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My short but meaningful trip to Israel
As stated in a previous post, I was in Israel, in early 2024. To state that things are different yet the same would be a simplification of reality. A quick, sad, yet real note, I had not been to Israel for almost 5 years, since Passover 2019. Crazy! Also, it marked a 10th anniversary, for me, and Israel, for my last meaningful trip, when again, Israel invaded Gaza, just crazy! Just read the last post (from 2014) and compare that to my takeaway post from my time in Israel for Passover in 2019.
I will not get into gloom or the such that I felt in 2014. That was indeed a very dark time for me, personally, in regards to my trip, at that time, for many reasons. This trip was sad, of course, but I thought it uplifting, given the state of the people I met. My hotels were filled with people who had to evacuate their homes, and the hallways felt like a building in Har Nof. I was perfectly fine with what was going on but I truly felt for those in these hotels. Breakfast felt more like a school cafeteria, with kids everywhere, packing lunches and the like. Just take a moment to think about what those people must feel like, what they must be going through! There was this lovely young girl whose birthday it was, one of the days I was in the hotel, she refused to have her party, in the hotel basement, because none of her friends or even family would be there. It really helps to open your eyes and realize how spoiled we all are.
The trip revolved around spending time with my family and my Rabbi and even that was limited, sadly. In the end, it was too short, it was too crazy, and I wish I had more time. Wineries and folks did reach out when they found out I was in town, and of course, I politely refused, given the already limited time I was going to be there and the people I wanted to spend time with. That said, I did carve two evenings to spend a few hours with my friends. One night I hung out with Avi Davidowitz and his family and one night I hung out with the French clan in Jerusalem. The evening with Avi and his family was lovely and the evening with the French guys was Tu B’Shvat.
We did do a large-ish blind tasting the second night, with the French guys, and I must say, the 2023 vintage for Israeli wine is horrible! There is no other way to say it, a total disaster. There are SOME okay wines, but they are the minority and the sad truth is that 2023 will be remembered as a horrible, sad, and depressing year for Israel, and the wine, at least so far, is not making up for it.
I was going to keep this short, so my many thanks to those who hosted me and the gang. I really need to thank Avi and his wife Michal and Joel and his wife Delphine for hosting me and the gang at Joel’s! Both evenings were lovely, and the food was awesome, sadly, I cannot say the same for the wine on the 2nd night. The evening with Avi and the wines were top-notch, minus a couple, listed here. The second evening was a blind tasting and man – was it painful! REALLY! All the 2023 wines were pretty much useless. There were a couple of Shmitta wines from 2022 and a couple of reds as well. Also, many thanks to Joel for taking the pictures!
The wine notes follow below, in order of tasting – the explanation of my “scores” can be found here and the explanation for QPR scores can be found here:
The first evening – none tasted blind
2021 Vitkin Riesling, Judean Hills – Score: 88 (QPR: EVEN)
The nose of this nice is nice with gooseberry, honeysuckle, flowers, and rich saline, flint, peach, and slate. The mouth of this light to medium-bodied wine is boring, lacking acidity, with some fruit, and essentially nothing to grab you. Next. (tasted January 2024) (in Jerusalem, Israel) (ABV = 11.5%)
A Quick stop in London on my way to Israel – Honest Grapes Domaine Montille and some extras!
It had been almost 5 years since I had stepped foot in Israel. I tried to rectify that issue last year but the war and the lack of planes put a large crimp in that plan. So, once I saw Lufthansa was flying planes again to Israel, in January 2024, I booked a flight and was all ready to go to Israel on a clean and simple one-stop flight in each direction. SFO-MUC-TLV and TLV-FRA-SFO. Either way, the flights forced me to stay overnight in Frankfurt, but that was life.
The flights were booked and I was planning my trip, my hotels and all, when I got this strange email from Ruth Morrell, a new name for me in regards to Honest Grapes, it read: Private Tasting of Domaine de Montille 2022 Kosher Cuvees – January 22nd. I must say that I rarely feel the need to run to such events but I was already going in that direction a day before. So after a few changed flights, itinerary, and a crazy couple of phone calls, my tickets were set to fly through London for a day.
None of this could have happened without the insane kindness, hospitality, and openness of Richard and his wife Hannah! They opened their home for me, shared their brand new wines with me and so many others, and threw the entire event in the evening so that we could all taste some wines together. A total mensch and a truly kind and wonderful person. I cannot forget the kids for putting up with me arriving early as well, an all-around very kind and overly hospitable experience! My sincere thanks!
The event was being hosted by Richard and Hannah in their home in London, later that evening, and I asked if I could arrive early and taste the wines that came just that day. The number of kindnesses by Richard and family was met by the kindness of Nathan Hill, the Bond warehouse, and two separate delivery people, all needed to play a very fine hand to meet the needs of the many, including myself!
Honest Grapes
I have written about Domaine de Montille before when I first tasted them, long after I had bought them En Primeur. However, I never had the time to talk about Honest Grapes, that was until I wrote my post on M&M Impoters, a partner of Honest Grapes and the importer of their wines in the USA.
Tom Harrow and Nathan Hill built quite the company and we have all been the beneficiaries of more kosher wines, because of Mr. Hill. Mr. Hill was very kind in the email exchanges we had along with the newly hired Ruth Morrell. They assured me that the event was on and it was going to be an opportunity to taste the following 2022 wines, though these were all barrel/tank samples.
Honest Grapes have just launched these stunning wines as en primeur in the UK. All the cuvees are exclusive to Honest Grapes and are funded entirely by us as in previous years. We are immensely proud of these wines and they follow the sold-out 2021’s from last year though production is higher, the quality is excellent and we are very confident in high critical appraise once again.
The tasting will be at the private home of one of our club members in Hendon on Monday January 22nd from 18:30-20:00 . We will enjoy a selection of canapes catered by Chef David Scott and his team that will accompany the wines. We are asking for a £40 contribution towards the canapes and waitressing staff to be paid directly to our host on the evening. We are limited to a certain number of guests so please may I ask that you RSVP as soon as you can. Address to follow.
We will be tasting the following 6 Domaine de Montille cuvees:
| 2022 | Beaune Premier Cru ‘Les Perrières’ | Domaine de Montille | Red |
| 2022 | Monthelie Premier Cru ‘Les Duresses’ | Domaine de Montille | White |
| 2022 | Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru ‘Aux Thorey’ | Domaine de Montille | Red |
| 2022 | Pommard Premier Cru ‘Les Grands Epenots’ | Domaine de Montille | Red |
| 2022 | Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru ‘Les Chalumeaux’ | Domaine de Montille | White |
| 2022 | Volnay Premier Cru ‘Les Brouillards’ | Domaine de Montille | Red |
The very cool part was that while these were what the tasting (what Nathan called the NON-RCC Tasting) was about, because of Richard’s kindness it also included the 2021 Domaine Montille wines as well!
You see the day I landed in London was the same day the 2021 Domaine Montille wines arrived, from Bond to Richard’s home! Through Richard and Hannah’s kindness, they shared the wines with us all and allowed us to taste them all in one night.
NOTE: There are EIGHT Kosher Burgundy wines in 2022, there are also two Bourgogne wines a white and a red, sadly they were not at the tasting.
The Tasting
As stated previously, I had asked Richard if I could arrive earlier and taste his 2021 wines quietly, without the noise and smells of cooking food, which would be the case later that evening.
As you read the evening would have some lovely small bites and that food was cooked in the house. So, the faster I could taste the wines the better I could feel about my notes. I arrived a bit before the chef arrived and an hour or so before Mr. Hill and Ruth did. This gave me ample time to taste the five 2021 wines that Richard had bought. I did not taste the 2021 Domaine de Montille Beaune, 1er Cru, Les Perrieres, Beaune, 1er Cru.
Overall, I found the 2021 Domaine de Montille wines to be right between the JP Marchand Burgundies and the Aegerter. Avi and I tasted the JP Marchand 2021 Burgundies in Paris in late Nov 2022 and I tasted them again in Jan 2023. The Aegerter wines I tasted in May 2023 (and again in Nov 2023) with Avi as well.
From the six times or more that I have now tasted kosher 2021 Burgundies, I can say that while they do not reach the 2020s or earlier, they are not the disaster that describes the 2021 Bordeaux vintage.
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The Best and Top 25 Kosher Wines of 2023, including the Wine of the Year, Winery of the Year, the Best Wine of the Year, and the Best Mevushal wines of the year awards
Like last year, I wanted to make this post short and sweet – so the criteria are simple. I could care less about price, color, or where it was made. All that matters is that it is/was available this year sometime to the public at large that I tasted it in a reliable environment, not just at a tasting, and that it scored a 93+ or higher.
We are returning with the “Wine of the Year”, “Best Wine of the Year” “Winery of the Year”, and “Best White Wine of the Year”, along with a last year’s new addition the – “Best Mevushal Wine of the Year”. Wine of the Year goes to a wine that distinguished itself in ways that are beyond the normal. It needs to be a wine that is easily available, incredible in style and flavor, and it needs to be reasonable in price. It may be the QPR wine of the year or sometimes it will be a wine that so distinguished itself for other reasons. The wines of the year are a type of wine that is severely unappreciated, though ones that have had a crazy renaissance, over the past two years. The Best Wine of the Year goes to a wine well worthy of the title.
The Mevushal wine of the year is something I dread. I understand the need for a wine that can be enjoyed at restaurants and events, but when we start seeing Château Gazin Rocquencourt and Chevalier de Lascombes go Mevushal – we know we have a problem. As I have stated in the past, if this is what needs to happen, then please sell both options as many do with Peraj Petita/Capcanes, Psagot wines, and many others. Still, it is a wine and as such, it needs a best-of-the-year moniker, so we do it once again!
This past year, I tasted more wines than I have ever, in the past. Now to be clear here, I did not taste many Israeli wines as they have proven to me over and over again, even with the much-ballyhooed 2018 vintage that they are not worth my spending my money on. Still, I did taste a large number of Israeli wines both in my home and at KFWE events. I spent a fair amount of time tasting all the French and European wines I could get my hands on and I feel that is where I added the most value, IMHO. For those who like the Israeli wine style – other writers/bloggers can point you in some direction. This past year, was a return to below-average because of the massive failure in Bordeaux and all over Europe in the 2021 vintage.
We were spoiled with the 2019 wines from Bordeaux and all over Europe, even the 2020 vintage had OK options. This year, there are FOUR wines from Royal Wine’s portfolio (really three) they are the 2017 and 2018 Elvi Herenza, Reserva, the 2021 Domaine Raymond Usseglio & Fils Chateauneuf du Pape, and the 2021 Herzog Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley. Overall, 2021 from California is what I am buying from the 2021 vintage, worldwide, outside of a few wines, for vertical interests, and the CDP.
The vast majority of wines on this list are from M&M Importers and a couple from Andrew Breskin’s Liquid Kosher portfolio. This is a FIRST for me and these lists and I am truly happy to see Italy and other regions rising to the top of the lists. There are a couple of Four Gates wines as well.
There are also interesting wines below the wines of the year, think of them as runner-up wines of the year. There will be no rose wines on the list this year, none were close to this star-studded group. This year we had a crazy large number of WINNER wines, 152 in total, but the top-shelf wines were smaller with fewer.
Now, separately, I love red wines, but white wines – done correctly, are a whole other story! Sadly, in regards to whites, we still had no new wines from Germany, still. Thankfully, we have some awesome entries, from the incredible 2021 Gustave Lorentz Riesling, Grand Cru, 2020 Domaine de Chevalier, Blanc, 2020 Domaine de Montille Puligny Montrachet 1er Cru Les Chalumeaux, 2021 Chateau Olivier Blanc, Grand Cru Classe, and the 2021 Domaine Vacheron Sancerre, Grand Champs. This will be the largest number of white wines in the top wine list for any given year – I hope we have NOT hit peak White Wine! We need more options. Thankfully, there are also many good lower-priced white wine options as well in the kosher market a large shift is underway!
The wines on the list this year are all available here in the USA, and in Europe, and a few can be found in Israel, as well. 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 2023 Kosher Winery of the Year
This award continues to get harder and harder each year. The sad cold, hard truth is that there are too few great kosher wineries. When I started this award, some 4 years ago I thought it would only get easier. Sadly, there are a few truths that limit my ability to give out this award.
First, as much as we have been blessed with great Kosher European wines, in the past 6 years, most of those blessings come under the auspices of single-run kosher wines. Chateau Leoville Poyferre, Château Smith Haut Lafitte, you name it, are all based upon kosher runs. What we have in Europe, kosher-winery-wise, is Terra di Seta, Cantina Giuliano, and Elvi Wines (including Clos Mesorah). Along with this year’s winner, Domaine Roses Camille. Officially, Domaine Roses Camille only became 100% kosher in 2020, but for all intent and purpose, they have been producing the vast majority of their wines in kosher, since 2011.
The requirements to receive this award are simple, the winery must be kosher, not a kosher-run, the quality must be consistent, and the wines must be readily available. The last requirement is the main reason why Four Gates Winery has yet to win the award, but at this point, it is only a matter of time, as kosher wine availability is becoming less of an issue overall, given the sheer number of cult-like kosher wineries that exist today.
This year the award goes to Covenant Winery. I have been pounding the table about the good wines coming out of there over the past two years. Yes, there are a couple of wines I do not love, but given the vast swath of wines they make, the vast majority scored a 91 or higher.
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A tasting of M&M Importers’ current wines – February 2024
I did it again, too much time has passed from my previous post on M&M imports, and this follow-up post is some 9 months apart! This post is meant to not only catch up with the wines that I missed in my last post but also to show ALL the current wines available from M & M Importers.
It is always a pleasure to taste the wines from Ralph Madeb, president and CEO of M&M Importers. The BIG news is that now some of 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! More info on M & M Importers can be found here.
Where can you find the wines?
Let us get the obvious out of the way first, it is very hard to track what M&M imports and where they are for sale. As stated above kosherwine.com is selling some of them and IDrinkKosher.com also sells them. Neither is the best option because KW has a limited number of the total portfolio, more of that in a moment and IDK is solid, both in pricing and in what they buy. However, knowing what is ACTUALLY available is almost impossible unless you show up at the store. I have been at the store a few times and they have great prices and good storage – again the issue lies in knowing what is actually for sale, as the website is never updated. Calling in does not help much either, but this post is here to shed more light on the matter. I know Ralph is working very hard on this matter and I hope we get more news on this soon.
UPDATE: You can now buy many of the SKUs from elkwine.com! Elchonon Hellinger is a dear friend and as always, I make NOTHING from your purchases, but if you live or are visiting the Miami area, please look him up! If you do not find what you need on the site, text him on Whatsapp: 17867501019, he is adding more SKUs as fast as he can!
Portfolio
If anyone wants to get a bird’s eye view of Ralph Madeb they should listen to the great podcast series from Simon Jacobs – The Kosher Terroir. The episode that focuses on Dr. Ralph Madeb and M&M Importers is this one.
From a Fifty Thousand Mile view, Ralph started his adventure as a mixture of importing IDS wines while also creating his own. Even when he was bringing in some IDS wines, it was not all of them, and access to them was almost impossible.
Since then, things have grown, by leaps and bounds and now they produce or import more than 70 wines.
Again, aside from the accessibility to/of these wines, for the average guy, not living in/near/around NYC, let us talk about what they are and where they come from.
IDS makes wines from all around France and you can find all my wine notes from November 2023, here. Between, Pinot Noirs from Burgundy, famous estates from Bordeaux, and now famous estates from Alsace, Provence, and Sancerre, IDS has expanded its portfolio over these past 10 years.
Names like Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte, Domaine de Chevalier, Chateau Lafon-Rochet, Chateau Marquis d’Alesme Becker, Virginie de Valandraud. Chateau Labegorce, Chateau la Tour de By, Chateau de Valois, Chateau Leydet-Valentin, Chateau Trianon, Chateau Sainte Marguerite, Domaine Aegerter Gevrey-Chambertin, Domaine Aegerter Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru, Domaine Aegerter Nuits-Saint-Georges, Domaine Aegerter Beaune Premier Cru, Gustave Lorentz, Tokaj-Hetszolo, Domaine Vacheron Sancerre, Jean Luc et Paul Aegerter Pouilly Fuisse, Jean Luc et Paul Aegerter Meursault, Clos des Lunes Lune D’Argent.
These are wines made by and for IDS and M&M imports them and sells them locally here in the USA.
Mercier Wines
When you see names Chateau Cantenac Brown, Château Saint Martin Rouge and Rose, Domaine Lebrun Pouilly Fumé, Château Rayne Vigneau, Chateau Fayat, Chateau Olivier Red and White, Chateau Clement Pichon, Alphonse Mellot Sancerre, La Moussiere, Chateau Haut-Marbuzet, and Carillon d’Angelus, these are all made under the auspices of Maison Mercier.
Some of these wines are imported and sold by Royal Wines and some are imported and sold by M&M Imports.
They make many other wines and they import a large portfolio of Israeli wines into France as well. Most of the French wines are made under the watchful eye of Pierre Miodonick, whom I have written up on a few times.
These are really big names for Kosher, much like Royal makes with Pontet Canet, and IDS makes with Smith Haut Lafitte. Any time we can get kosher wines from Angelus and Pichon things are moving in the correct direction. Still, the prices are sky-high because of the added partners in the process.
Honest Grapes
Tom Harrow and Nathan Hill (a man I met for a few hours recently, more on that in a few posts) built an impressive wine club system. They are happy to sell you wine here and there, but their business is built on wine clubs and events. They have been in business since 2014 and they started a kosher line in 2017. Like much of their business and clubs, they run using a mix of crowd-sourcing and partnerships.
The 2017 and 2018 vintages were all sold out long ago as they were both crowd-sourced and sold to those who signed in to the En Primeur. The 2019 vintage was a change, they expanded and with that expansion came a bit more space for non-club access. They expanded a bit because of demand and also because of the appearance of M&M. That was a bit ahead of schedule, and there was no real extra access, at that time, mostly leaving the wines to be sold En Primeur.
The 2020 vintage was when the partnership helped Honest Grapes to expand and make more of the small winery plots kosher. Remember, it is not like they can go from 1000 bottles to 1100 or 1200 bottles. Everything is still barrel based. Either the barrel (25 cases of 12 bottles) is kosher or it is not! These plots are so small, for the most part, that it was not long before the plots were vinified 100% kosher.
The impressive wines in this portfolio are a mix of Bordeaux and Burgundy:
- Chateau Teyssier (QPR Homerun)
- Vieux Château Mazerat
- Le Dôme Kosher
- Pontet Labrie
- Domaine de Montille Pommard Premier Cru ‘Les Grands Epenots’
- Domaine de Montille Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru, Les Chalumeaux
- Domaine de Montille Volnay Premier Cru ‘Les Brouillards’
- Domaine de Montille Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru ‘Aux Thorey’
- Domaine de Montille Beaune Premier Cru ‘Les Perrières’
- Domaine de Montille Monthelie Premier Cru ‘Les Duresses’
- Domaine de Montille Bourgogne Blanc
- Domaine de Montille Bourgogne Rouge
Right now, M&M only has two wines for sale from Honest Grapes, the 2019 Chateau Teyssier (QPR Homerun), and the 2020 Domaine de Montille Volnay Premier Cru ‘Les Brouillards’.
The rest of the 2020 Bordeaux and the 2021 Burgundies are still in route and will be here soon enough.
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Final Tasting from my trip to Paris – November 2023
As stated in my previous post, I was in Paris in November, with Avi Davidowitz from Kosher Wine Unfiltered. The number of boxes in our room was not nearly as insane as last year. Last year, we had some 80 wines, this year we were at a measly 62. Of those 62, Avi did not get a chance to taste all of them, as he had to get back to Israel. It was a miracle he was even able to come in the first place and I really thank him and his family for him making it to Paris with all that was going on in Israel.
We were in Paris for a week and during that time Avi not only got to finally see some of Paris but we had three organized tastings and we had some Hotel time to taste other wines. Given the constraints, we sadly, did not have time to do these blind. I hope next year, we will make it a priority. Heck, at this point Avi has seen as much of Paris as I have, though he really does need to go to the Musée de l’Orangerie and some more of Musee d’Orsay. Heck, even a bit of the Centre Pompidou will not hurt him, but we have next time! B”H!!!
Like last time, I wanted to break up the normal approach, or taste wines from the distributor or wine producers and instead taste the wines in their respective groups. So the wines listed below are in the order we tasted them and in the groups, we tasted them.
Rhone & White Wines
Red Rhone wines were the first round of wines we tasted. I will take the blame here. I normally get rid of the white wines first, but I wanted to stick to regions and we did not have all the wines at the start, so yeah, the tasting order, at the start is a bit wonky.
Most of these wines were from Cedev, but a few also came from Yavine.fr. There were ten reds and three whites. The overall impression of the 13 wines was not impressive, though there were two nice wines from Yavine and Les Vins de Vienne and one from Domaine de Corps de Loup.
To start, the prices of some of these wines in France are outrageous and they are no better here in the USA (though some of these are only available in Europe). The others are barely OK wines and the price really is irrelevant. The best was the Yavine Les Vins de Vienne Crozes-Hermitage (white and red). The Domaine de Corps de Loup’s price was outrageous but it is a nice enough wine.
The Cedev wines rated OK to poor. The showing may be their best yet, but I have no need to buy any of them. They do have some interesting wines, like a Kosher red Vacqueyras, I just wish they tasted better.
In the end, the relationship between Yavine and Les Vins de Vienne continues to produce good wines.
Finally, if someone had asked me the day I came home, what was the best NEW wine I tasted on your trip – the answer would have been very simple – that is the 2021 Chateau Olivier Blanc. DONE. I would then have dropped the mic and walked away. It is an incredible wine! The 2020 vintage was nice enough, but the 2021 is shockingly incredible. It is clear that the 2021 vintage is really not good for Cabernet-based wines or even for some Merlot-based ones. It feels a bit like 2013 when the whites were incredible. We had no kosher white 2013 wines, but we had the 2013 Piada, yeah it is white, but it is sweet, and yeah, that was/is incredible!
2021 is a tough vintage for Bordeaux and 2022 is NOT what folks have hyped it – so far
This section is going to be tough. The 2021 vintage is a lost cause. Sadly, a large number of Bordeaux wines were made in 2021. There were no red wines made in 2021 from the wines we tasted in the hotel that were QPR WINNERs. There are four 2022 QPR WINNER wines but I continue to stress, that in the kosher world, for me, so far, 2022 is not the panacea or quality that the non-kosher world is hyping. Sure, we have not yet tasted the Chateau Pontet Canet. LOL! My real hope is that the 2020 Moulin Riche, Montviel, Royaumont, and so on, will NOT be like the 2018 vintage! NO! Please no! We want more of the 2014/016 vintage. Sadly, from what we have seen so far in the kosher wines, it is not what those on the outside are talking about. But, the final answer will be when we get to taste the big boys in November and Feb 2025. Yeah, 2025!!
Of this group, the standouts were the Taieb 20222 wines. No surprise here, Taieb continues to prove that great wine does not need to come from the Grand Cru names. Still, there were 2022 wines that were a ripe mess, but that happens with every vintage. My main issue here is that outside of these four wines we have found no other 2022 vintage that we liked enough to give it a QPR WINNER score. As stated, time will tell.
Other regions tasted with Avi
Literally, nothing here to talk about – next! So much pain!!
Elvi Wines
Elvi has another two QPR WINNER wines, while the 2020 Rioja Crizana (Mevushal and not) is not my cup of tea. The 2021 Clos Mesorah and the 2022 Herenza White are lovely wines. Sadly, because Royal can not sell the Herenza White (AKA Invita), the only place I get to taste the current vintage is in Paris or Europe. It is pathetic, that the USA cannot appreciate the joy and happiness of the Herenza white, but hey, that is OK! They sell out in Europe anyway, this is just the loss to those of us living in the USA!
The 2021 Clos Mesorah is another WINNER and yeah, lovely wine, ripe, bold, and concentrated, but with lots of soy sauce and umami. Great stuff and it shows the complexity that so many other wines we tasted lacked.
Other regions tasted without Avi
This is mostly a press release for the Terra di Seta wines I have yet to taste! JOKING, I do not do a press release wine posts, but yeah, the wines are nice. Look, something has changed at Terra di Seta since 2019, I do not know what it is. Sure, the 2019 Chainati Classico was not bad, it was a bit short, but ok. The 2020 vintage was OK as well, while the 2021 vintage was a real mess. The 2019 Riserva was a hard pass for me at the start. It took a couple of days and then I came around to like it enough but even there, the Riserva did not meet what I expected from TDS. Time will tell what is happening or if the Riserva or Assai are good in the later vintages. I have always felt that the Riserva wines were the real age-worthy wine. I have had my issues with the Assai. Still, something is amiss in the last three years. I am hoping that things will change back soon!
I tasted a bunch of wines in June of 2023. They were at a wine event and they were imported by BAM Imports. I wrote about them here. Well, it turns out I had them again, without Avi in Paris and they showed far better. This can always be an import issue, bottle variation, or who knows what. Still, the concern is clear and the wines were not evil in Paris, so who knows!
Finally, I had a couple of wines in the hotel after Avi left and the WINNER of those was a lovely Ribeauville Pinot Noir! I know the joke, Kosher Alsace Pinot Noir is too cheap to clean the car with. Still, this vintage was a SOLID QPR WINNER. Of course, import it to the USA, and goodbye QPR! Still, for those in Europe, ENJOY! This is a daily quaffer HOMERUN!
Where can you buy these wines?
So, the Cedev wines are in the USA, I have no idea what stores are selling their wines sorry. The Olivier and others from Mercier are imported by M&M (AKA Ralph) and sold by Kosher Wine Direct. The Taieb wines will make their way to the USA soon, and should be available by Liquid Kosher, and Elk (you can contact Elk, listed to the right on the desktop view of this page) has/should have them as well. Finally, the TDS and Elvi wines will get to the USA soon or are already here. The biggest issue I find, outside of Royal Wine produced wines, is distribution for the kosher wine buyer. It is almost impossible for the average Kosher wine-buying Joe, to know where to buy each and every SKU/wine, it is crazy!
Thoughts on this tasting
OK, so overall, this tasting was a disaster, much like most of our hotel wine tastings. Look, Kosher plonk exists in spades in all regions of the world! The USA may have the largest availability to them, but Paris is not far behind! That is the MAIN takeaway! Followed by that is the horrible 2021 vintage (other than white wines). Finally, 2022 is not all it has been cracked up to be. OK, that is a wrap for Paris 2023! Looking forward to my next trip over the pond!
Before I forget – Avi took all the pictures from this trip so if you dislike them, blame him. If you love them disregard the previous sentence! Thanks, buddy!! Finally, while most of these deliveries were to the hotel this time, my man Ari Cohen, AKA El-Presidente of Bakus Wines, still put up with our many deliveries. Thanks as always! These hotel tastings could never happen with you, my man!!!
The wine notes follow below – the explanation of my “scores” can be found here and the explanation for QPR scores can be found here:
—————————— Rhone & White Wines ———————————————-
2022 Domaine La Martinelle Cotes du Rhone Villages Visan, Cotes du Rhone – Score: 78 (QPR: POOR)
This wine is painful, it smells hot, it tastes hot, and it feels painful, literally. It also tastes like the wine came out of the wine vat early, AKA, hard pass! The wine has no acidity, loads of astringent, and uncontrolled tannin. Next! (tasted November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 14.5%)
2022 Vignobles Vuillemin de Valois Bonne Etoile, Cotes du Rhone Villages – Score: 87 (QPR: EVEN)
This wine is a blend of 70% Syrah, 15% Grenache, and 15% Carignan. This is a solid wine for a good price the wine has nice acidity, showing blue, red, and green notes, and earthy, smoky, dirty, and loads of graphite. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is solid is nice, with good acidity, nice tannin, good fruit, herbs, nice blueberry, raspberry, roasted herbs, soft tannin, and graphite. The finish is nice, tannic, fruity, simple, and not asking for much. Drink now. (tasted November 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 14%)
IDS tasting of current releases in Paris – a second time – in Nov 2023
As stated in my previous post Avi Davidowitz, from the Kosher Wine Unfiltered blog, and I went to Paris and had three organized tastings. This was the second organized tasting of the trip and it was with IDS. IDS is officially called Les Vins IDS and IDS stands for International Distribution Service. On a lovely Wednesday afternoon, Avi and I jumped in an Uber and went to see Ben Uzan at IDS’s offices.
Le Vin IDS Wines
Many of the wines I tasted that day were wines I had tasted 6 months earlier in May 2023. There were two wines that I had not tasted earlier, the 2022 Chateau Sainte Marguerite Cuvee Fantastique Blanc. In May it was the 2021 vintage. The other new wine was the 2020 Chateau Trianon, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru. We got the chance to taste the 2018, 2019, and 2020 vintages side-by-side, which was very cool!
Ben was so kind to have aired out the office room before we came in, 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. I was not expecting a full replay of the May tasting, it was a true treat, and my many thanks. The full outlay was not for me, this was a very kind gesture by Ben for Avi and Ben’s other guests/friends, I was just a lucky recipient. It also gave me the time to take in this tasting in a far less rushed approach, as the wines were mostly tasting the same as they were 6 months ago. However, and this is important, it did give me a chance to better appreciate some of the wines. So, you will see some scores and note changes from the previous tasting. I will note those by RESCORED at the start of the notes.
This tasting was beyond comprehensive, this tasting was essentially the entire current wine portfolio of IDS. If IDS sold the wine it was at the tasting. There will be new 2021 wines released soon, if not already, in France, but the wines in this tasting are all available in France unless they are sold out. For example, maybe the 2019 Chateau Smith Haut-Lafite, but again, I have no idea of IDS inventory stocks!
In regards to whether these wines are here in the USA, the vast majority of them are indeed imported by M&M Importers and should be available in the NYC area.
White and Roses
The first 8 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 that 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 2022 Chateau Sainte Marguerite Cuvee Fantastique Blanc, Cru Classe, Cotes de Provence. There is only one rose and white this year, the Cuvee Fantastique.
Then came the lovely 2018 Clos des Lunes Lune D’Argent, it continues to impress, improve, and show its age-ability. I have been so badly burned with poor aging white wines, even from France/Europe, that I pull back hard on my DW. I would rather enjoy than curse at my wines! This is one of the RESCORED notes.
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!
Ben did not pour the Gewurtztraminer, as Avi had it earlier, it is a nice wine 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.
Then came the 2021 Jean Luc et Paul Aegerter Pouilly Fuisse, Premier Cru, Vers Cras, Pouilly Fuisse. It is a wine we have not had in Kosher for a long time now. 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! This is one of the wines that I did do a RESCORED on. It has truly moved along since May.
Followed by the 2021 Tokaj-Hetszolo Sarga Muskotaly, Tokaji, a unique and fun wine.
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! This too, is one of the wines that I did do a RESCORED on.
Red Wines
The next 23 wines – yes TWENTY-THREE wines were all red. I had tasted them all before in May and other times before that, other than one, the 2020 Chateau Trianon.
We started with a run of Burgundy wines. I can hear it now, 2021 red Burgundies, they must have all been horrible! As I stated in May, I was not expecting much, even now after only 6 months, but they were exactly the same as they were 6 months earlier. They are 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 the 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.
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Paris tasting of Royal’s 2021 and other French wines – November 2023
With my last KFWE post, I have now caught up to my trip to Paris in November, which I think is awesome, because I was really behind! This was a multi-day tasting trip with Avi Davidowitz, from the Kosher Wine Unfiltered blog. It started with a massive tasting of Royal Wine’s latest releases, followed by two more organized tastings, and many tastings we did in our hotel room, as usual.
The first organized wine tasting that Avi Davidowitz, from the Kosher Wine Unfiltered blog, and I went to, during our last trip to Paris, in November 2023 was with with Menahem Israelievitch in his lovely home.
In May I made my way to Paris and I posted the Royal wines I tasted, they were mostly white, rose, and a fair number of red wines as well. For the past many years, I have been tasting the new releases from Royal wines with Menahem Israelievitch. Two years ago, because of COVID-19, I tasted the 2018 vintage in my house. Thankfully, those days are over and things have mostly returned to normal.
The 2021 Vintage in Bordeaux
Vintage-wise, I think 2021 is a mess. I say that because that is the overall feeling I get from tasting the wines from Royal and countless other producers. The 2021 wines, on average, the poor wines, show in one of these three styles:
- Thin-tasting wine that is overly green and has notes of Jalapeno and bell pepper
- Medium-bodied wines that are horribly hollow and overpowering with their Jalapeno or sometimes cooked/candied Jalapeno notes
- Over-ripe and candied cherry wine with green notes
Looking through this list of wine notes below, for the 2021 vintage, and the ones coming for the other wines we tasted from this vintage, you will see a pattern, low scores, and very few QPR WINNERS. Mr. Israelievitch and the team did a wonderful job with these wines given the product (aka the grapes) they had to work with. There are 6 QPR WINNERS here and some good wines.
In comparison, the 2020 vintage was OK, there were some clear WINNER wines, with the 2020 Pavillon de Leoville Poyferre and the 2020 Chateau Montviel. Though 2020 had 11 QPR WINNER wines. The truly great vintage was the 2019 vintage as I stated many times already, but even there the 2019 vintage only had 13 QPR WINNER. It was the most balanced vintage so far, outside of 2014, and some of 2015. Of course, PLEASE be clear, I speak of kosher wines. I am sure many think 2020 was the perfect vintage in Bordeaux. However, IMHO, and I think I have tasted every kosher wine made from Bordeaux, over the past 8 years, 2019, 2014, and some of 2015 were the winners.
The 2014 vintage to me, was crazy fun because it is less ripe than the 2015 or 2016 vintages. They were also FAR cheaper. Then you had the 2015 wines which were more expensive and far riper than the 2014 vintage. This 2016 vintage is the best of both worlds, but it comes at a crazy high price. I warned you at that time, during the epic post of my visit to Bordeaux with Mr. Israelievitch, that you better start saving your money, sadly nothing has changed about that. The REAL shocker price-wise of the 2016 vintage was Chateau Malartic, which rose to almost 150 or more a bottle! That was close to double the 2014 vintage.
In a previous post about the most recent French wines (at that time in 2017) that were arriving on the market – I already spoke about pricing and supply, so there is no need to talk that over again in this post.
NOTE: Mr. Israelievitch only had the Mevushal 2021 Chateau Gazin Rocquencourt Grand Vin, Blanc. I will have to wait until I return to Paris to taste the non-Mevushal as the USA imports only the Mevushal version.
Mevushal Wine Push
The Mevushal push, from Royal wines, is continuing for the USA labels. More wines are being made in a Mevushal manner and while I wonder if this is good overall for myself, it makes sense for Royal wines, which in the end, I guess is what matters to them. Will this be an issue? In the past, I have found that the mevushal work of Mr. Israelievitch is top-notch, and just ages the wine rather than ruining it. Sadly, that trend has been failing in recent years, especially when it involves white and rose wines. More and more the mevushal white and rose wines have shown a difference between the two variations, mostly in regards to acidity. I have no idea why the flash affects the acidity but it has been clear to me and the best example was the 2019 Gazin Rocquencourt, Blanc. The non-mevushal version is solid while the mevushal version was not.
So, once again, as I have been doing for YEARS, I will again ask Royal to treat their own, personally made French wines, with the same courtesy that they show Binyamina, Psagot, Capcanes, Shiloh, and others. Why are you OK with importing BOTH the mevushal and non-mevushal versions of wines that are not worthy of the glass they are in but are more than happy to throw a blind eye to wines you personally produce? The French wines deserve better and again, I AM ASKING for you to import BOTH the mevushal and non-mevushal versions as you do for so many other brands.
The Mevushal wines from France for the 2019/2020/2021 vintages will be the
- 2022 Les Marrionniers Chablis, Petit Chablis
- 2022 Les Marrionniers Chablis, Chablis
- 2022 Domaine J. de Villebois Pouilly-Fume
- 2022 Domaine de Panquelaine
- 2022 Domaine J. de Villebois Sancerre
- 2022 Chateau Les Riganes, Bordeaux
- 2022 Chateau Genlaire, Bordeaux Superieur
- 2021 Des Barons Edmond & Benjamin de Rothschild Les Lauriers, Montagne Saint-Emilion
- 2020/2021 Barons Edmond & Benjamin de Rothschild, Haut-Medoc
- 2019 Chateau Greysac, Medoc
- 2021 Chateau Le Crock, Saint-Estephe, Bordeaux
- 2020/2021 Chateau de Parsac
- 2021/2022 Chateau Les Riganes, Blanc
- 2019/2020 Chateau Mayne Guyon
- 2021 Chateau Tour Seran
- 2021 Pavillon de Leoville Poyferre
- 2021 Chateau Gazin Rocquencourt (Blanc and Red)
- 2021 Chevalier de Lascombes, Pessac-Leognan
- 2022 Clos Triguedina Malbec du Clos
- 2021 Chateau Lamothe-Bergeron
- 2021 Chateau Roubine Lion & Dragon, Red
Now does mevushal impede the long-term viability of aging in regards to the wine? Well, that too is not something that we have scientific proof of. I have tasted a mevushal 1999 Herzog Special Edition and it was aging beautifully! Same with the Chateau Le Crock, over the past few years. So, would I buy the mevushal versions of the wines I tasted below? The answer is yes! Would I age them? Yes, I would hold them for slightly fewer years. To me personally, it is very clear, that if Royal had their way they would make the Pontet Canet Mevushal! Nothing to Royal is sacred and this will not stop with the list above, it will grow, proof is Chevalier and Gazin were made mevushal in 2019. Now Pavillon and others in 2021. I personally guess the next wines to be Mevushal will be Chateau Moulin Riche and Chateau Tertre, IMHO.
Other than the mevushal aspect, there are no differences between the European version of the wines and the USA version of the wines. While that sounds obvious, I am just stating it here. The wines will be shipped now and the temperature issues that affected Israel’s wines of old, have not been a factor here.
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Klal Yisroel is suffering – is wine really that important??
This post comes to me with great trepidation. Not on my behalf but rather I question if I have what to say of the horrors that have befallen a nation that lies so far from many of us. I was called out, by friends, for not posting here after the devastating attacks that were wrought upon the Jewish people in Israel. My reply, then, and maybe still now, is how does wine weigh in on this issue?
So many of my posts here on this blog are counter to the approach new-world wineries have taken to meet the growing needs of the kosher wine-drinking public. The decision was a financial one that was focused far more on what a winery could sell than what it wanted to sell. My words are out there and I do not hide from them. They are my opinions and I stand by them. Still, many take my sharp criticism towards the direction Israeli wineries took to move in an even more new-world direction starting in 2009 as a reflection of my feelings towards the country! That could not be farther from the truth. Israel is the land of our forefathers, it is the land where I first learned to fall in love with wine and it is the land where I traveled to more often than any other location until 2018 or so. In the end, my dearest friends, family, and Rabbis are all in a land that is under attack and I feel deep pain for what my brothers and sisters (literally and metaphorically) have had to endure. The physical and psychological trauma is beyond words. I had the honor to finish the Torah this year at my shul and in respect to that I did a Siyum on Masechet Horayot, a Gemara I finished in the week, along with my Daf and the start of Shtayim Mikrah with Ramban.
My point is that I broke down a few times doing the Siyum, imploring those to do more. More can be like my friends who have flown to Israel to carry food, clothes, and supplies to many on the front or worse. More can be protecting those who cannot protect themselves with funds and so much more. Every one of us cannot be silent we must do more we must stand and state that the atrocities that were wrought upon our nation are not OK. The people are suffering, it is not good enough to ask how people are, it is not enough to wonder if your friends and family are well, it is time for more! Talk to your community leaders and your friends, there are hundreds of opportunities to help those less fortunate than you. Now is not the time to stand on the side it is time to enter into the fray and do more. More is what is being asked of us until those opportunities, calluses, and pain are removed.
So, with all that what does a wine writer have to say to the madness that we watch from afar? Stated simply wine is a business, the very same business that made conscious decisions to meet the needs of the many. That need did not just stop when war was thrust upon a nation. One may think talking about wine is crass and beneath us at a time like this. To that, the simple fact is wineries are real, they need your help, and they need the help of every Jew. We all need to do more. If you enjoy wine, buy Israeli wine. I have a few options here down below. If you dislike wine buy chocolate, buy food, buy Israeli. This is not a question of IF or OR this is an AND. You need to buy AND you need to do more. You need to support Israel as we all must do, and we must buy Israel, and we must pray, and we must learn, and we must do more. This is not the time to shirk your responsibility with IF or OR it is more and it is AND!
I was asked for a list of wines I would buy and do buy and here they are, I have also sprinkled in a few wines that may accommodate other people’s palate. In the end, it is upon all of us to do more, stand by our brothers and sisters, and remember that the lack of action, whether within or external, is tantamount to supporting those who have terrorized our nation. Stand strong, stand well with Israel, and you will be supported as well.
What follows is a smattering of current wines I buy/bought and wines I have tasted recently that you may all enjoy and buy. Some are older than I thought but they are the vintages I bought or enjoyed.
2020 Vitkin Grenache Blanc, Samson – Score: 92.5 (QPR: GREAT)
This wine is a blend of 90% Grenache Blanc and 10% Macabeo. The nose of this wine is lovely, ripe, tart, and elegant, with intense floral notes, violet, yellow flower, orange blossom, orange, minerality, and peach, just lovely! The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is lovely, ripe, balanced, tart, and elegant, with hints of oak, and a lovely almost oily mouthfeel, backed by intense acidity, showing lovely peach, apricot, melon, green tea, and smoke. The finish is long, tart, ripe, and balanced, with great smoke, hay, straw, fruity, and bracingly acidic. Bravo!! Drink until 2025. (tasted August 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13%)
NV Matar Blanc de Noir Brut, Galilee – Score: 92 (QPR: WINNER)
I wanted to ding this wine for the bottle shape, NO this is not cool! It is IMPOSSIBLE to store, and painful to ship, it may look nice, but it is a disaster, and I am sorry, it is a horrible idea. Now, let us get to rating the liquid in this horrible bottle! This wine is slow to open with lovely notes of green apple, Asian pear, peach, pomelo, lovely minerality, yeasty notes, and sweet Meyer lemon. The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine is a pure pleasure, it is acidic to the core, it is yeasty, it is nutty, it is clean, with lovely small mousse bubbles refreshing your palate like light butterflies dancing on your tongue, along with slate, slight tannin, beautiful minerality, green apple, Asian pear, peach, tart orange, and sweet quince. Lovely! The finish is forever, with enough weight, just tantalizing, with mineral, slate, saline, and lovely mousse and tannin and acidity that lingers forever with the pomelo and tart orange! Bravo! This harkens back to the early days of Matar, really a joy! Drink until 2027. (tasted September 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 12%)
2021 Netofa Matzpen, Galilee – Score: 92 (QPR: WINNER)
This wine is a blend of 33% Grenache, 34% Syrah, & 33% Mourvedre. The nose is ripe, a bit too much for me, candied cherry, candied plum, rosehip, white flowers, smoke, green notes, roasted herbs, and sweet smoking tobacco. The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine is nice, with great acidity, and balance, still candied, but that will calm, with cranberry, pomegranate, dark cherry, life-saver candies, raspberry, layers of sweet oak, and nice tannin. The finish is long, tannic, layered, and refreshing, tart enough to make it all work, let’s watch this evolve a bit over the next few days. Drink from 2026 until 2030. (tasted October 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14%)
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, and 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, a 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%)
Final Tasting from my trip to Paris – May 2023
As stated in my previous post, I was in Paris in May, without Avi Davidowitz, from the Kosher Wine Unfiltered blog, his lame excuse this time was not even a good one, like marrying off a daughter! Nope, I will not say something like a four-letter word on this blog! Whatever, you were missed buddy! Mostly for the IDS and Royal tasting! This part you missed nothing!
I kept to my hotel room for much of the trip. All these wines were tasted in my room. There were very few Roses available and what I could find, at that time, I have posted here.
White & Roses
After tasting roses from IDS and Royal I had a few more that I found around town. They were all very poor. I got to taste more roses in NYC, which was later in June, I will post those after this last Paris post.
Two red wines from Bakus Wines
Ari Cohen has a startup wine company called Bakus Wines. He shared two wines with me and this year’s vintages are solid! No issues with being over-oaked or overripe. Solid wines. Nice!
Two Chateau Peyrat Fourthon wines
This was the first big boy that I tasted from the 2021 vintage and scares me what these wineries will do with all the stock. These wines will not move quickly, short of drastic pricing, or just dumping. They are not the only ones sitting on palates of 2021 Grand Cru wines. Some wineries will weather the vintage and feel the satisfaction of the killing they will be making from the 2022 vintage. However, some wineries, like Chateau Peyrat Fourthon make very large batches of kosher wines and will be sitting on these for a long time and that makes me sad!
Understand that Chateau Peyrat Fourthonis one of the very few wineries that make the kosher wine by themselves and they therefore do not have the large “kosher stamp markup”. They sell the wine for a few more euros than the non-kosher sells for in France and Europe. It will be sad if the 2021 vintage stops them or slows them down from this approach. Here is hoping for another few years from Chateau Peyrat Fourthon!
Mercier Wines
I tasted two wonderful wines from the Mercier group and two basic ones that are okay. The 2021 Chateau Saint-Martin Rouge and 2021 Domaine Lebrun Pouilly-Fume! There were also some simple wines, three 2022 Le Grand Castellan and two L’enclos de Zeide Reserve wines.
The Rest
The rest were okay, though the lovely 2018 Ribeauville Riesling, Rosacker, Alsace Grand Cru is a wine that should be imported into the USA! Like its brother the 2018 Cave de Ribeauville Riesling, Vendanges Manuelles (which I have tasted two times in France – great wine!).
Thoughts on this tasting
Overall, most of these wines are not available in the USA, but you are missing nothing other than the Ribeauville and the Terra de Vinyaters. The rest are in the USA, including the Mercier wines and the Chateau Peyrat Fourthon 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:
2021 Chateau Saint-Martin Rouge, Cotes de Provence – Score: 92 (QPR: WINNER (France))
This wine is a blend of 25% Grenache, 25% Syrah, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, & 25% Mourvedre.
The nose of this wine is ripe and juicy with floral notes, violet, blue, and red fruit, smoke, graphite, and roasted meat. With time, the more savory, earthy, dirty notes come out as well and add complexity and depth to the wine.
The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is fun, floral, juicy, and tart, with boysenberry, plum, dark cherry, herbs, graphite, searing acidity, nice mouthfeel, and a good fruity, balanced expression. The savory notes come out after a few hours and add complexity, Bravo!
The finish is long, tart, and juicy, with nice acidity, graphite, roasted herbs, and red/blue fruit. Drink by 2025. (tasted May 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13.5%)
2021 Domaine Lebrun Pouilly-Fume, Pouilly-Fume – Score: 92 (QPR: WINNER (France))
This wine is stunning, concentrated, focused, mineral-laden, and so tart/juicy, that my palate was salivating long after I spit the wine out. Nice!!
The nose of this wine is lovely, showing notes of sweet fruit, lovely orange blossom, intense minerality, honeysuckle, honeyed peach, honeydew, and intense smoke/flint.
The mouth on this lovely medium-plus-bodied is truly fresh, ripe, and well-balanced with screaming acid, smoke, flint, gooseberry, cat pee, grapefruit, orange, lovely screaming acid, and layers upon layers of flint/slate! Showing a lovely weight and mouthfeel.
The finish is long, green, ripe, and well balanced, with crazy mineral, screaming acid, and lovely rock, flint, and mineral. WOW!! Drink until 2024. (tasted May 2023) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13%)
Yavine Wines aplenty – May tasting 2023
OK, let me start by saying Shana Tova to all and my apologies for being so late with these posts – but I will be getting all my posts up within the next 6 weeks, so get ready for a bunch of posts, God Willing. In the meantime, let’s get to the wines.
Nathan Grandjean and his partners have been producing wines for many years now, the first wines were the 2017 and 2018 Les Vins de Vienne. Since then he has added the fantastic wines from Vignobles Mayard, and now comes a slew of wines from the Languedoc and Chinon.
All of these wines can be found on Yavine.fr in Europe. Grandjean will/can ship to almost anywhere in Europe for you! For all of you USA readers, they are available but it will take some effort to find them. Israel is still in the works from what I hear.
Chateau La Baronne
Château La Baronne is a family-owned winery located in the Corbières Massif in the south of France. The estate was founded in 1890 by Louis Lignères and has been passed down through five generations of the family.
The vineyards are situated at an altitude of 100 to 200 meters on the Montagne d’Alaric, one of the highest points in the Corbières. The soils are a mix of limestone, clay, and sandstone, and the climate is Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and mild winters.
The Lignères family cultivates 35 hectares of vines, with the main grape varieties being Grenache, Syrah, Carignan, and Mourvèdre. The wines are made using traditional methods and are aged in oak barrels.
Château La Baronne is committed to sustainable viticulture and has been certified organic since 2007 and biodynamic since 2012. The estate is also a member of the Terra Vitis association, which promotes sustainable wine-growing practices.
The wines of Château La Baronne are known for their freshness, elegance, and minerality. They are made to be enjoyed young, but they can also age gracefully for many years.
The soils come from limestone, clay, and sandstone formations, mainly from the Tertiary and Quaternary periods. Fond of protecting nature, Jean and Anne are eager to make the most natural wines possible, using ancient winemaking methods (jar, cement, ceramic, eggs) as well as new ones.
There are 7 new wines made kosher and they are all GOOD to WINNER in QPR (Quality to Price Ratio).
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