineral, with crazy acidity rich mineral, and earth. Bravo!! What an elegance and attack, bravo!!! Drink from 2022 until 2030. (available in France)

2015 Domaine D’Aurdruy Aloxe-Corton – Score: 94
The nose on this wine is crazy black, with incredible red fruits in the background, with loads of fruit, oak, and mineral, with hints of mushroom, and earth galore. The mouth on this full-bodied wine is crazy, richly extracted, with incredible layers of fruit, followed by more extraction and dark fruit, with this wine, it is black, blackberry, dark cherry, with crazy gripping tannin, showing cassis, that gives way to mushroom, earth, richly tilled earth, and crazy tannin that is unstoppable, with earth and mineral, graphite, and green notes galore. The finish is long, tannic out of its mind, with chocolate, coffee, and menthol, crazy!! Bravo!!! Drink from 2025 until 2033. (available in USA and France)

2016 Domaine Chantal Lescure, Pommard – Score: NA
I had this wine at home and it showed of H2S, as described above, and then I had a lovely bottle at the tasting in the winery. After that, people I know said that they had issues with their wines. I cannot understand what is going on with this wine, maybe it is a crazy bottle variation or bad luck, I am not sure. I cannot officially score this wine, but here are the notes for the good wine I tasted.
The nose on this wine is really lovely, with rich barnyard, mushroom, truffle, and lovely tobacco, smoke, toast, and smoked animal, with foliage, and lovely loam. The mouth on this medium to full-bodied wine is layered and rich, with beautiful yet crazy gripping mouth coating and searing tannin, lovely extraction, and rich loam, with sheer elegance, and drop-dead beautiful texture, with rich smoke, blackberry, raspberry, dark cherry, and rich earth, dark chocolate, and mushroom/truffle heaven. The finish is long, dark, brooding, and green, with saline, graphite, chocolate, rich saddle leather, and roasted herbs. Wow! Drink from 2022 until 2035. (available in France)