OK, with all the Paris wine notes posted, the latest roses posted, and Herzog’s wonderful wines, I am finally at the finish line. This last batch of notes catches me up just in time before the next round of wines shows up. As usual, my QPR posts are a hodgepodge of wines but thankfully we have some nice QPR (Quality to Price Ratio) wines.

QPR (Quality to Price Ratio) Wines

It has been two months since my last QPR (Quality to Price Ratio) post and many people have been emailing me about some unique wines I have tasted and some lovely wines that are worth writing about.

Thankfully, no matter how much garbage and pain I subject myself to, we are still blessed with quite a few wonderful QPR wines out there. This post includes some nice wines and some OK wines with the usual majority of uninteresting to bad wines.

The story of 2021 Israel whites and roses is very unfortunate, it started with a bang. Matar and a couple of others showed very well. Sadly, after that, every other white and rose wine from Israel was not as impressive. They all show middling work and product, very disappointing indeed. Thankfully, this round has three Israeli WINNERS and two from the 2021 vintage. There is an 8th WINNER here but it is here for documentation purposes and not for advice on what to buy, as it is not available anymore. That being the 2012 Chateau Serilhan.

We have a nice list of QPR WINNERS:

1. 2012 Chateau Serilhan Cru Bourgeois, Saint-Estephe (Posted as I have never posted this yet, strange)
2. 2021 O’Dwyers Creek Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough – A perennial WINNER
3. 2021 Castel La Vie Blanc Du Castel, Judean Hills – Finally a 100% Sauvignon Blanc and it is lovely!
4. 2021 Sheldrake Point Riesling, Dry, Finger Lakes, NY – A lovely 2nd vintage
5. 2021 Sheldrake Point Gewurztraminer, Finger Lakes, NY – Another lovely 2nd vintage as well
6. 2021 Golan Heights Winery, Yarden Sauvignon Blanc, Galilee – A nice wine
7. 2019 Netofa Latour, Red, Galilee
8. 2020 Terra di Seta Chianti Classico, Chianti Classico – Perenial winner

There were also a few wines that are a slight step behind with a GREAT or GOOD QPR score:

1. 2021 Cape Jewel Chenin Blanc, Reserve Collection – one of two wines that shocked me as I expected PAIN
2. 2021 Unorthodox Sauvignon Blanc, Paarl – the 2nd shocking wine in this tasting
3. 2020 Dalton Sauvignon Blanc, Reserve, Galilee
4. 2021 Golan Heights Winery Sauvignon Blanc, Gilgal – not as good as his bigger brother
5. 2021 O’Dwyers Creek Chardonnay, Marlborough
6. 2021 Capcanes Peraj Petita, Montsant – one of the best Petita since 2015, still not a WINNER like in 2015

There are a few wines that got a QPR Score of EVEN – meaning expensive or average:

1. 2021 Vitkin Israeli Journey, White, Israel
2. 2021 Gush Etzion Gewürztraminer, Judean Hills
3. 2021 Yaffo White, Judean Hills
4. 2019 Ramon Cardova Rioja, Rioja
5. 2020 Capcanes Peraj Ha’abib, Montsant – nothing interesting but better than previous vintages
6. 2020 Domaine du Castel Lavie, Rouge du Castel, Jerusalem Hills
7. 2016 Vitkin Cabernet Franc, Galilee – Drink up!
8. 2018 Vitkin Carignan, Judean Hills – Drink up!

The others are essentially either OK wines that are too expensive, duds, or total failures:

1. 2016 Vitkin Shorashim, Israel – a nice enough wine but the price is crazy
2. 2020 Flam Cabernet Sauvignon, Reserve, Galilee
3. 2020 De La Rosa Taryag Gruner Veltliner, Burgenland
4. 2020 De La Rosa Chai 18 White Welsch Riesling, Burgenland
5. 2021 Unorthodox Chenin Blanc, Coastal Region
6. 2021 J. De Villebois Pouilly Fume, Loire Valley – so sad after last year’s lovely vintage
7. 2021 Odem Mountain Chardonnay, Volcanic, Galilee
8. 2016 Laufer Cabernet Sauvignon, Special Reserve, California – ripe oak juice
9. 2021 Golan Heights Winery Mount Hermon White, Galilee

Some things that made me stand up and take notice (AKA QPR WINNERS):

The real WINNER here, from the entire list, is the 2012 Chateau Serilhan Cru Bourgeois, Saint-Estephe (posted as I have never posted this yet, for some strange reason), but of the available wines that would be the 2021 O’Dwyers Creek Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough. The 2020 O’Dwyers Creek Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough ran out very quickly, I guess that there was not much available or made, as it was right at the start of COVID! The crazy story of how it all came together.

So happy to see Castel finally dropped the Gewurztraminer from their La Vie Blanc Du Castel the solo Sauvignon Blanc is lovely!

Talking about Gewurztraminer, the 2021 Sheldrake Point Riesling and Gewurztraminer from the Finger Lakes shows one can make lovely and reasonably priced wines from the Finger lakes. Bravo Ari!

Nice to see a Yarden wine on this list again, other than the LOVELY sparkling wines, the 2021 Golan Heights Winery, Yarden Sauvignon Blanc hit on all marks.

The last two wines are red and while I loved the 2019 Netofa Latour, Red at the start, it seemed to fall off a bit and that is unfortunate. Finally the 2020 Terra di Seta Chianti Classico, Chianti Classico is not as good as the 2019 vintage but still a solid wine.

Other wines of note (AKA QPR GREAT or GOOD):

The fascinating wines from this list were the South African wines, the 2021 Cape Jewel Chenin Blanc, Reserve Collection, and the 2021 Unorthodox Sauvignon Blanc, Paarl. I had zero expectations for these wines, so they were a nice find.

The rest are just good enough wines, mostly well priced but not interesting to drink.

Wines that are either good but too expensive or average (AKA EVEN):

This list is also boring, the only real wine to call out, is the 2020 Capcanes Peraj Ha’abib, Montsant, nothing interesting but better than previous vintages. The same for the Peraj Petita in the category above.

The rest of the wines are not interesting to me and are on this list because of either quality or price.

Wines that are either OK but far too expensive or bad wines (AKA POOR/BAD):

Like on previous versions of these lists there will always be a nice scoring wine that is so expensive it falls into this QPR list. That would be the 2016 Vitkin Shorashim, Israel – a nice enough wine but the price is crazy.

There are also, many duds to losers and I will just leave you to peruse the names and scores down below.

Roundup

Overall another nice list of QPR WINNERS and some GREAT options as well. I can always look at these kinds of lists and say there are only 7 or 8 wines I would want to buy from this entire list, but that would be a defeatist attitude. The correct way to classify this list is we have 7 or 8 more wines available to us and in the end, as I have stated many times now, I cannot buy all the WINNER wines even if I wanted to. There are just too many good wines out there and that is what we should be focused on!

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

Older Wines that I have not posted (or revising):

2012 Chateau Serilhan Cru Bourgeois, Saint-Estephe – Score: 93+ (QPR: WINNER)
This wine is a blend of 57% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 8% Cabernet Franc, The nose of this wine is lovely, deeply mineral-driven, with intense rock, graphite, charcoal, ripe black fruit, balancing tart raspberry, red plum, sweet spices, and sweet oak.
The mouth of this medium-plus bodied wine is rich, layered, and well-balanced with great acidity, freshly tilled earth, mineral, smoke, hints of barnyard, mushroom, and truffle, followed by ripe blackberry, plum, dark tart raspberry, smoke, and beautiful fresh wine approach – bravo!
The finish is long, dark, green, ripe, but well balanced, with smoke, tobacco, dark chocolate, and lovely mushroom, with tertiary notes soon approaching. This wine was opened too early, such is life, still very lovely and a wine I would open again in 4 years. Drink until 2029. (tasted July 2022) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13%)

2012 Chateau Cheval Brun, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru – Score: 91+ (QPR: GOOD)
This wine is a blend of 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Cabernet Franc.
The nose of this wine is another giant Brett bomb, with crazy mushrooms, rich green notes, earth, red fruit, smoke, and nice tar. The mouth of this wine is layered, ripe, and lovely, with nice elegance, showing blackberry, raspberry, mineral galore, graphite, earth, mushroom, and forest floor, The wine’s extraction has calmed down but the Brett and barnyard are in full gear.
The finish is long and earthy, with mushroom, barnyard notes, rich tobacco, and tar. Bravo! Drink till 2025, maybe longer. (tasted July 2022) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13%)

Current releases

2021 O’Dwyers Creek Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough (M) – Score: 92 (QPR: WINNER)
WOW, another vintage from O’dwyers creek and another smashing winner!!
The nose of this wine is intense, incredible, and expressive, with ripe gooseberry, passionfruit, cat pee, funk, green notes, honeysuckle, lemongrass, straw, and wet grass. The mouth of this medium-plus bodied wine is just sheer joy, tart, expressive, and rich, layered almost, with ripe gooseberry, oily texture, passionfruit, kiwi, and mango, all wrapped in dense acidity, incredible salinity, funk, and rich green notes, just LOVELY! The finish is long, green, and herbal, with intense minerality, smoke, saline, flint, lemongrass, and more wet grass. A sheer joy to taste! Drink by 2024. (tasted July 2022) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13%)

2021 Sheldrake Point Riesling, Dry, Finger Lakes, NY – Score: 91+ (QPR: WINNER)
This year’s vintage came out a bit drier than last year’s and it is lovely, WINNER! The nose of this wine is classic, floral, and funky, with orange blossom, honeysuckle, honeydew, and nice guava, fun! The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is fun, ripe, dry, a bit layered, nicely concentrated, floral, acidic, and so very refreshing, with more honeysuckle, honeydew melon, lychee, guava, jasmine, and funk. The finish is long, tart, ripe, balanced, and funky enough to make it all work. Bravo! Drink until 2024, but why wait? enjoy it now! (tasted June 2022) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 8.9%)

2019 Netofa Latour, Red, Galilee – Score: 91+ (QPR: WINNER)
Oh WOW! This reminds me of the good old days of the early years of Latour, very nice! This wine is a blend of 70% Syrah and 30% Mourvedre. The nose of this wine is floral, ripe, fruity, bright, smoky, earthy, and dirty, with roasted meat, this is what a Rhone should smell like, wow! The mouth of this full-bodied wine is a crazy WINNER, ripe, balanced, tart, fruity, dirty, with lovely strawberry, tart, and juicy raspberry, boysenberry, smoke, earth, loam, hints of watermelon, root beer, and lovely garrigue. The finish is long, fruity, tart, smoky, and just fun, with great fruit focus, dynamite mouthfeel, a very accessible wine out of the bottle, but will last some time as well, lovely!!! Sadly, by the night after opening the wine dulled out, and while it is not bad, and still a WINNER, it is not at the same level as I had upon opening. Right now, I do not truly understand how the wine goes from being a juicy and vibrant wine to being a dull one but such is life. Drink by 2026. (tasted June 2022) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13.5%)

2020 Terra di Seta Chianti Classico, Chianti Classico – Score: 91+ (QPR: WINNER)
This wine is a blend of 95% Sangiovese & 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine is showing young and the mouthfeel is also young, still a lovely wine and one that will open in a year or so. If you asked me what this wine was blind I would have said Pinot Noir, from what I smell, with green notes, raspberry, dark cherry, intense minerality, intense dirt, loam, crumbled and roasted herbs, with hints of denser fruit in the background. The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine is ripe, well balanced, with great acidity, minerality, smoke, more dark cherry, raspberry, dense loam, brooding dark fruit, rich tar, and dense foliage, very nice. The finish is long, dirty, and earthy, with loam, tar, smoke, green notes, ripe fruit, and lovely roasted herbs lingering long with cloves and smoked meat. As I guessed, with time the wine opened to be more of a Chianti, this wine is just too young, now the wine shows what I expected and is fruity, vibrant, toasty, green, and dirty, lovely. Drink from 2023 until 2030. (tasted June 2022) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14.5%)

2021 Golan Heights Winery, Yarden Sauvignon Blanc, Galilee – Score: 91 (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine is exactly what I expect from a new-world Sauvignon Blanc, ripe fruit, ripe gooseberry, tart passion fruit, kiwi, mango, orange blossom, honeysuckle, and nice smoke. The mouth is slow to open, give the wine a few minutes to fully open, once there, it has lovely acidity, nice mouthfeel, nicely refreshing, with gooseberry, lemon/lime, tart, and juicy pink grapefruit, pomelo, orange, and hints of mango. The finish is long, green, herbal, with lovely smoke, flint, more orange, lovely saline, and great acidity. Drink now. (tasted July 2022) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 12.5%)

2021 Sheldrake Point Gewurztraminer, Finger Lakes, NY – Score: 91 (QPR: WINNER)
The Sheldrake Point wines have been hitting solid singles and this is another one. The nose of this wine is classic Gewurztraminer, with lovely pineapple, wax, paraffin, lychee, ginger, and nice orange blossom notes. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine has great acidity, refreshing. tart, with more pineapple, lychee, ginger, rose, and sweet spices, like cloves, and sweet cinnamon. The finish is long. tart, spicy, and refreshing. Nice! Drink now. (tasted June 2022) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 11.9%)

2021 Castel La Vie Blanc Du Castel, Judean Hills – Score: 91 (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine is exactly what I like in a Sauvignon Blanc, bright fruit, gooseberry, smoke, flint, cat pee, and lychee, this is nice! The mouth on this medium-bodied wine is a WINNER, with great acidity, great balance, nothing overly impressive, still well made, refreshing, and sadly, given the crazy price increases within the new range of QPR WINNER. Showing tart freshness, gooseberry, lemongrass, lime/lemon, Kafir lime, good tension, and nice focus. The finish is long, green, herbal, balanced, tart, and smoky, with more flint, rock, and lovely mineral. Nice! Drink now! (tasted June 2022) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 12%)

2021 Cape Jewel Chenin Blanc, Reserve Collection, Cape Winelands (M) – Score: 90 (QPR: GREAT)
This is a fun wine, I had zero expectations for this wine. The nose of this wine is lovely, and funky, with hay, straw, and nice green/yellow apple notes. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is fun, has good acidity, nice funk, and a bit of pomelo sweetness/nectarines, but the main mouthfeel is around the acidity, nice apple, peach, tart quince, all around nice. The finish is long, tart, and slightly sweet/ripe, with nice acidity, green notes, hay, funk, and tart fruit. Nice! Drink now. (tasted June 2022) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 12.5%)

2021 Unorthodox Sauvignon Blanc, Paarl (M) – Score: 89 (QPR: GREAT)
This wine smells and tastes good enough, a bit cooked, a bit off, but overall not horrible, is how I would summarize this wine. The nose of this wine has notes of cooked grapefruit, a cooked overall expression, with flint, and some stewed honeysuckle. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is better than the nose, with fewer cooked notes, some funk, green notes, lemongrass, peach, grapefruit, green grapefruit, and green grass. The finish is long, green, herbal, and a bit funky. Drink now. (tasted July 2022) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13.5%)

2020 Dalton Sauvignon Blanc, Reserve, Galilee – Score: 89 (QPR: GREAT)
The nose of this wine is nice, with green notes, herbs, kiwi, dried straw, passion fruit, honeysuckle, and hints of orange blossom and oranges. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is well balanced, with good acidity, a nice mouthfeel, with good saline, mineral, smoke, gooseberry, orange, lemon/lime, and Kaffir lime leaves. The finish is long, green, sweet, and balanced, with pith, more lime, flint, and minerality. Nice! Drink now. (tasted July 2022) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13%)

2021 Capcanes Peraj Petita, Montsant – Score: 89 (QPR: GREAT)
This wine is a blend of 40% Grenache, 25% Merlot, 20% Syrah, and 15% Tempranillo. The nose of this wine is ripe, but the real issue is a lack of brightness, with blue and red fruit, some licorice, root beer, and smoke. With time it opens to show more brightness. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is nice, it is one of the better Petita’s that we have had in some time, but it still lacks acidity, with nice red cherry, raspberry, boysenberry, smoke, pleasant tannin, and herbs. It feels a bit hollow but nice. The finish is long, with good fruit, herbs, root beer, and smoke. Drink by 2024. (tasted July 2022) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14%)

2021 Golan Heights Winery Sauvignon Blanc, Gilgal, Galilee – Score: 89 (QPR: GOOD)
The nose of this wine is ripe, but well made, balanced, and expressive, with gooseberry, smoke, honeydew, honeysuckle, lemon, and lime. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is ripe, but with intense acidity, nice orange, honeysuckle, nectarines, nice mouthfeel, almost oily, gooseberry, kaffir lime, lemon, tart yellow grapefruit, and good minerality. The finish is long, green, and intensely tart, with nice acidity, flint, and lovely saline. Sadly, the wine falls apart very quickly, so I cannot recommend it. Drink now! (tasted July 2022) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 12.5%)

2021 O’Dwyers Creek Chardonnay, Marlborough (M) – Score: 88 (QPR: GOOD)
The nose of this wine is nice, with green apple, peach, pear, smoke, and some minerality. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is ok, it has nice acidity, but lacks anything to draw you in other than intense pith. The green apple, peach, pear, and orange pith linger long. Drink now. (tasted July 2022) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13%)

2020 Capcanes Peraj Ha’abib, Montsant – Score: 89+ (QPR: EVEN)
This wine is a blend of 40% Carignan, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 25% Grenache. This is the best Peraj Ha’abib I have had since 2014. The nose of this wine is ripe, a bit too ripe for me, it shows too much oak and sweet dill, but it has some nice fruit, licorice, tar, root beer, iron, and pencil shavings. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is nice, it has good acidity, but sadly, the acidity falls apart too quickly, I just find the fruit too much/ripe, with a good mouthfeel, a bit too alcoholic/hot, with too much oak, blackberry dark cherry, plum, cassis, boysenberry, sweet dill, astringent tannin, and again, too much ripe fruit. The finish is long, ripe, tannic, and spicy, with cloves, sweet dill, sweet oak, sweet tobacco, wet leather, and milk chocolate. Drink until 2027. (tasted July 2022) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 15%)

2021 Vitkin Israeli Journey, White, Israel – Score: 88 (QPR: EVEN)
This wine is a blend of 45% Colombard, 15% Grenache Blanc, 15% Chenin Blanc, 15% Viognier, and 10% Gewürztraminer. The nose of this wine screams from the gewürztraminer, pineapple, dry straw from the Chenin or Grenache Blanc, slight funk, smoke, flint, green notes, green apple, and rock, nice! The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is where things go wrong, and in 2021, I was hoping for so much more, the acidity is nowhere in the mouth, it shows up in the finish, but that is too late, not refreshing, with more pineapple, green apple, all over the place – fruit wise, with pomelo, yellow plum, sweet guava, and lychee. The finish is a bit short, with a bit more acid, fruit, and not much else. Drink now. (tasted June 2022) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 12%)

2019 Ramon Cardova Rioja, Rioja (M) – Score: 87 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose of this wine is ripe, nice enough, but all I sense, to start, is sweet oak, sweet dill, and smoke, there is little fruit or mineral. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is ripe, with no acidity, dark plum, blackberry, clawing ripeness, with too much oak, spice, and roasted herbs. The finish is long, ripe, and smoky, with more oak and sweet dill. Drink by 2024. (tasted July 2022) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14.5%)

2020 Domaine du Castel Lavie, Rouge du Castel, Jerusalem Hills – Score: 87 (QPR: EVEN)
This wine is a blend of 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Syrah, 20% Merlot, & 10% Petit Verdot. The nose of this wine is ripe, it has too much oak, too much fruit, with black and blue fruit, and hints of red, not much balance, roasted herbs, and smoke. The mouth of this wine improves with time, some acidity comes out to play, with dark cherry candy, plum, green notes, herbs, sweet mint tea, and nice tannin. The finish is long, green, again with time, somewhat balanced, with sweet tobacco. Drink by 2024. (tasted July 2022) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13.5%)

2016 Vitkin Cabernet Franc, Galilee – Score: 87 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose of this wine has changed from 4 years ago when I last tasted this wine. This wine is too ripe and candied and starting to feel oxidized, with oak, sweet spices, dark fruit, raspberry, and pomegranate. The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine is too ripe, too dark and brooding, and uncontrolled, with dark cherry, dark plum, earth, sweet vanilla, heather, leather, and too much-candied fruit for my liking. Again, almost oxidized for me. The finish is long, and overripe, with sweet tobacco and intense tannin. Drink UP!! (tasted July 2022) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13.8%)

2018 Vitkin Carignan, Judean Hills – Score: 86 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose of this wine is ripe, if you had said it was from California, I would not have blinked an eye, reminds me a bit of some recent Shirah wines, with intense blue and red fruit, candied cherry, sweet root beer, juicy watermelon, nice charcoal, The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine is ripe, sadly it has no acidity, with more dark fruit, smoke, earth, sweet oak, herbs, and nice tannin. The finish is long, sweet, ripe, and herbal, with charcoal, earth, and sweet tobacco. Drink now! (tasted July 2022) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13%)

2021 Yaffo White, Judean Hills – Score: 84 (QPR: EVEN)
This wine is a blend of 60% Chardonnay & 40% Viognier. I liked the 2020 vintage this one is not as good. The nose of this wine is nice, showing a bit of pineapple, guava, peach, apple, and flint. Sadly, the mouth of this medium-bodied wine is flat, it has pith and not much else. The finish is a bit short, and again, no acid. Bummer. Drink now. (tasted June 2022) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 12.5%)

2021 Gush Etzion Gewürztraminer, Judean Hills – Score: 82 (QPR: EVEN)
Sadly, this wine has no acid, no freshness, not interesting, an entry-level Gewürztraminer. Drink if you like Gewürztraminer, otherwise, I would pass, this is pineapple juice and not much else for me. (tasted June 2022) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13%)

2016 Laufer Cabernet Sauvignon, Special Reserve, California – Score: 89 (QPR: POOR)
The nose of this wine is pure oak, it smells like freshly cut lumber, very little fruit if you search you will find plum, and black fruit, with some time, the fruit emerges, more plum, black and red fruit, still too much oak, licorice, smoke, and yes, more oak. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is underdone with oak, nice acidity, intense and aggressive tannin, blackberry, plum, raspberry, cassis, smoke, dirt, licorice, and graphite. The finish is long, dark, and jammy, with plum, sweet oak, leather, sweet smoking tobacco, and yes, more oak! With time, the oak does recede and comes together a bit more, still, it is too ripe and too astringent. Drink by 2025. (tasted June 2022) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13%)

2016 Vitkin Shorashim, Israel – Score: 89 (QPR: POOR)
This wine is a blend of 35% Carignan, 35% Petite Sirah, 25% Petit Verdot & 5% Colombard. The nose of this wine is ok, to start all I get is ripe fruit, oak, sweet dill, smoke, and hints of actual fruit characteristics, but the oak is so overpowering they all fall to the wayside. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is ripe, it has acidity, but the fruit is so ripe and clawing with concentration and little elegance that all one feels is overripe plum, blackberry, boysenberry, too much oak, sweet spices, nice enough tannin, earth, and loam. To me the wine is too over the top, the fruit and oak never meet. Maybe this will come together one day but I do not see it. I fear the fruit is too ripe to ever find the other side before the acid or the balance fall over. The finish is long, ripe, and tannic, with dark plum, dark brooding fruit, and sweet oak just overpowering everything. Drink until 2026, maybe. (tasted July 2022) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13.5%)

2021 J. De Villebois Pouilly Fume, Loire valley (M) – Score: 85 (QPR: POOR)
The nose of this wine is very much in line with the mouth, both are simple with notes of pith, some orange, green apple, pear, and a bit of flint. I enjoyed this wine more after 15/20 min from the fridge rather than straight from it. The mouth of this wine is nice enough, it lacks the screaming acidity, it has some, with apple, pear, orange, flint, and pomelo. The finish is long, green, with hints of flint, pith, and orange rind. Drink now. (tasted June 2022) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 12.5%)

2020 Flam Cabernet Sauvignon, Reserve, Galilee – Score: 84 (QPR: POOR)
The nose of this wine is ripe, too ripe, with dark fruit, not enough brightness, mineral, sweet spices, and too much oak, and cloves. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is too ripe, sorry, wow, more like a plum liqueur than wine, with sweet dill, oak, spices, cloves, and zero acidity that I can perceive. With time the fruit calms but it is less interesting and the acidity is still lacking. The finish is long, dark, ripe, smoky, and herbal, with sweet dark cherry and not much else. Drink by 2026. (tasted July 2022) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14,5%)

2021 Odem Mountain Chardonnay, Volcanic, Galilee – Score: 81 (QPR: BAD)
The nose of this wine is simple, with enough green and yellow stone fruit, but other than that it is not much here. The mouth of this wine is flat, with no acidity, no joy, some apple, pear, peach, and apricot, with hints of mango, nice enough, but without the acid, it is boring. The finish is OK, with more of the same, and some pith. Drink now. (tasted June 2022) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13.5%)

2020 De La Rosa Taryag Gruner Veltliner, Burgenland (M) – Score: 78 (QPR: N.A.)
Another hard pass from De La Rosa winery. This one is slightly less chemically, but it is unbalanced, with no real fruit, and just white pepper and chemical apple notes. Next! (tasted July 2022) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 11.5%)

2021 Golan Heights Winery Mount Hermon White, Galilee – Score: 77 (QPR: N.A.)
This wine is flat, boring, and utterly useless, exactly like the 2021 rose, a waste of glass, next (tasted June 2022) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13.5%)

2021 Unorthodox Chenin Blanc, Coastal Region (M) – Score: 75 (QPR: N.A.)
This will be a very short note – do not buy this wine! The nose and mouth smell and taste like cooked straw, really not fun. Yes, it has acidity, but otherwise, I still taste it and it is not enjoyable. Move on. (tasted July 2022) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 12.5%)

2020 De La Rosa Chai 18 White Welsch Riesling, Burgenland (M) – Score: 70 (QPR: N.A.)
This will be a short note – hard pass. This smells of chemically induced jasmine and rosehip, with some peach and apple. move on! (tasted July 2022) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 12%)