I just came back from Israel, that is a whole other post, including two stopovers, one before the trip to Israel and one on the way home. The stopover on the way to Israel was to taste Honest Grapes wines, yes, that is another post as well! The final stopover before returning home was to see my friend Andrew in San Diego. The airport is an absolute mess, but the new Terminal 1 is starting to take shape, still, please beware before going there!

Mr. Breskin is the founder of Liquid Kosher a wine curator and importer of a wide array of kosher wines, from French wines (like the famous Domaine Rose Camille to Israeli favorites). My trip this time was more of a mad dash than a proper visit and thankfully Andrew kept it simple. It was great to hang with Andrew, which I normally get to do only once a year at KFWE Los Angeles. Sadly, with no KFWE this year, this will be my only time with Andrew, unless I can find my way down there again, later this year!

Andrew has been the go-to guy for access to French wines that are not imported into the United States by Royal or the other larger kosher wine importers. Andrew has brought us Burdungdies like Domaine Chantal Lescure, and Domaine d’Ardhuy, along with the famous Domaine Roses Camille, which have been top scorers for many years now. These are all wines that Taieb has made for many years now. Sadly, 2017 was the last vintage of the Lescure, and Domaine d’Ardhuy ended in 2015.

The wines I tasted included a few JP Marchand Burgundies from the new 2022 vintage along with a few Taieb wines as well. Sadly, Taieb only made 4 red wines in 2022, no white wines. There were a couple of other wines, including the Domaine Roses Camille 2020 Chateau Les Graves de Lavaud. It is a lovely wine but I already posted the notes on that one.

Next, there were new Taieb wines that I had not tasted in Paris. First, it was a very simple but good Mevushal option called 2022 Prince George 1er Choix de Cuvee, IGP Coteaux de Narbonne. I had never heard of the region called IGP Coteaux de Narbonne. It is a region in the Rhone, but not a very well-known one for Kosher wine.

Next came the 2021 Chateau Castelbruck and the 2021 Chateau Haut-Breton Larigaudiere. The Castelbruck broke out of the failed 2021 Bordeaux mold. It showed well for such a failed vintage. The 2021 Chateau Haut-Breton Larigaudiere sadly did not follow and it too succumbed to the 2021 Bordeaux malaise. The pictures include a few other wines that I already posted, like the 2022 Chateau Tournebrise, the 2021 Jean-Philippe Marchand Bourgogne Hautes-Cotes de Beaune, and the 2022 Chateau Meilhan. The Tournebrise is a refreshing wine and one that I almost drank, during the tasting, very refreshing. The 2021 Jean-Philippe Marchand Bourgogne, Hautes-Cotes de Beaune showed beautifully, as during the tasting in Jan of 2023. Finally, the 2022 Chateau Meilhan is OK, one of the less impressive 2022 showings. We also tasted the 2019 Lahat Syrah, it is so Israeli, but not evil, I did not write notes. The 2022 Gehring Riesling and the 2018 Rieslings were all very nice.

After that, we tasted a few wines that are tangentially related to Andrew and his business. The Corcos wines from 2016, including the 2016 Chateau D’eck, the 2016 Chateau Haut-Bacalan, and the 2016 Verdeto. I was on point with my concern with the 2016 Verdeto, when I tasted it in June of 2021. The ripeness could never find balance and tasting it that night was not painful but not enjoyable – drink up! The 2016 Chateau Haut-Bacalan did not show well, it felt closed and nowhere, I hope it is just asleep, I will check in on it in a year, God-Willing. Finally, the 2016 Chateau D’eck was also, uninspiring, much like I felt back in 2020.

The newly released 2020 Elk Cabernet Sauvignon, Mount Veeder was quite nice. A classic Napa Cabernet. I always wish for more verve and acidity, but it is quite nice still.

Finally, I was graced with two other wines that evening, both of which I wish I could eviscerate from my memories. They are the 2019 Viniferia, Castel Luciano, Super Tuscan, and another wine I will retaste. The 2019 Viniferia Castel Luciano, Super Tuscan, is nice enough, not super, and maybe it is Tuscan, but not for me! The 2017 vintage of this wine did not score much better when I tasted it back in 2022.

My many thanks to Andrew Breskin and his wife for hosting me and for sharing his time, home, and wines with me. The wine notes follow below, in order of quality and grouping – the explanation of my “scores” can be found here and the explanation for QPR scores can be found here:

2022 Jean-Philippe Marchand Burgundies

2022 Jean-Philippe Marchand Bourgogne, Hautes-Cotes de Nuits, Hautes-Cotes de Nuits – Score: 91 (QPR: GOOD)
The nose of this wine opens to show pomegranate, sour Bing cherry, intense rosehip, cinnamon, English lavender, and funk, with loads of dirt, earth, mineral, rich smoke, and roasted meat. The mouth on this medium-bodied wine is lovely, intensely acidic, layered, and earthy, with loads of floral notes, lavender, rosehip, smoked meat, and classic dark cherry. What stands out is the sweet oak influence of cedar, mouth-draping tannin, tart cherry/lavender, and minerality. The finish is floral, and very feminine, with herbs, graphite, toast, mushroom, and forest floor. Nice! Drink until 2030. (tasted January 2024) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 12.5%)

2022 Jean-Philippe Marchand Bourgogne, Hautes-Cotes de Beaune, Hautes-Cotes de Beaune – Score: 92.5 (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine opens to show pomegranate, sour Bing cherry, rosehip, English lavender, and funk, with loads of dirt, earth, minerality, and rich smoke. The mouth on this medium-bodied wine is nice, with great acidity, a bit beefier than the Hautes-Cotes de Nuits, rich, layered, and earthy, with loads of floral notes, lavender, rosehip, smoked meat, black plum, and classic dark cherry. What stands out is the sweet oak influence of cedar, mouth-draping tannin, tart cherry/dark plum, minerality, and how refreshing and inviting it is. The finish is floral, and very feminine, with sweet spices, floral notes, dark red fruit, graphite, toast, and mushroom. Nice! Drink until 2030. (tasted January 2024) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13%)

2022 Jean-Philippe Marchand Aloxe Corton, Sous Chaillots, Aloxe Corton – Score: 92.5 (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine is quite nice with darker plum, raspberry, cherry, and sweet spices, along with sweet herbs, floral notes, lavender, dark smoke, and minerality. The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine feels rich, layered, and smokey, dirty, with nice mushroom, forest floor, nice funk, lovely minerality, plum, ripe raspberry, dark cherry, herbal, with nice tannin, and great acidity. The finish is long, tannic, herbal, and funky, but also richer, a bit rounder, but tannic, tart, and refreshing, Bravo! Drink until 2032. (tasted January 2024) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13%)

2022 Jean-Philippe Marchand Pommard, Le Dome, Pommard – Score: 93 (QPR: GREAT)
The nose of this wine really draws you in and makes you take notice, with its intense brightness, refreshing, but yet rich with its fruit and minerality, with dense smoke, hints of floral notes, and rose, but the focus is the toast, char, tar, rich minerality, funk, loam, dirt, and dark red fruit. The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine is intoxicating, rich, and tart, layered, dirty, with nice mushroom, forest floor, nice funk, lovely minerality, dark plum, ripe raspberry, tart cherry, elegant mouth-draping tannin, and great acidity. The finish is long, tannic, herbal, and funky, but also richer, with more tannin, more fruit-focus, lovely graphite, rock, tart, and deeply refreshing, Bravo! Drink until 2033. (tasted January 2024) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13%)

The rest of the wines

2020 Elk Cabernet Sauvignon, Mount Veeder, Napa Valley, CA – Score: 92 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose of this wine is ripe, with green notes, bell pepper, smoke, herbs, dark fruit, sweet oak, crazy chocolate, anise, tar, and loads of sweet spices. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is nice, with intense tannin, scraping and draping tannin, layers of concentrated fruit, showing blackberry, plum, cassis, sweet smoke, and nice concentration. The finish is long, ripe, candied, and concentrated, with too much oak, milk chocolate, sweet dill, cloves, tar, anise, and sweet herbs. Drink by 2030. (tasted January 2024) (in San Diego, CA) (ABV = 14.8%)

2021 Chateau Castelbruck, Margaux – Score: 92 (QPR: WINNER)
This is one of the better 2021 wines I have had. The nose of this wine is nice, not loads of green, almost no bell pepper, loads of milk chocolate, loads of oak, sweet spices, cloves, cinnamon, and soy sauce. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is solid, with lovely acidity, great minerality, good fruit focus, with plum, cassis, dark cherry, ripe fruit, rich minerality, roasted herbs, great mouth-draping tannin, and sweet oak. The finish is long, acidic, tart, ripe, and balanced, with sweet tobacco, milk chocolate, and sweet herbs. Bravo for surviving 2023! Drink until 2030. (tasted January 2024) (in San Diego, CA) (ABV = 13%)

2022 Weingut Gehring Roter Hang Riesling, Trocken, Nierstein, Rheinhessen – Score: 91.5 (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine is good with honeysuckle, honeyed lemon, citrus, peach, apricot, rich orange blossom, saline, and nice flint. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is tart, showing a lovely concentration of stone fruit, peach, and apricot, all wrapped in an intense singularity of focused acidity, clementine, Meyer Lemon, hints of guava, and smoke. It has a touch of tension, I would have loved more. The finish is long, and mineral-driven, with great flint, good acidity, slate, rock, limestone, orange blossom, and honeysuckle. Drink until 2026. (tasted January 2024) (in San Jose and San Diego, CA) (ABV = 12%)

2022 Prince George 1er Choix de Cuvee, IGP Coteaux de Narbonne (M) – Score: 89 (QPR: GREAT)
The nose of this wine is simple, and solid, with good fruit, black and red fruit, nice cranberry, cherry, sweet plum, and strawberry, nice acidity, and good fruit focus. A solid simple wine for a smorgasburg. Drink now (tasted January 2024) (in San Diego, CA) (ABV = 13.5%)

2019 Viniferia Castel Luciano, Super Tuscan, Toscana IGT (M) – Score: 85 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose of this wine is ripe, candied, sweet oak, and loads of chocolate. The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine lacks acidity, too much fruit, blackberry, plum, and strawberry, and loads of vanilla, cloves, sweet spices, and aggressive tannins. Hard to love. Next! Drink now! (tasted January 2024) (in San Diego, CA) (ABV = 14.5%)

2021 Chateau Haut-Breton Larigaudiere, Margaux – Score: 84 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose of this wine said it all, green, herbal, no Jalapeno, nothing thin and tinny here, but a bit too green and very complex. The nose of nice enough with green notes, herbal, and red fruit. The mouth is ok, green, herbal, not bad, a bit thin, a bit all over, good acidity, and an overall ok wine. Drink by 2026. (tasted January 2024) (in San Diego, CA) (ABV = 13%)