Category Archives: Wine
My tasting of Bokobsa/Sieva wines – May 2023
As stated in my previous post, I was in Paris in May, and while it took forever to post these notes, I am happy to finally be getting to them at this point. I must start by thanking Clarisse and Lionel Bokobsa of Sieva/Bokobsa Wines. They were so kind to host me and let me taste the lovely wines. I was also joined by Mr. Benjamin Kukurudz, sales manager at Sieva, sadly Mendy Asseraf was onsite at a winery that day.
Late last year, I enjoyed some lovely wines at the offices, and that was now past all the COVID madness, even then. Royal Europe threw the 2023 KFWE, sans VIP, and it was solid. Bokobsa has decided to do their event every two years, so I hope it will happen around the same time as the London event in 2024! Mr. Menahem Israelievitch and Clarisse – I am hoping you can help with this, please!
The pricing of these wines is mostly cheaper in France than they are here in the USA, as such, some of the wines have better QPR scores in France. Also, many of these wines will not come to the USA, but overall I continue to be impressed by the quality of the wines and how Bokobsa’s selection and quality have grown from year to year.
In regards to the wines tasted, I tasted a 2021 red wine and it was nice! Along with a simple rose, a nice simple Chardonnay, the new vintage of the Pouyanne Blanc, sadly a wine that will never make it to the USA. The new Chablis, and a nice Brouilly.
Overall, a short visit but one that continues to show Bokobsa’s desire to make wines that work for the price and the quality. The 2021 Sancerre L’Indiscrete is a wine everyone should try and get! It is a wine I think both Avi Davidowitz (again a no-show for this trip) and I helped get imported to the USA!
My thanks to Clarisse and Lionel Bokobsa and the rest of the Sieva/Bokobsa team (especially Mr. Benjamin Kukurudz for putting up with me) for hosting me and letting us taste the wonderful wines. The wine notes follow below – the explanation of my “scores” can be found here and the explanation for QPR scores can be found here:
2022 Bokobsa Chardonnay, Vin de France (M) – Score: 90 (QPR: GREAT)
The nose of this Chardonnay is simple, green and yellow apple, smoke, flint, and candied white flowers. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine has a nice weight, and good acidity, simple with yellow apple, pear, yellow flowers, and nice fruit.
The finish is long, tart, with hints of funk, and nice rock. Drink now. (tasted May 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13%)
2020 Chateau Pouyanne Blanc, Graves (M) – Score: 91 (QPR: WINNER (In France))
This wine is a blend of 80% Semillon and 20% Sauvignon Blanc.
The nose of this wine is fun, showing mineral, smoke, green and yellow apple, quince, dry grass, and good funk, quite nice.
The mouth on this medium-bodied wine is quite nice, a lovely plush and tart vintage, with nice acidity, smoke, hay, straw, quince, yellow apple, Asian pear, herbs, and lovely minerality, with a fun fruit focus, but also great minerality, and saline. Nice!
The finish is lovely, with great acidity, straw, and elegance. Bravo! Drink by 2025. (tasted May 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 12%)
2022 Pascal Bouchard Chablis, Chablis (M) – Score: 91 (QPR: WINNER (In France))
This is a lovely wine, one that shows the beauty of Chablis, clean, professional, balanced, and piercing with acidity, fruit, and mineral.
The nose of this wine is lovely, with piercing brightness, and nice, showing green apple, pear, peach, mineral, slate, citrus, yellow floral notes, and flint. Lovely!
The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is well-balanced, with intense acidity and elegant mouthfeel, smoky, green, and yet screaming with acidity, showing freshness, Asian pear, lovely green apple, flint, mineral, smoke, and a strong fruit focus.
The finish is long, green, earthy, and fruity, with nice balance, mineral, and flint. Nice! Drink now! (tasted May 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 12.5%)
2021 Jean-Pierre Bailly Pouilly-Fume, Pouilly Fume – Score: 91+ (QPR: WINNER (In France) GREAT (USA))
This vintage is slightly more tropical than previous vintages but perfectly balanced and lovely!
The nose of this wine is lovely with notes of gooseberry, sweet passion fruit, lovely citrus, rich smoke, flint, saline, and lovely sweet pear.
The mouth of this lovely wine is ripe, layered, and concentrated, with lovely complexity, lovely flint, rich salinity, ripe and juicy gooseberry, tart pear, sweet yellow plum, and screaming grapefruit, just lovely!
The acidity, saline, and fruit hit you hard, lovely! The finish is long, tart, fruity, and perfectly balanced with great minerality and saline, wow! Bravo! Drink by 2026. (tasted May 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 12.5%)
2022 Bokobsa Rose Prestige, Vin de France – Score: 83 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose of this wine is sweet, and off-dry, with mango, pear, and raspberry.
The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is sweet, and off-dry, with mango, grapefruit, and sweet notes.
The finish is long, sweet, and slightly tannic. Drink now. (tasted May 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 12.5%)
2021 Dominique Piron Brouilly, Brouilly (M) – Score: 90 (QPR: GOOD)
The nose of this wine is toasty, smoky, and purple, with plum, dirt, orange notes, and plum blossom.
The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine is ripe, and fruity, with nice plum, dark cherry, nice acidity, a soft mouthfeel, good tannin, correct varietally, with loads of dirt, smoke, loam, and minerality.
The finish is long, dirty, earthy, and smoky, with clay, graphite, and loam. Drink by 2025. (tasted May 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13%)
2021 Chateau Le Lescot, Medoc – Score: 91 (QPR: WINNER (France))
This is the first red Bordeaux from the 2021 vintage that is not a green mess. This wine is a blend of 65% Merlot & 35% Cabernet Sauvignon.
The nose of this wine is lovely, ripe, black and red, with no green notes, a really good expression for 2021, with black and red fruit, hints of garrigue, nice smoke, roasted herbs, and rich minerality.
The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine is well-balanced, showing great minerality, graphite, smoke, earth, blackberry, dark cherry, and rich ribbons of charcoal, all wrapped in elegant mouth-drying tannin, very nice!
The finish is long, dark, and balanced with great acidity, rich minerality, good fruit, and an overall lovely wine for the vintage and price. Drink by 2026. (tasted May 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13%)
IDS tasting of current releases in Paris – May 2023
As stated I was in Paris in May, and the second tasting I had on the trip was at the offices of Les Vin IDS. I was hoping for a blind tasting like we had in May 2022, sadly, it was not in the cards for me. Hopefully, the next trip will include an IDS blind tasting! I am looking at you Ben my man!!! This post, like so many of the other Parisian posts, that are NOT yet posted, is horribly behind. My sincere apologies to Ben and the IDS team. So, without further ado – the tasting!
Le Vin IDS Wines
Thankfully, many of the supply and wine bottling issues of 2022 are gone and all the wines were available and ready to taste in May of 2023! As stated there were many wines and they would have been perfect for a blind tasting but extenuating circumstances did not allow for that on this trip.
As is customary, I ask Ben to open the windows to air out the room, as soon as I enter, as the smell of tobacco ash is always insufferable. I understand France is one of the few advanced nations in the world where smoking is still a thing. I have never tolerated it, the smell makes me retch, so Ben is always so kind to air out the room before we begin tasting his wonderful wines.
Once that was done I took in the room and I realized this was going to be an awesome tasting. There were tons of new wines and wines I had never seen yet. Since then, many of those wines have made their way to the USA.
White and Roses
The first 9 wines we tasted were the current whites and roses from Les Vin IDS. One of them is a favorite of mine, the 2018 Clos des Lunes Lune D’Argent – a lovely white Bordeaux which started a bit slow for me in 2019 but it has blossomed recently and I love it!
We started with the lovely 2022 Chateau Sainte Marguerite Cuvee Fantastique Rose, Cotes de Provence, followed by the 2021 Chateau Sainte Marguerite Cuvee Symphonie Blanc, Cru Classe, Cotes de Provence. There is only one rose this year, the Cuvee Fantastique.
Then came a wine I have not seen in many a year! The wine was the 2021 Jean Luc et Paul Aegerter Pouilly Fuisse, Premier Cru, Vers Cras, Pouilly Fuisse. A lovely mineral bomb! I am not sure of the exact vintage of the last one, but it has been a while!
Then came a lovely Sancerre, the 2021 Domaine Vacheron Sancerre, Grand Champs. Lots of fun! Followed by the 2021 Tokaj-Hetszolo Sarga Muskotaly, Tokaji, a unique and fun wine.
Then came a wine, the lovely 2021 Gustave Lorentz Riesling, Grand Cru, Alsace, a baby of a wine from Alsace made in the way I love, dry, and screaming with acidity and minerality. The Petrol joy will come later! Finally, there was a Gewurtztraminer, that was nice but the off-dry approach is one I have a hard time with. Still professionally made and a real wine that may come around for me in a few years.
Finally, there was the beautiful 2020 Domaine de Chevalier, Blanc, Pessac-Leognan. This is a famous white wine and it was a joy to taste. In the non-kosher market, the white Chevalier is more expensive than the red, as in this kosher production as well!
Red Wines
The next 18 wines – yes EIGHTEEN wines were all red. There were five of them that I had before, but the vast majority of them were new to me and everyone else at the table.
We started with a run of Burgundy wines. I can hear it now, 2021 red Burgundies, they must have all been horrible! I had ZERO expectations that I would like these wines. Still, with each of them that I tasted, I found no issues that I disliked. They were all well-made, balanced, and enjoyable. In the end, nice wines indeed! There are three 1er Cru wines and 2 Village wines.
That was followed by a nice red Cotes de Provence, a blend of Grenache and Syrah, the 2021 Chateau Sainte Marguerite Cuvee Fantastique, Rouge, Cru Classe. A nice, tart, refreshing red wine.
After that, we moved to Bordeaux country! Starting with a simple 2020 Chateau Larrivaux. The wine was balanced and approachable. Next came one of my eternal QPR WINNER wines from IDS, the 2020 Chateau La Tour de By. There were two other Chateau Tour de By wines, one was the Heritage and the other was the Cuvee Cabernet Sauvignon. All three are QPR WINNER.
The 2020 Chateau Leydet-Valentin, Saint-Emilion, Grand Cru, is a wine that I sadly cannot come to love, it is always a bit too ripe for me, maybe it would be great to taste further evolved, but such is life! The 2020 Chateau de Valois, Pomerol, is another wine I normally find too ripe, for me, even evolved ones that I have had the chance to taste. However, this vintage was more controlled and more balanced, IMHO, WINNER!
Then came a few wines we have had before, the 2020 Chateau Labegorce, a lovely QPR WINNER. Next, was the 2018 Virginie de Valendraud, another of those wines that I have a hard time with. Next came the 2019 Chateau Marquis d’Alesme Becker, a lovely, QPR WINNER, in France for sure, and a GREAT QPR in the USA.
Then came three epic wines, all back-to-back, the 2020 Chateau Lafon-Rochet, 2020 Domaine de Chevalier, Pessac-Leognan, and then the 2019 Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte.
All three of those wines are incredible. The Lafon Rochet pricing in France is really good and it is a clear WINNER in France. The last two wines, while not QPR WINNER, given the comparative pricing and quality landscape, are still GREAT QPR wines and should be in your cellar if pricing and life permits!
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Paris tasting of Royal Wines 2022 Roses and whites with some very special 2021 Reds as well – May 2023
Well, this is getting up later than I wished, but that is life (earlier than last year, but only by a few days, I sense a theme here). Life, lots of hiking, shul, and so much more, got in the way. All good, just wine and my blog had to be put on the back burner for a bit. Thankfully, I am ready to post more often now.
So, here is the story, I landed in Paris, went to the hotel, and got some much-needed sleep. I was hoping to hang with the gang in Paris, but it was Lag Ba’Omer, and well, all the folks with families were unavailable as such, it was a quick burger and some sleep!
On this trip, I did not go hunting for loads of roses and whites and most of them were sent to my hotel or Ari Cohen in advance. At this point, the hotel knows me as the wine writer, I arrive, they give me my wines without even asking, it is a well-oiled machine at this point!
The next morning, I made my way to the lovely home of Menahem Israelievitch, Managing Director and Winemaker at Royal Wine Europe. At the tasting, we enjoyed many lovely wines, and you can read the notes below, I want to point out a few thoughts on them.
- The non-Mevushal versions of the roses I have had so far from Royal are much better. Mevushal does not work well for roses, at least from how Royal Europe is doing it.
- Many of the roses I have listed below were the non-Mevushal versions that sell in Europe. The ones here in the USA are mostly Mevushal and I did NOT taste those, except for ONE. You will see below the notes for wines I tasted side-by-side, Mevushal and non-Mevushal, the Sainte B Rose, and read the notes.
- The 2022 vintage for non-mevushal white and rose returns them close to the good old days!
- There are no 2021 red Burgundy wines – but there is new stuff coming in 2022.
- I came too early to taste the oak-influenced, higher-end Chateau Roubine Inspire and Lion & Dragon wines. Otherwise, I believe I was able to taste everything this time around – my sincere thanks to Mr. Israelievitch for his incredible effort in procuring these wines from all the wineries.
- There are 12 QPR (Quality to Price) WINNERS here – BRAVO to Menachem and team and bravo to the 2022 vintage!! Some of these WINNER are not coming to the USA but the majority are!
- Finally, there are many new roses here because of the lack of Roses from Israel, given 2022 is a Shmita year.
In closing, all of these wines will get here eventually, other than the non-mevushal versions of the Roses. I cannot say that for the vast majority of wines, I will be posting over the next weeks. So many wines made in France either live and die in France and Europe, as a whole, or are made JUST for Israel. This new phenomenon started with Shaked, and others have joined in. Either way, lots of French wine is not sold in France and lots of French wine never leaves the country – just the fascinating life of French wine. Most of it is made by very small producers or ones with horrible distribution, and as such, they are very difficult to find. Thankfully, as I stated all of these wines and a few of the Bokobsa wines, a post coming soon, should be available in the USA.
My thanks to Menahem Israelievitch and Royal Wines for hosting me and letting us taste the wonderful wines. The wine notes follow below – the explanation of my “scores” can be found here and the explanation for QPR scores can be found here. The wine notes are in the order the wines were tasted:
2022 Les Marronniers Petit Chablis, Petit Chablis (M) – Score: 88 (QPR: GOOD)
The nose of this wine is lovely, with intense minerality, bright apple, peach blossom, peach, and quince. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is lovely, with bracing acidity, peach, baked apple, tart, mouth-filling, lavender, and lovely smoke. The finish is long, tart, mouth-filling, and refreshing, with saline, ocean spray, more floral notes, fresh tart fruit, and smoke. Drink Now. (tasted May 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13%)
2022 Domaine de Virvane Chablis, Chablis (M) – Score: 91 (QPR: GREAT)
The nose of this wine is a classic Chablis, bright, with screaming mineral, flint, smoke, matchstick, yellow apple, apple blossom, pear, and Asian pear.
The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is nice, tart, balanced, and refreshing, a wine that pulls you in with saline, smoke, Asian pear, yellow apple, screaming acidity, tart, ripe quince, and good precision.
The finish is long, tart, and smoky, with saline, flint, and lovely balanced fruit, really nice with good fruit focus, and precise mineral, a lovely expression of Chablis. Drink Now. (tasted May 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 12.5%)
2022 Les Marronniers Chablis, Chablis (M) – Score: 87 (QPR: GOOD)
The nose of this wine starts a bit closed but with time opens to show intense minerality, sea spray, saline, olives, green apple blossom, and nice pear. Lovely!
The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine is a bit more extracted, tart, elegant, and more focused, with great precision, showing tart green apple, yellow plum, hints of wood, Asian pear, and rich smoke, lovely!
The finish is long, tart, and smoky, but I wish it had more acidity. Drink until 2025. (tasted May 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 12.5%)
2021 Domaine du Chateau Philippe le Hardi Mercurey, Roc Blanc, Mercurey – Score: 92 (QPR: WINNER)
This is a lovely expression of oaked Chardonnay, with ripe pear, apple, flint, acacia flower, smoked nuts, almonds, cinnamon, and red peppers. The mouth of this medium to full-bodied wine is lovely, showing white pepper, cinnamon, smoke, green apple, smoked duck, ripe plum, Asian pear, lovely tart fruit, and intense minerality, with bracing acidity, mouthcoating tannin, and lovely precision and fruit focus, a fun wine indeed. The finish is long, tart, green, herbal, smoky, and fruity, with intense flint, saline, and mouthfeel, that is refreshing and exciting. Bravo! Drink until 2027. (tasted May 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 12.5%)
Another round of QPR (Quality to Price Ratio) Hits and Misses, Nineteen QPR WINNERS – May 2023
First off, this is not the largest roundup I have written – there is a larger one from October 2021. Sadly, that one only had 6 QPR WINNER. This post has 19! Also, we have a shockingly high number/percentage of EVEN QPR score wines, 26 to be exact. Either the price or the quality pushed them to this level. So, without further ado, the 62 wines I tasted over the past few months.
QPR (Quality to Price Ratio) Wines
It has been four 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 differs though, this is the first time I have seen so few N.A. or POOR/BAD QPR scores! This is not because things are getting better as much as I am selectively picking wines to taste recently. Still, many of these notes are from KFWE in Los Angeles, so it does represent a proper distribution, IMHO. We have 19 WINNER scores and a few GOOD/GREAT scores. A shockingly large number of EVEN scores, which could have snuck into POOR/BAD, and only 8 POOR/BAD.
Thoughts on the wines
Harkham is back!!!
My interest and love for all things Harkham is well known. I loved discovering the Aziza in Australia, some 13 years ago! I missed Richie that day, but I made up for that many times afterward. I thought the two Shiraz, imported by Kosherwine.com, were solid entries into the Kosher US market. The 2021 vintage was tough in Australia and these wines show Richie’s drive and passion! Looking forward to even more stuff!!
Missed Bordeaux Wines
Between my Royal Wine tasting and the rest of the wines that Avi and I tasted, we covered most of the 2020 vintage in Paris, in Nov 2022. However, we missed the 2020 Chateau Fayat and the 2020 Chateau Meyney. That has now been rectified. The Fayat is an AWESOME WINNER, while the Meyney may come around, otherwise, it is still a solid wine.
Invei Wines
Michael Kaye continues to strive to make wines that are unique while also interesting. Some are hits and some are close but either way, he continues to impress. Hopefully, as he scales up production, the cool and refreshing wines will continue to roll! His website is up and running – Invei WInes.
ESSA Wines
My dear friend Josh Rynderman continues to pump out great wines. The rose and Emunah are prime examples. I liked the rose, it is refreshing and puts a smile on my face. The Emunah is nice, not as balanced as in the past, but a solid next play. I hear more fun stuff is coming soon. Looking forward!
Hajdu Wines
A couple of weeks ago, I was at Covenant Winery to taste the Hajdu wines with my friend Elk. Elk eventually showed up, but either way, it was great hanging out with Jonathan Hajdu and seeing Elk, eventually! The wines that I tasted were all balanced, refreshing, and enjoyable. The rose and Pinot Blanc were lovely wines. The reds were balanced as well.
Herzog Wines
I tasted these wines at the KFWE in Los Angeles and also some were sent to my home to taste. Overall, I was shocked by how good the 2021 Baron Herzog Pinot Grigio and Gewurztraminer were. Balanced, tart, and refreshing, and for the price! WOW! The 2020 Herzog Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley is a hit as always, on even vintages. 2019 was not bad, but not this good!
Roundup
Overall another nice list of QPR WINNERS. I can always look at these kinds of lists and say there are only 19 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 19 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:
We have a nice list of QPR WINNERS:
- 2020 Chateau Fayat, Pomerol – Stunning wine! Enough said
- 2020 Herzog Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley, Special Reserve – Great wine!
- 2021 Hajdu Proprietary Red, Napa Valley, CA – Big and bold wine, but balanced
- 2020 Chateau Meyney, Saint-Estephe – This wine scares me but it may eventually come around
- 2020 Terra Di Seta Guiduccio, Toscana – Same with this one, it scares me but should come around
- 2020 Elvi Wines El26, Priorat – Big, bold, but far more balanced than others here
- 2021 Hajdu Menagarie, California – Nice wine
- 2021 Harkham Hark Angel Shiraz – Harkham is back in the States! Lovely wine!
- 2021 Hajdu Barbera, Sierra Foothills – Nice, tart, and balanced wine
- 2020 Hagafen Rose, Brut, Napa Valley, CA – Nice bubbles!
- 2022 Invei Gewurztraminer, Dry, Clarksburg, CA – Huge ABV but you do not feel it – loved it!
- 2020 Chateau D’Arveyers, Bordeaux Superieur – Great Mevushal Winner!
- 2022 ESSA Liv & Luv Rose, Durbanville – Not bracing with acidity, but balanced and refreshing.
- 2021 Dalton Sauvignon Blanc, Reserve, Galilee – A nice Sauv Blanc – enjoy!
- 2021 Baron Herzog Gewurztraminer, California (M) – Impressed by this wine, refreshing
- 2022 Hajdu Pinot Blanc, Anderson Valley, CA – Floral and joyous
- 2022 Hajdu Rose, California – Nice, and refreshing
- 2021 Baron Herzog Pinot Grigio, California (M) – Another impressive Herzog Baron that is tart and refreshing
- 2022 Goose Bay Pinot Grigio, South Island (M) – One of their best Pinot Grigio, tart and refreshing
A tasting of M&M Importers’ latest imports – April 2023
In contrast to my previous post on M&M imports, this follow-up post was only a couple of months apart! This post is meant to catch up with the wines that I missed in my last post. I finally got to taste the non-mevushal version of the lovely 2021 Arneis! Along with the other Sicilian and the Reserve Brunello! I also got to taste the new 2018 Falesco wines. So, yeah a few more Italian wines that I missed in the last post to round out the M&M wines that are produced under their label. Of course, they also import Les Vins de IDS into the USA, but those wines can be found under my IDS tasting.
It is also a pleasure to taste the wines from Ralph Madeb, president and CEO of M&M Importers. The BIG news is that now his wines are available on kosherwine.com! I really hope this helps to spread the good word about the work that Ralph and his team do!
Just take a quick look at the wine notes below and you will find 3 QPR (Quality to Price Ratio) WINNER scores. That is incredible for such a small number of wines. Three out of six WINNERS is another incredible value-based lineup. Unlike the previous posts’ WINNER, these wines fall in the middle of the pack in regards to pricing for their category.
Pescaja Wines
I finally got to taste the non-mevushal version of the Arneis and it is superior in all things I desire. Acidity, minerality, and verve. In the end, this is a clear QPR WINNER!
Toscana Wines
The 2016 Tassi Brunello is a fantastic wine and while I liked the 2016 Brunello, Riserva, the outcome for me was that I will appreciate the non-Riserva more. I am sure that in a decade I might think otherwise, but for now, I like the comparable calm and balance that the non-Riserva shows, at this moment.
Famiglia Cotarella (AKA Falesco)
The 2018 Falescos feel far more in balance than the 2014 vintage. The 2018 Falesco Marciliano is the one that tickles my 2006 memories, while the Montiano is close but not quite there. I did not try the 375 ml of the 2018 Marciliano, but I intend to do so soon. I guess is that it will show the notes I describe earlier than it took the 750 to arrive at.
Sicilian Wine
I got to taste the other two Sicilian wines, the Cabernet Sauvignon and the Nero D’Avola. I think this is the first kosher Nero D’Avola. This is cool and while I liked it again, the issue was balance. It has enough but I crave the texture and tension and that was where it was lacking. The Cabernet Sauvignon is just a big wine and one that I think many will appreciate.
Closing notes
This tasting was not done in a day or a week, like last time, it took over three weeks to taste through the lineup and throughout it all, I kept to the same approach. Write the initial notes at the opening, then a few hours later write any changes, and then finally over the days I would add thoughts. The wines did evolve, other than a few, and when/if they did, the notes reflect those thoughts and concerns.
My sincerest thanks to Ralph and his partner at M&M Importers for sharing their wonderful wines with us all! The wine notes follow below, listed in the order I tasted them – the explanation of my “scores” can be found here and the explanation for QPR scores can be found here:
2021 Pescaja Solei’ Arneis, Terre Alfieri – Score: 92 (QPR: WINNER)
The 3rd kosher vintage now comes in mevushal and non-mevushal formats. This was the tasting for the non-mevushal. PSA – This wine needs to be CHILLED – LIKE Champagne chilled, PLEASE! The nose of this wine shows entirely differently than with the mevushal, what hits you first is the incredible brightness, minerality, smoke, dense flint, and sheer precision. The perfume of minerality takes my breath away, with nicely ripe peach, almond, intense flint, violet, and sweet ripe pear. The mouth is medium-bodied wine is incredible, with intense acidity, rich and unctuous mouthfeel, pear, nectarine, peach, nutmeg, and lemon/lime. The finish is long, tart, ripe, spicy, and driven by its mineral core, with lovely fruit, and rich spices. The wine shows refreshing, elegant, complex, and tart all at the same time. BRAVO! Drink until 2025. (tasted March 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13%)
2016 Tassi Brunello di Montalcino, Bettina Cuvee, Franci Riserva, Brunello di Montalcino – Score: 94 (QPR: GREAT)
The nose of this wine is incredible, ripe, balanced, and mineral-driven, but equally floral, with dense underbrush, mushroom, violet, blue flowers, stone, and rock, all wrapped in red and black fruit, intoxicating and refreshing. The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine is shockingly accessible at this point, which is different from the Tassi 2016, with grippy yet mouth-draping tannin, showing a ripeness I was not expecting, with sour cherry, raspberry, black plum, citrus, intense acidity, and elegance that belies its youth but also tells a story of its future. What a lovely wine, plush, dense, elegant, smoky, and concentrated without being an overbearing beast. Really impressive! The finish is long, tart, screaming with minerality, scraping graphite, earth, loam, mushroom, intense acidity, and a sense that this wine is ready but also still holding back. Drink until 2032. Bravo!!! (tasted March 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14.5%)
2019 Feudi del Pisciotto Cabernet Sauvignon, Terre Siciliane – Score: 90 (QPR: EVEN)
I wanted to love this one as much as I loved the Merlot it is close but it is still too ripe for me. Still, this is a professional wine and one that many will appreciate. The nose of this wine starts ripe and while it slows down a bit the wine stays ripe behind the scene, with blackberry, anise, candied raspberry, boysenberry, sweet vanilla, roasted herb, and smoke. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is ripe, dense, concentrated, and smoky, with blackberry, candied raspberry, cranberry, pomegranate, sweet profile, nice acidity, some refreshing mint, menthol, anise, and sweet roasted herb. The finish is long, ripe, smoky, herbal, and concentrated, with mouth-draping tannin, sweet herbs, vanilla, leather, milk chocolate, and graphite. If I had not known better I would have said Napa Cab, but instead, it is Sicilian! Drink from 2024 until 2028. (tasted March 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13.5%)
2019 Feudi del Pisciotto Nero D’Avola, Terre Siciliane – Score: 90.5 (QPR: GREAT)
This is the first Nero D’Avola that I know of that has been made kosher. Very cool. The nose of this wine starts ripe and rife with oak, with some time that calms to show a nose of ripe black and blue fruit, floral notes of violet and rose, intense smoke, mineral, graphite, smoked Arbol chili, bay leaf, sweet cedar, tar, and grilled meat. In many ways, this feels like a Syrah mixed with a Cabernet, very unique. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is bold, intense, layered, and complex, yet too ripe for me, still, a unique wine showing blackberry, dark cherry, dark plum, boysenberry, roasted mint, menthol, floral notes, intense sweet cedar, ripe and concentrated fruit that gives way to extraction, sweet mouth-draping tannin, lovely acidity, almost refreshing, but still a bit too ripe. Nice! The finish is long, dense, and ripe, with more green notes, hot chili, smoked meat, roasted herb, loam, dust, ripe black/red fruit, and smoked chocolate lingers long. Interesting. Drink until 2026. (tasted March 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14%)
2018 Famiglia Cotarella (Falesco) Marciliano, Rosso Umbria – Score: 93 (QPR: WINNER)
This Cabernet starts ripe, but you can see it has potential, and it needs time to come around. The nose of this wine, as it opens, is ripe with mushroom, blue and black fruit, smoke, loam, earth, lovely minerality, iron shaving, tar, licorice, and rich smoke. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is ripe, layered, and concentrated, with lovely acidity, blackberry, boysenberry, dark cherry, candied blackcurrant and raspberry, mushroom, loam, rich dirt, loads of mineral, graphite, elegant mouth-draping tannin, and intense smoke. The finish is long, dirty, ripe, refreshing, acidic, balanced, and just lovely, the minerality, earth, and smoke balance the fruit until it calms, with leather, and smoking tobacco, just lovely! Drink from 2028 until 2034. (tasted April 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14.3%)
2018 Famiglia Cotarella (Falesco) Montiano, Lazio – Score: 92 (QPR: WINNER)
This merlot also starts ripe, with lovely herbal notes, and roasted blue and black fruit, with smoke, sweet cedar, tobacco, lovely mushroom, rosehip/violet, roasted animal, loam, dirt, and intense bramble, lovely! The mouth of this full-bodied wine is ripe but well-balanced, with lovely acidity, loam, mushroom, blackberry, plum, ripe raspberry, roasted animal, sweet spices, dirt, and lovely mouth-draping tannin. The finish is long dark and brooding, but balanced, with mushroom galore, concentrated, and elegant, deep graphite, smoking tobacco, crushed/roasted herb, cloves, cinnamon, minerality, lovely! The wine really will need time, the window is insane on this wine, let this wine come to you, please! Drink from 2030 until 2036. (tasted April 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14.3%)
Covenant Wines’ latest releases, five more QPR WINNER – April 2023
Well, it has been 6 months since my last Covenant Winery post and more than a month since I got the wines and tasted them, my apologies, but I am seriously behind on posts. To be fair, the weather is STUNNING now in NorCal, the rains are finally gone and that means lots of time to climb mountains and see gorgeous wildflowers, so yeah, posts have taken a backseat – apologies there. So, now on to the show!
I received the new Covenant wines in mid-march and I tasted them over a week. My initial knee-jerk reaction is that Covenant continues to show a solid focus on acidity, balance, and fruit.
Fun White Wines
The first wines I enjoyed were the new 2022 whites and rose and they were all QPR (Quality to Price Ratio) WINNERS, outside of the Tribe wines. I must be honest of the seven wines I was sent five were QPR WINNER and the Tribe was not. I know it is important to have Mevushal wines, but sadly, these did not hit the spot.
The Viognier is a wine made to make up for the lack of a 2022 white or rose wine from Israel, as 2022 is Shmita. The Rose and the Viognier were lovely, while the Sauvignon Blanc was another hit, a consistent wine indeed for Covenant.
Red Wines
The wine that really got my attention was the 2022 Mensch Zinfandel, it opened a bit slowly, but once it did, the wine was lovely, ripe, yet balanced, the way a Zinfandel should be! The 2021 Covenant Cabernet, is another hit, not as awesome as the 2020 vintage, but still another solid showing for this storied label.
My many thanks to Jeff Morgan, Sagie Kleinlerer, Zoe, and the rest of the Covenant team and family for sending me the lovely wines to taste. The wine notes follow below in the order they were tasted – the explanation of my “scores” can be found here and the explanation for QPR scores can be found here:
2022 Covenant Red C Viognier, Lodi, CA – Score: 92 (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine is varietally true, with fresh and clean aromas, tart peach, fresh cumquat, lychee, and flint. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is lovely, rich, layered, complex, and captivating, not too fussy, refreshing, and relaxing, with incredible acidity, tart, and fresh almost plush mouthfeel, peach, apricot, lychee, tart limoncello, cumquat, and ripe yellow plum. LOVELY! The finish is long, tart, refreshing, and complex, Bravo! Drink now! (tasted March 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13.5%)
2022 Covenant Red C Sauvignon Blanc, Lake County, CA – Score: 91 (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine is lovely with lychee, gooseberry, orange blossom, orange notes, and some flint. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is nice, but it starts a bit austere – give the wine time, with bracing acidity, a lovely mouthfeel, lemon/lime notes, nice gooseberry, precision, good fruit focus, and more refreshing acidity. The finish is long, tart, and green, with lemongrass, flint, orange zest, and lovely lemon notes lingering long. Nice! Drink now. (tasted March 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13%)
2022 Covenant Red C Rose, California – Score: 91 (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine shows more Syrah/Zin-like characteristics than anything else, a very nice balanced and bright nose, with tart strawberry, raspberry, smoke, and juicy plum. Nice. This is not the classic floral or orange-based rose, this is far redder in its makeup. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is lovely, again, this starts a bit closed, give it some time, showing incredible acidity, and freshness, with a refreshing profile, and fruit focus, and now the mouth shows more than just the red fruit from the nose, along with peach, juicy orange notes, and hints of orange blossom that linger long. The finish is long, tart, and refreshing with some tannin, smoke, and nice red and orange notes lingering long in a tart bed of acidity. Nice!! Drink now. (tasted March 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13.5%)
2022 Covenant Tribe Chardonnay, Lodi, CA (M) – Score: 83 (QPR: POOR)
The nose of this wine shows its flaws a bit, it smells correct, but a bit muddled, with cooked/bruised apple, peach, apple blossom, and slight oxidation/reductive notes, like browning apple peel. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is nice, it has good acidity, but the muddled apple and peach do not get elevated and while the mouthfeel is fresh from the acidity and cleanliness, the fruit is where the wine feels a bit behind. The finish is long, fruity, and balanced. Drink now. (tasted March 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13.8%)
2022 Covenant Mensch Zinfandel, Lodi, CA – Score: 91 (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine shows me what a good Zinfandel can be, controlled, blue and red, none of that Zinberry (AKA a blend of Blackcurrant and boysenberry), instead you get refreshing and bright red and blue fruit, not pushed, but still spicy, herbal, and yes, fruity! This is Zinfandel! The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine is where it loses that step, the mouth shows good acidity, and lovely focus, but the fruit is a bit too ripe for my tastes, still, very meaty, herbal, fruity, smoky, and spicy with juicy boysenberry, tart strawberry, ripe plum, and hints of black fruit, with mouth draping tannin. A solid wine and one that works well with some nice meaty and fatty BBQ ribs. After some time the wine opens and the heat calms to show a lovely, juicy Zinfandel. The finish is ripe, tart, and fruity, with great spice, smoke, roasted animal, and a dense presence. I always wonder if it is me or the wine! These kinds of wine make me wonder more. This one is right on the edge, one side is a fruit bomb and the other is a lovely fruity, balanced Zinfandel. Either way, this wine is a balanced, fruit-focused wine that will be enjoyed by many with my intense ailments! Drink by 2025. (tasted March 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14.4%)
2022 Covenant The Tribe Cabernet Sauvignon, Lodi, CA (M) – Score: 83 (QPR: POOR)
The nose of this wine is ripe and not my cup of tea, it shows less about Cabernet Sauvignon and more about an early-released wine. The nose and mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine are less ripe than it is just not fully finished before being bottled, showing fermentation notes, hints of banana, black fruit, blueberry, and nice acidity, but sadly that cannot bring this all together, still, it has nice acid, mouthfeel, and tannin. The finish is long, ripe, intensely fruity, and out of balance for my taste buds. Drink by 2024. (tasted March 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14.5%)
2021 Covenant Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, CA – Score: 92.5 (QPR: WINNER)
It may be me, but is this the first year that the Covenant Cabernet Sauvignon used an amalgamated cork? Just wondering – I drove for this for so long, just wondering. At the start, the wine shows riper than I was expecting and used to from Covenant Cab, but with time it calms, as expected. The nose of this wine is ripe, dense, and fruity, with ripe black and purple fruit, dense smoke, tar, anise, chili pepper, white pepper, iron shavings, and nice minerality. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is on the edge of balance or anarchy. On one side, is an elegant bold wine showing dense fruit, with fruit focus, herbal notes, tart/sharp chili pepper, blackberry, boysenberry, smoke, roasted herbs, anise, and a dense yet elegant mouth-draping tannin. On the other side is a wine that thankfully calms and becomes what I expect. The finish is long, fruity, ripe, dense, herbal, smoky, spicy, and mineral-driven, with lovely iron, graphite, intense and elegant mouth-draping tannin, juicy boysenberry, blackberry, Asian spice, and anise lingering long. Lovely! Drink from 2026 until 2034. (tasted March 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14.8%)
A unique tasting of Kosherwine.com exclusive wines – nice options that range outside of my QPR because of their small production
As always, I am happy to taste wines that are sent to me or that I buy, I do not normally call them out, per se, unless they are at a tasting, like with Royal, IDS, M&M, and others. This is one of those examples, where Kosherwine.com (KW) sent me 24 wines to taste. I have also added some that I bought, exclusive to KW, the Sleight of Hand Cellars, and Doubleback wines. There were also, the Harkham wines that KW started to bring in, I also bought those, but I just have not had the time to taste those yet. I remember well my time in Australia when I was one of the first people to post about the incredible Harkham Azziza Shiraz! WOW! So much fun! Even more enjoyable was hanging out with Richie at the tasting in L.A., I truly hope KW will start to import the Semillon as well soon!
Kosherwine.com’s Exclusive wines
I have spoken about exclusive wines, exclusive wine clubs, and the sort in the past. While I have no issue with them, per se, they do tend to drive up pricing. They do not drive up the price because the exclusive merchant makes a bigger cut, the prices go up because of smaller production and exclusivity.
When you make lots of small wine runs or work with small producers that are OK with exclusivity, it tends to lead to higher prices because of how the product is made. Whether it is wineries in Israel like Shiran, Ghito, Mia Luce, or Sleight of Hand Cellars from Washington State. They are all small wineries with small productions or one-off runs and that leads to higher prices.
In the end, the way I define QPR (Quality to Price Ratio), still revolves around price! So, whether the price is higher because of small production, single runs, or exclusivity, the end goal for QPR is to get a wine that meets the quality and the price of its competitors.
You will see some nice wines below, wines that I would drink, but given the pricing, I could not put the QPR WINNER tag on them. Nonetheless, if you remove the exclusive thing and just stick to the fact that these are a bunch of wines that are nice to well, Israeli reds, the tasting was fun! In the end, that is what matters.
Fun Options
Top Scoring wines
If I was a betting man, and I am not, I would wager that most people will find the Ghito whites to be highly enjoyable. I only had two of them to taste the Uphaz and the Soreqa, but I may well get some other 2021 whites to try.
The Mia Luce white was also quite enjoyable, along with the Yaacov Oryah Chardonnay.
For red wines, the Doublback was quite nice, it had green notes that threw me but overall a very nice wine.
Seven 90 or 90+ scored wines
There were also seven 90 or 90+ scored wines. These included another Ghito white, the Shiran Chardonnay, Mia Luce Syrah, a pair of Domaine Herzberg red blends, along with a Sheldrake sweet wine, and the 2019 Sleight of Hand Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, Magic.
Closing Thoughts
Overall not a bad lineup of good wines, the prices, as described above keep the QPR scores lower than I would have liked. Still, there are options here for those that want to try new wines, new blends, or unique stories. In the end, KW has done its homework, I hope that as they work on the overall product line, they can maybe also work with their partners to get the prices down.
My sincerest thanks to Dovid Riven for sharing their wonderful wines with me. The wines are listed in the order I tasted them. The wine notes follow below – the explanation of my “scores” can be found here and the explanation for QPR scores can be found here:
2021 Festa d’Estate Pinot Grigio, Provinicia di Pavia (M) – Score: 87 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose of this wine is correct with green grass, straw, quince, yellow apple, and herbs. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine feels stunted, less vibrant than it should be, the apple is bruised, the pear is browning, the fruit is not crisp, and a bit sweet, and there is good acidity, but it is just not refreshing, with some citrus, and herb. The finish is long, balanced, and with good acidity. Drink now. (tasted March 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 12%)
2021 Shiran Winery Chardonnay, Gush Etzion – Score: 90 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose of this wine is the best part of this wine with some muted fruit, not as crisp as I would hope, apple blossom, muddled red apple, muddled pear, and flint. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine feels all over the place, it has acidity but feels hollow in the middle, with red apple, pear, some citrus, and flint. The finish is long, not as refreshing as it should be as the muddled fruit detracts from the overall effect. Drink now. (tasted March 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13%)
2020 Yaffo Image White, Judean Hills – Score: 88 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose of this wine feels muted with more muddled apple and pear, peach, some smoke, and flint. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is balanced, it feels almost refreshing, with good acidity, but the fruit is where things take a step back, the muddled peach, pear, and apple, are nice enough, but what I want is crisp and refreshingly tart fruit and I feel this is a bit lacking there. The finish is long, balanced, and fruity, with pith, flint, and some smoke. Drink now. (tasted March 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 12%)
2020 Mia Luce Blanc, Galilee – Score: 91 (QPR: EVEN)
The 2020 vintage in Israel was tough, this wine has fresh fruit, the issue is there is very little of it, which is shocking for me to say about an Israeli wine! The nose of this wine is fresh and bright with tart green apples, flint, hay, funk, tart pink quince, and peach. The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine has a lovely weight, even a bit elegant, with refreshing and fresh fruit, and lovely acidity, I wish there was more fruit, with peach, yellow apple, quince, nice funk, and lovely flint. The finish is long, refreshing, and almost oily, with nice acidity, and some elegance. Drink by 2024. (tasted March 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 12%)
2021 Yaacov Oryah Chardonnay, Singe Vineyard, Yaacov’s Playground, Judean Hills – Score: 91(QPR: EVEN)
This wine is a bit closed to start it needs a few hours to fully open up. The nose of this wine is fresh and refreshing with good apple, pear, grapefruit, citrus blossom, a hint of wood, and tart pink quince. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine has lovely acidity, with a lovely mouthfeel, good citrus, quince, lemon/lime, and a nice mouthfeel, crème Fraiche, sweet oak, and nicely refreshing! The finish is long, tart, and refreshing with loads of citrus, oak, and sweet spices lingering long. Drink until 2026. (tasted March 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 12%)
The best/top kosher wines for Passover 2023 in all price ranges
As I have stated many times in the past, this list started from folks asking me to come up with a cumulative list. Sadly, this year there were just the KFWE events and then there were two events in NJ, on a Saturday night before the clock moved. I have no idea why it was at that time, but hey whatever works!
A few caveats first, this is MY list! This is not a list that will make many happy. These wines are the wines that make me happy. No wines here would be considered overripe, over-sweet, or all over the place. The wines here are listed in the order of cost. That said, the top-line wines – what I call Top-Flight wines, are not defined by cost at all. In that list, you can find a 2014 Yarden Blanc de Blanc or the 2014 Yarden Brut Rose, both are great sparkling wines. Sadly, the 2016 Yarden sparkling wines are so horrible they will not be on this list! Sad facts of life! At the same time, the list includes some of the best high-end kosher wines I have ever tasted. In the end, price does not define your place on the Top-Flight Wines, nor does QPR (Quality to Price Ratio), only pure quality gets you on this list. The list of Top-Flight wines is ALL wines that I would buy without hesitation, no matter the cost (if I can afford it of course).
Passover is a time of year when Jews buy the most wine, along with Rosh Hashanah, and the American New Year. That is why all the kosher wine events, normally, happen a month or two before the Passover festival. It gives the wineries and distributors a chance to showcase all their wines that each appeal to different market segments. So, no there are no sweet or semi-sweet baseline wines here. There are many very good 15 or so dollar bottles of wine, that can be bought at Skyview Wines, Gotham Wines, Suhag Wine, Liquid Kosher, onlinekosherwine.com, kosherwine.com, and a new store I have been buying from kosherwinedirect.com (they also ship for free if you buy a case), along with the other wine stores I have listed on the right-hand side of this blog (as always I NEVER make money from them and I never know or care what people buy, the list is whom I buy wines from and so I can recommend them to others).
Also, the amount of money you spend does not define the value or quality of the wine. Take for example the 13 of so dollar 2021 Baron Herzog Gewurztraminer, the slightly more expensive 2018 Elvi Herenza Crianza, the 2021 Domaine Bousquet Alavida Malbec, and many others. These are great wines and the great price is only an added benefit. However, many low-priced wines are not on this list, as they lack the quality required, IMHO.
Seeing the list and checking it twice (could not help myself), I am sure there will be a question – what defines a wine as a Top-Flight wine, and why are there wines that are not on it? The Top-Flight wines are wines that impressed me when tasting them. That does not mean that the 2020 Chateau Clement-Pichon, as nice as it may or may not be, can compare to another wine on the Top-Flight Wine list. What it does mean was that when I tasted one of these Top-Flight wines, I was wowed, and I said this is a wine that everyone should get – no matter the price. In the end, the Top-Flight Wines is my way to whittle down the list of wines that I enjoyed from a set of thousands of kosher wines available here in America. In hindsight, I am sure I will have missed some wines. If you do not see a wine you love and it scored a 90 or higher on this blog somewhere, then I can assure you that it was probably an oversight on my part.
Also, this is a PSA – please do not buy 2021 rose wines! PLEASE! They are muted and a waste of your hard-earned money. Sadly, there are very few 2022 roses this year, as 2022 is a Shmitta year in Israel. The best of them are just arriving and I wanted to get this list out ASAP! I will post about them after I taste them soon.
Arba Kosot (The Four cups of Passover)
Finally, it is the Jewish custom to drink four cups of wine on Passover, but to power down these wines are far too hard for me (the concept here is to drink the base quantity of wine to fulfill your requirement – which is a Revi’it, within a certain period). In the past, I was drinking red, Israeli wines that were simple to drink, not complex or impressive. However, with time, I found a better option, drink the majority of a small cup that fulfills the Revi’it quantity of wine. This way, I can drink an Israeli, not Mevushal, red wine – like a Netofa wine. This is explained more below. As has been my approach over these past many years, I think I will go with Yarden Rose Brut Sparkling wine, again. It is Israeli, not Mevushal, “red”, a lovely wine, and an acid BOMB!
For the main course, I am happy to open a Top-Flight wine and enjoy that at a calm and enjoyable pace. Another option is to get some of these great glasses from Stolzle, that fulfill the official four cups requirements in terms of volume and respect, according to most Rabbis. The glasses hold 3.5 fluid ounces of wine, which according to almost every source fulfills the concept of Revi’it.
It does not fulfill Chazon Ish’s requirements of 5.1 ounces, but if you wish to meet that requirement use these glasses by Libby’s. Also, remember that you should drink the entirety of the cups, which is why I recommend the smaller cups. If you cannot, some allow the idea of drinking the majority of the cup, but that is not the best approach. Finally, the LAST CUP, should be drunk in totality, as that is the ONLY cup upon which you say an “After Bracha (Blessing)”, and as such you must have drunk at least 3.3 ounces to say the last blessing.
NOTE: Again, I make nothing from these Amazon links, they do not have sponsor links or whatever. I do not have that and never will. These are just suggestions – buy what you want. They are only there for ideas.
Four Cup Options
Like much of what I do on this blog, I was recently asked to come up with some 4 cup options for people. I am not big on pounding good wines for the 4 cups. My Rabbi mixes wine and grape juice and pounds that. No rabbi says you must use the best wines for the 4 cups. I know that sounds horrible, but honestly, the point of the 4 cups is to drink wine in their Halachic format, not to drink great wines slowly, in their non-Halachic format. The priority is drinking red wine quickly and according to the proper shiur (assigned minimum liquid intake). Still, while I will be doing my 4 cups on the Yarden Rose Brut, I have a list of other options here. ALL OF THESE wines are available here in the USA and are at/below 13.5% ABV:
All White wines (non Top-Flight Wines) – Sauvignon Blanc:
- 2021 O’Dwyers Creek Sauvignon Blanc
- 2022 La Maison Bleue Sauvignon Blanc
- 2021 Goose Bay Sauvignon Blanc
- 2019 Jean-Pierre Bailly Pouilly Fume
All White Wines (non Top-Flight Wines) – Various:
- 2017/2018 Netofa Tel Qassar White
- 2015 Von Hovel Saar Riesling Kabinett
- 2021 Pescaja Solei’ Arneis
- 2021 O’Dwyers Creek Sauvignon Blanc
All White Wines (Top-Flight Wines):
- 2019/2020 Chateau Malartic Lagraviere
- 2020 Domaine Aegerter Meursault
- 2019/2021 Jean-Philippe Marchand Meursault
- 2020 Domaine de Montille Puligny Montrachet 1er Cru Les Chalumeaux
All Sparkling Wines:
- N.V. Drappier Carte d’Or
- N.V. Drappier Rose de Saignee
- N.V. Bonnet-Ponson Champagne, Extra-Brut
- N.V. Drappier Brut Nature, Zero Dosage
All Red wines (non Top-Flight wines):
- 2016 Terra di Seta Chianti Classico, Assai, Gran Selezione
- 2019 Rocca di Frassinello, Le Sughere di Frassinello
- 2016 Elvi Wines Herenza, Reserva
- 2020 Vignobles Mayard Le Hurlevent, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
All TOP Red Bordeaux’s:
- 2019 Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte
- 2019/2020 Chateau Pontet-Canet Grand Cru Classe en 1855
- 2020 Chateau Leoville Poyferre 2nd Grand Cru Classe du Medoc en 1855 (if not able to find)
- 2014 Domaine Roses Camille Grand Vin de Bordeaux
- 2020 Chateau Lascombes Grand Cru Classe en 1855 (if not able to find)
- 2020 Château Angelus Carillon de l’Angélus
All TOP Red Burgundy’s:
- 2019 Jean Luc et Paul Aegerter Corton-Vergennes, Grand Cru
- 2020 Domaine de Montille Pommard 1er Cru, Les Grands Epenots
- 2019 Jean Luc et Paul Aegerter Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru, Les Vallerots
- 2020 Domaine de Montille Volnay, 1er Cru Les Brouillards
- 2019 Jean-Philippe Marchand Volnay, Lous Luret
- 2019/2021 Jean-Philippe Marchand Gevrey-Chambertin
A tasting of M&M Importers’ latest imports – Feb 2023
It has been almost a year since my last “A tasting of M&M Importers’ latest imports – release post” and a week or so from the post about the three gorgeous Burgundies from Honest Grapes and M&M Importers. So, I was really excited to write this post about even more wonderful wines from Ralph Madeb, president and CEO of M&M Importers. These are almost all the Italian options; some can be found in Europe from Honest Grapes while all of them are here in the USA from some stores in and around NY and NJ. Sadly, I missed the new 2016 Brunello Riserva and the other 2 Sicilian wines. I hope to get a chance to taste those soon. There is also a Chianti Classico Riserva but that is still not here in the USA yet.
Just take a quick look at the wine notes below and you will find 6 QPR (Quality to Price Ratio) WINNER scores. That is incredible for such a small number of wines. Six out of ten WINNERS is just an incredible value-based lineup. Still, the prices are on the upper end of the QPR scale but the wines themselves are quite impressive.
Pescaja Wines
I had tasted the Barbera before last year and the Mevushal Arneis in January of this year. Both of these wines were solid though I really want to taste the non-mevushal version of the 2021 Pescaja Solei’ Arneis. A QPR score of WINNER and a GOOD is impressive.
The Barbera is a fun, refreshing, and enjoyable wine that will probably not become something more than it is right now but one never knows!
Toscana Wines
The biggest name on this list and the most expensive was the 2017 Tassi Brunello di Montalcino, Bettina Cuvee, Brunello di Montalcino. I was ready for an over-the-top, bombastic beast of a wine, a trait that seems to be the calling card of the 2017 Brunello vintage. I was shocked when I opened the wine, first, the color threw me, and then the nose. The color of the wine, a characteristic I rarely talk about, was already bricking, but that seems to be par for the course with Brunello wines. Next, the nose was shocking, it smelled like a flower shop, filled with violets, geraniums, and very floral. Over the next two weeks I let this wine talk to me, yes, I wrote two weeks! The wine never went over the hill, it was rock solid, and it improved all the way to the finish line. Even two weeks later, the wine was not running out of steam, this is a wine that is built to go for a decade-plus, easily. Over time, the wine lost some of the floral notes and became more of what I expect from a Brunello, though it never went too ripe and never lost its precision, the only real issue I had was it felt more like a very nice Chianti than a Brunello. The tannin structure told you this was no Chianti, but the weight was clearly affected by whatever the winemaker did to counteract the screaming hot 2017 climate.
The star of these four wines, to me, is the stunning 2018 Tassi Aqua Bona, Bettina Cuvee, Montalcino. The wine went up in price but it still is on the upper edge of WINNER, by a hair, and while the price is high the wine is incredible! It has this umami and cedar notes that just blow you away! The wine’s complexity, and structure. control and elegance show well and the wine is equally built to last.
I had the Super Tuscan, the 2019 Rocca di Frassinello Le Sughere di Frassinello, Maremma Toscana twice and it showed far better this time. From the time of opening till it was done some 5 days later the wine never lost a step and shined throughout. The Sangiovese fruit shows more at the start while the Merlot makes its presence felt more later in the glass. I found the wine overall to be very nice and balanced with good acidity but overall lacked a step on the Aqua Bona.
Finally, the Pinot Noir was nice enough, it showed varietally correct, but there was not enough there to interest me.
Chianti Classico
I regret not getting the 2019 Castellare di Castellina Chianti Classico when it was out and available. That wine is lovely, and ethereal while being so Chianti, in all the right ways! The 2020 vintage is no slouch and it shows beautifully! A clear WINNER!
The pricing of this wine is higher than a Chianti Classico from Terra di Seta, but it is distinctly different! TDS is a wine that is sinuous, ripe, rich, and layered. The two Castellare di Castellina Chianti Classico, both 2019 and 2020, is more ethereal. They are clearly built to last and while I gave them a drinking window of 9 years or so, I am sure they can last longer, but I do not yet have enough history with the wine to go farther.
I was not expecting a lot after having tasted some other 2020 Chianti wines but this wine shined beautifully! This is a wine to lie down for a bit but if you must enjoy one now, I would decant this two hours in advance. Bravo!
Montepulciano d’Abruzzo
There are two Montepulciano d’Abruzzo wines and I liked one of them and it scored a QPR score of WINNER while the other’s style was not my cup of tea.
The 2018 Valle Reale San Calisto, Montepulciano D’Abruzzo, Montepulciano D’Abruzzo is a beautiful wine and for the price, it is an obvious QPR WINNER. The balance, elegance, and structure all hit me while the acidity brings all that fruit and mouthfeel to bear. It is one of those wines that is uniquely Italian. The fruit, tertiary notes, leather, and smoke, were all unique in a single bottle but the telling characteristic was the bracing acidity, cherry notes, and ripeness. The bottle just screams Italian and is one that can be enjoyed now but only with a few hours of decanting. This would benefit a few years of bottle aging before diving in.
The 2018 Valle Reale Vigneto Sant’Eusanio, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo was a wine that was just too ripe for me. Eventually, the ripeness did calm but there was nothing there to find at that point. This is a wine that the new-world crowd would like and one that can maybe be a gateway wine to helping them appreciate old-world wines.
Sicilian Wine
Finally, I tasted the kosher Sicilian Merlot. This was a lovely wine that does start a bit ripe but with time it really shows its colors and shows balance with bold fruit and lovely minerality and acidity. This is a wine that you cannot judge at the opening! If you MUST open this now, I would say to decant this for some 5 hours and then pour it back into the bottle. Double decanting and 5 hours of air may shake the true colors loose but I am not promising anything. Time will let this wine be free!
Closing notes
This tasting was not done in a day or a week, it took over three weeks to taste through the lineup and throughout it all, I kept to the same approach. Write the initial notes at the opening, then a few hours later write any changes, and then finally over the days I would add thoughts. The wines did evolve, other than a few, and when/if they did, the notes reflect those thoughts and concerns.
My sincerest thanks to Ralph and his partner at M&M Importers for sharing their wonderful wines with us all! The wine notes follow below – the explanation of my “scores” can be found here and the explanation for QPR scores can be found here:
2018 Tassi Aqua Bona, Bettina Cuvee, Montalcino – Score: 93+ (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine is lovely, bright, tart, and very expressive, with notes of bramble, dirt, loam, graphite, bright red sour cherry, dark red berry, rosehip, rose petals, rich and very expressive toasted cedar, sandalwood, mushroom, and more minerality. Lovely!! The nose is so expressive from the opening and only gets better with time, impressive! The umami-centric nose is incredible with soy sauce, mushroom, and cedar notes that really take your breath away.
The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine is lovely, dirty, earthy, smoky, and precise, with good fruit focus, nice dark cherry, raspberry, tart plum, scraping minerality, loam, dirt, rose petals, and lovely mushroom. With time it opens to a rich toasted cedar expression and it overtakes the mouth with beautiful fruit, intense mushroom, forest floor, plush body, and intense dirt and minerality. Lovely! With even more time the lovely cedar calms down and the ripe fruit, intense acidity, mushroom, and smoke linger long on this full-bodied wine.
The finish is long, tart, bright, and layered, with rich minerality, intense graphite, lovely soy sauce, umami notes, loam, lovely truffle, and mushroom, loam, and dirt linger long. BRAVO! Drink from 2025 until 2033. (tasted February 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13.5%)
2017 Tassi Brunello di Montalcino, Bettina Cuvee, Brunello di Montalcino – Score: 93 (QPR: EVEN)
I rarely talk about color but this wine is brick red. The nose of this wine is a flower pot, with screaming and intense violets, rosehip, dirt, loam, tar, mint, and underbrush, with little to no red fruit on the nose, crazy! With time, the nose evolves to show lovely French oak, rich loam, dark red cherry, licorice, roasted herb, mint, garrigue, and sweet spice, lovely!
The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is lovely, with more rose, violet, and green notes, dirt, loam, and smoke, the mouth is precise and velvety, with tart plum. The real fun is the tart red berry profile, and dark sour cherry, backed by intense acidity, mineral notes, and smoke. The texture, mouthfeel, and puckering tannin structure keep getting more and more complex with time, it is still not 2016, but it has the potential to still be quite lovely, however, this needs loads of time. With even more time, the floral notes move to the background, and the puckering acidity and tannin take over, the plushness of the mouthfeel emerges and this wine is lovely!
The finish is long, tart, green, and smokey, with more flowers, nice mouth-draping tannin, licorice, and lovely acidity. Drink from 2024 until 2032. (tasted February 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14%)
Three beautiful Burgundy wines from Domaine de Montille, M&M Importers, and Honest Grapes
Now that I finally got my KFWE post completed I can get back to posting about many wines I have been enjoying recently. However, none of the wines are as good as these three 2020 Burgundies from Domaine de Montille.
The three beauties are the 2020 Domaine de Montille Puligny Montrachet 1er Cru Les Chalumeaux, 2020 Domaine de Montille Volnay, 1er Cru Les Brouillards, and the 2020 Domaine de Montille Pommard 1er Cru, Les Grands Epenots.
Domaine de Montille
Domaine de Montille is a family-owned winery located in the Côte de Beaune region of Burgundy, France. The estate was founded in 1750 and has been passed down through many generations of the Montille family. Today, the estate is run by the siblings Etienne and Alix de Montille. Etienne concentrates his time on the 37 acres of red fruit scattered about Burgundy while Alix concentrates on the stunning Château de Puligny-Montrachet and other white wines under their négociant label called “Maison Deux Montille Soeur et Frere”. Together Alix makes some 12,000 cases of white wine including 7,000 from the Puligny-Montrachet vineyards. After 2017, they folded the Château de Puligny-Montrachet brand under the Domaine’s name.
The Domaine dates back to 1730, and slowly they grew their vineyards to encompass some 85 acres of land, by the late 19th century. Sadly, piece by piece the family sold off vineyards to keep living their lifestyle. The family slowly divorced themselves from the Domaine and used it as a piggybank. Sadly, by the time Hubert de Montille took over in 1947, at the young age of 17, all that was left was 7 acres!
Hubert de Montille
Domaine de Montille is known for three time periods, as of now anyway. The first/original one, which grew the Domaine and then almost destroyed it. The next period is affectionally known as the “Hubert era”. In this period, from the 40s until 2001 Hubert made the penultimate decision to make his own wines! Until then, the family had been selling their vineyards and grapes to négociants. Starting with the harvest of 1947 Hubert decided that the quality was too good to keep selling the grapes. It was time to believe in the terroir and make a name in Burgundy using his own grapes!
Hubert’s period was known as an era of wines that were tightly wound, rich, and built to last. Sadly, the winery was not allowing for ends to meet, at the start, so he followed in the family’s footsteps and became a lawyer. Throughout that period he split his time between law and wine, and he excelled at both! The last year he sold grapes to négociants was 1961. The de Montille name started to grow through the decades with vintage after vintage quality wines that were built for the long haul.
As a youngster, Etienne was not a fan of the stodgy Domaine. It was located in the family plot in Volnay and as a child, in the 70s, few people saw the allure of Volnay. As a youngster, there was nothing there to keep him entertained when all his classmates were elsewhere. By the tender age of 18 Etienne was already on his way to the United States of America to escape the vineyards and winery. Though wine was not far away and as he slowly started working at different wineries in California his father’s success and their name kept coming up in conversations.
Eventually, Etienne made it back to the winery for the 1983 harvest and stayed in the region for 3 years while he studied law and winemaking in Dijon. After that, he took different jobs and eventually met his wife at one of them. They had a child but the marriage did not last. Throughout it all, Etienne kept close to the winery and studied under his father’s watchful eyes, notwithstanding his studies at Dijon. In 1995 Etienne became co-manger of the Domaine and brought de Montille to the next stage of its evolution!
Etienne and Organic/Biodynamic Farming
Organic winemaking was not a thing of the 40 or 70s, but it was slowly becoming a thing in the 90s and when Etienne brought it up to Hubert, though it was not his style, he agreed. Thinking it was time and a good thing for the vines.
Another thing that Etienne started to change was the overall wine profile. The early years were lean, but robust wine, low in alcohol, but also very tight and not so enjoyable for the first 20 years! Etienne was hoping to change that a bit and move from the “Hubert Era’s” tight wines to some more accessible wines. Etienne strived to make the wines more open to the consumer from the start, he minimized the extraction time, moved towards whole-cluster fermentations, and limited pump-overs. By 1998 the Domaine started its third and current era, though not officially named so, the “Etienne Era”.
Growth
Hubert slowly grew his Domaine from a Volnay-focused vineyard to other regions, by buying small parcels bit by bit in Volnay and Pommard. However, in 1993, they bought “Les Cailleret” 1er Cru de Puligny-Montrachet. Their first white wine vineyard and the ranks of their vines have grown more and more over the years.
In 2001, Etienne started working for Chateau de Puligny Montrachet, a vaunted Chardonnay-based vineyard and Chateau and one that was a mere 5 miles from their family’s estate. From that point, Etienne has been in Burgundy full-time and has not looked back. The biggest addition came when he teamed up with Domaine Dujac to buy part of the 35 acres that the Thomas-Moillard estate was selling. As part of the deal, Hubert and Etienne came away with vineyards in Vosne-Romanee Les Malconsorts, Clos de Vougeot, Corton Clos du Roi, Beaune Grèves, and more
Alix joins the family business
From an early age, Alix was a classically-trained pianist and Hubert wanted her to go into law to help him with his firm. However, after sitting in on a nasty murder case, she quickly realized that the law was not for her! She worked in some of the greatest restaurants in the world, and she is in a few movies as well, including Back to Burgundy and Haute Cuisine. However, the allure of wine would eventually pull Alix back into the fold. In 1998, Alix started working for a négociant named Alex Gambal. A few years later she joined the large négociant called Ropiteau Freres and she exerted control over how the relationship was to be between the growers and the négociant, which was a new style for that time.
Soon after, she joined Etienne at the winery, when they bought the acclaimed estate of Château de Puligny-Montrachet, and now Alix handles the white wines for Domaine de Montille. She also runs Maison de Montille with her brother and all together they make some 12,000 cases of white wine a year.
Domaine de Montille has been recognized for its exceptional wines, with numerous high scores from wine critics and inclusion in top wine guides. The estate’s wines are highly sought after by collectors and Burgundy enthusiasts.
Tasting
It took me a bit of time to get my hands on these wines but with the help of M&M Importers, I was able to taste the three wines in my home, this past month. The wines are just incredible, they were made with the help of Honest Grapes in the U.K. The last kosher Puligny Montrachet was in 2004 so I was psyched to taste this and the two 1er Cru red wines. The wines did not disappoint and while their price may be a bit steep their value is in line with what I would expect for wines of this quality.
My sincerest thanks to Ralph and his partner at M & M Importers for sharing their wonderful wines with us all! The wine notes follow below – the explanation of my “scores” can be found here and the explanation for QPR scores can be found here:
2020 Domaine de Montille Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Chalumeaux, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru – Score: 93+ (QPR: GREAT)
The last kosher Puligny Montrachet was in 2004, so this was so much fun! This wine is not like any other Chardonnay you will have, outside of maybe another kosher Puligny Montrachet. It is not a Cali Chard, for sure, it is not a Meursault, and it is not a Chablis. It is truly unique and lovely. This wine is NOT ready, it may seem so, but it needs another 5 years before you think about touching it, AT LEAST! The nose of this wine is beautiful, tart, and precise, with lovely lanolin, and an elegance that takes time to evolve, ripe Meyer lemon, lime, almonds, honeysuckle, chamomile, lavender, roasted almonds, beautiful sweet oak, and lovely minerality. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is an acid bomb, a true carpet bombing of acidity, with intense lemon/lime Fraiche, lovely honeyed almond pie, peach, freshly baked butter-infused apple pie, roasted and smoked duck, roasted pear and apricot, honeysuckle, smoked almond, toast, sweet oak, scraping minerality, and elegance. The finish is long, tart, and acidic to the core, with peach, saline, roasted apricot, and more scraping minerality, flint, rock, wow! Drink from 2027 until 2032. (tasted January 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 12%)
2020 Domaine de Montille Volnay, 1er Cru Les Brouillards, Volnay 1er Cru – Score: 93+ (QPR: GREAT)
The nose of this wine is a fruit beast, rich, ripe, aggressive, but incredibly controlled, with big ripe, and bright boysenberry, blackberry, smoke, heritage rose petals, earth, loam, smoked meat, and incredible minerality. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is ripe, with lovely acidity, lanolin, and mouth-draping tannin, with blackcurrant, blackberry, juicy raspberry, and boysenberry, ripe, precise, and truly focused, with intense minerality, sweet oak, iron shavings, rose notes, coffee, and rich smoke. The finish is long, ripe, dense, and beautiful, with more boysenberry, minerality that jumps out at you, graphite, iron rock, iron shavings, rock, smoke, and lovely milk-covered coffee beans. Just a lovely expression of Volnay! Drink from 2027 until 2035. (tasted January 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13%)
2020 Domaine de Montille Pommard 1er Cru, Les Grands Epenots, Pommard 1er Cru – Score: 95 (QPR: GREAT)
The nose of this wine is ripe but a bit more balanced than the Volnay with ripe black and red fruit, and hints of blue fruit in the background, with even more minerality, sweet spices, brighter fruit, freshly baked boysenberry pie, sweet oak, rose, and violet, just incredible, a truly controlled fruit and mineral beast. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is incredible, layered, dark, brooding, controlled, and elegant, I am running out of words to express beauty, with a rich acid core, followed by rich minerality, my mouth salivates as I taste it, incredible, with black oolong tea, dense blackberry, plum, tamarind, blackcurrant, dark cherry somewhere back there, and mouth-draping tannin, just incredible! The finish is long, dense, elegant, concentrated, and smokey with coffee, dark chocolate, tea, sweet spices, anise, cloves, tannin, and minerality. WOW!! Drink from 2028 until 2036. (tasted January 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13%)
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