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The Best and Top 20 Kosher Mevushal wines of 2024
If you have ever wondered what Kosher wine or the Mevushal process is, I made a post these many years ago and nothing has changed about those facts, because Kosher wine is Kosher wine! The Mevushal process has evolved a bit over the years, but the premise is still the same, and the best craftsman in this space are Hagafen Cellars and Herzog Wine Cellars.
Royal Wine Europe does a good job as well, though from time to time, the white wines do not show as well after they go through the Mevushal process. The red wines are indeed done very well.
The whole premise for Mevushal wine is really a U.S. concept. Europe and much of Israel do not care for or need the wine to be Mevushal to serve at restaurants or events. The USA Rabbinic leaders think that there are too many issues and potential concerns at events and restaurants – given the vast number of servers being non-Jewish. As such, they demand Mevushal wines be served at the events. I have been to events where the pourers were all Shomer Shabbat Jews and that is what they do in Europe and Israel, but those are far and few between, here in the USA.
Overall, the 20 Mevushal wines scored higher than my previous post of 2023 options. These top Mevushal wines scored between 92 and 93! The vast majority of these wines come from the Mevushal leader, Herzog, and Hagafen, from the 2021 and 2023 California vintages. This year we have more quality Mevushal wines and we can mainly thank Cali for that!
Last year we introduced the 2021 Covenant Cabernet Sauvignon, Black Label. This year we have its third iteration with the 2023 Covenant Cabernet Sauvignon, Black Label. Not only is it the Mevushal Wine of the Year but it is also a darn good cup of wine! Bravo!
Mevushal – done incorrectly absolutely does cause damage to wine, and I have had many a “cooked” Mevushal wine. However, Herzog and Hagafen do not have these issues. Royal Europe does a good job, but not as well as the previously mentioned wineries. The Covenant Mevushal Cabernet Sauvignon and the Pinot Noir (started in 2023) can be added to that growing list of trustworthy Mevushal Wine Producers.
Also, we do not have examples of Mevushal wines that scored 95 points, again, this is not a cause and effect but rather the issue that people do not yet have Mevushal Pontet-Canet! Mind you, as I stated before, it is not from a lack of desire, on behalf of Royal Wines, they would boil anything to be able to sell more Mevushal wines. Still, so far, of the top wines that I have scored, the highest-scored Mevushal wine is now the 2021 Herzog Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley, Special Reserve. Besides that bottle, we now have Covenant and the 2022 Royal French wines. Time will tell if we ever get a Mevushal wine with that kind of quality.
More and more wines are Mevushal to meet the needs of restaurants and caterers that want high-end Mevushal wines for their venues and events. The theme of the wines here is mostly Hagafen or Herzog with some smattering of European names as well.
Here is my list of the top 20 Mevushal wines that are available here in the USA. They are listed by score and after that in no particular order. The wine notes follow below – the explanation of my “scores” can be found here and the explanation for QPR scores can be found here:
2023 Covenant Cabernet Sauvignon, Black Label, Sonoma County, CA (M) – Score: 93 (QPR: WINNER)
WOW! This is the third Mevushal (Black Label) Covenant Cabernet Sauvignon, and it is lovely! I am also getting used to the amalgamated corks, and I am happy.
The nose of this wine is lovely, controlled, ripe, California, creamy, and rich. It shows iron shaving, minerality, rich smoke, tar, anise, black pepper, ripe black and red fruit, lovely pop, and dirt. Bravo. This is the best Mevushal one so far.
The mouth of this full-bodied wine is lovely, showing great acidity, nice mouthfeel, creamy and rich, but with good pop, blackberry, plum, cassis, beautiful minerality, graphite, nice smoke, mouth-draping tannin, rich and layered. This is an impressive showing for a Mevushal wine, showing power, plush mouthfeel, finesse, almost elegant (though with all this power it is tough), some sweet oak, but it is not in your face, and nice dirt. Bravo!
The finish is long, dirty, ripe, balanced, with sweet tobacco, milk chocolate, graphite, and lovely tannin/acidity. Bravo!!! Drink until 2034. (tasted January 2025) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14.8%)
Paris tasting of Royal Wine’s 2022 and 2023 Bordeaux and other French wines – January 2025
Let us start with some facts; Avi Davidowitz, from the Kosher Wine Unfiltered blog, and I were in Paris together this past week. We were there to taste as many Kosher Bordeaux wines from the 2022 and 2023 vintages as humanly possible. We arrived on a Monday and by Noon, we were knee-deep into a plethora of Bordeaux wines. As is typical, the trip 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 wine tasting that Avi Davidowitz and I organized during our trip to Paris was with Menahem Israelievitch, the Managing director and Winemaker of Royal Wine Europe, in his lovely home.
The 2022 Vintage in Bordeaux
So, the 2022 vintage is one that I will openly say surprised me. Until this trip, I had found the 2022 Bordeaux to be a ripe mess. Yes, there were a few exceptions, but the majority of wines, until that week, were a mess. However, even after the week of wonderful wines, I finally realized my issue, there is a difference between a good wine and a wine I want to drink. In this post and the rest of the 2022 Bordeaux wine posts (with more yet still untasted), the theme will be ripeness. Now, ripeness can be managed with good acidity, but at 15.5% ABV or 15% ABV, you may say that the wine is too ripe. However, that is not true. There are examples on this blog of wines we have tasted at that ABV that are actually refreshing!
Some of the wine notes you read below will state those words, the magic refreshing word. The wines, without that word, are still wonderful, and wines I may buy, but there is a sense of weight to those wines that I wonder about. How will they manage themselves in 15 years?
Let us talk about the age-ability of these 2022 Bordeaux wines. They are 100% UNDRINKABLE at this time. PERIOD. Sure, for tasting sake, we can taste them, but they are either horribly closed, horribly fat (meaning showing absurd fruit), or just so large and clumsy that they are not enjoyable at this time. So, when you look at the drinking windows, do not be shocked to see 30-year windows. The Leoville Poyferre, Pontet Canet, and even the Moulin Riche are wines that will cost you dearly now and in the future. These are wines that you will need to put away for 20+ years. In my opinion, these are not wines that will get to their tertiary dream state before a long time. These are wines that will require a very long and patient approach before you will get that payoff. For many of us on this earth, I wonder if I want to buy a wine that will not meet that plateau before I am pretty old. Ignoring mortality or the desire to enjoy wines like that at an advanced age – it is also the knowledge that the space in your cellar is locked away for these wines, and you really are not going to touch them for an extended period.
With all that said, sorry for the tangent; these are very special wines that should deserve some thought on how/where you will age and preserve them, given the long drinking windows. Now, I hear all of you. What about 2015, 2016, and the like? Are they not also akin to this? The answer is NO! Those vintages were balanced and, as such, will come around soon enough. Still, it has been 10 years now, and they are not ready, and they will not be ready for some time. I guess I am just projecting my thoughts here regarding what I can buy, store, and dream about enjoying in 20+ years.
Finally, unlike the 2021 vintage, these wines are not green. Maybe they have roasted herbs, but that is more oak, and they rarely show vegetal notes.
How do I see the 2022 vintage in comparison to other recent vintages? I say the quality and personal interest I have in buying these wines are behind the 2019, 2016, and 2014 but ahead of the 2015, 2018, and so on.
Looking through this list of wine notes below for the 2022 vintage and the ones coming for the other wines we tasted from this vintage, you will see a pattern, good scores, and many QPR WINNERS. Mr. Israelievitch and the team did an excellent job with the 2022 vintage. As you will see soon, there are many wines here. This is an outlier vintage BOTH regarding the number of labels made by Royal and others and the ripeness of the wines. I am not sure, but this feels like the largest number of French labels made by Royal in a single year. That does not even include the dual label (Mevushal and non-Mevushal issue/situation). Even if you look at Bordeaux alone, it has to be the largest, in my opinion. So, when you compare this vintage’s number of QPR WINNER scores, it is unfair. A more interesting thing is to look at the percentage of QPR WINNER to wines. Something I hope to explore.
The truly great vintage, for me, 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. Still, the 2022 vintage takes the award for the most QPR WINNER wines produced by Royal Wines, 28! That is an incredible number! I state again that the 2022 vintage is incredible; it shocked me, and the ripeness is my issue. I crave balance, both in my life and in the and in the wines I drink. I think that most will find these wines enjoyable, and they will fly off the shelves, even given the more significant number of wines made.
To me, the 2014 vintage was crazy fun because it is less ripe than the 2015 or 2016 vintage. 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 comes at a crazy high price. During the epic post of my visit to Bordeaux with Mr. Israelievitch, I warned you at that time 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.
The 2022 vintage is more expensive than the 2021 vintage, which was more expensive than the 2020 vintage. The “deals” were from the 2019 vintage and the upcoming 2023 vintage. In between, the prices went up and up and up! The real Chutzpah was 2021. It was not a good vintage and yet Bordeaux raised their prices! The 2022 vintage is just one of those generational vintages, to those that crave massive fruit, and as such, garnered so many high scores during “En Primeur week” that they had to raise prices, yet again.
In a previous post about the most recent French wines (at that time in 2017) that were arriving on the market, I already discussed pricing and supply, so there is no need to discuss that again in this post.
Read the rest of this entry
Another round of QPR (Quality to Price Ratio) Hits and Misses, Seven QPR WINNERS – Aug 2024
This may be one of the smallest QPR roundups I have done. The last one I did was in December of 2023, and that one had many more wines than this one. I will be having a follow-up QPR post to this one, but I wanted to get this one out now.
There are 26 total wines with 7 QPR WINNERS, so that is a good average to me. With this post, I will finally be caught up, though I have a bunch more wines to get through and more to come. That will lead us into the 9-Days, and I wish you all an easy, meaningful, and hopeful two weeks ahead.
QPR (Quality to Price Ratio) Wines
It has been seven or so 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 several wonderful QPR wines out there.
We have a SOLID list of QPR WINNERS:
- 2021 Shirah Pinot Meunier, Santa Maria, CA – LOVELY and unique wine that should improve!
- 2018 Golan Heights Winery Blanc de Blanc, Yarden, Galilee – the bubbles return!
- 2022 Chateau Hauteville, Saint-Estephe – solid 2022 Bordeaux
- 2020 Chateau La Tonnelle, Haut-Medoc – nice 2020
- 2022 Dampt Freres Bourgogne, Bourgogne – a SOLID Burg without Burg pricing
- 2020 Chateau Greysac, Medoc (M) – Nice Mevushal Bordeaux
- 2022 Lovatelli Nebbiolo, Monferrato (M) – Nice Mevushal Italian red
There were also a few wines that were a slight step behind with a GREAT or GOOD QPR score:
- 2021 Netofa Latour, Red, Galilee -Showing better than I had in Israel
- 2022 Capcanes Peraj Ha’abib Pinot Noir, Catalunya – Not a great vintage
- 2022 Chateau de Parsac, Montagne Saint-Emilion (M) – 2022 will be hit and miss for sure
- 2022 Rocca delle Macie Chianti Classico, Chianti Classico – Good enough just simple
- 2022 Chateau Le Petit Chaban, Bordeaux (M) – Again 2022, hit and miss
- 2022 Herzog Cabernet Sauvignon, Special Reserve, Alexander Valley – off year for the Alex
- 2020 Elvi Wines Herenza Crianza, Collection, Rioja (M) – The Mevushal version is nice enough
- 2021 Pacifica Malbec, Washington – Nice but a bit too rough for me
There are a few wines that got a QPR Score of EVEN – meaning expensive or average:
- 2021 Lovatelli Toscana Rosso, Tuscany – Solid wine just a bit overpriced for the quality
- 2021 Cantina Giuliano Super Tuscan, Tuscany – This entire line disappointed me
- 2022 Cantina Giuliano Cabernet Sauvignon, Tuscany – Same as above
- 2021 Chateau Mayne Guyon, Blaye Cotes de Bordeaux (M) – 2021 Bordeaux – tough year
The others are essentially either OK wines that are too expensive, duds, or total failures:
- 2023 Nana Grenache, Negev – Average wine for a crazy high price
- 2020 Cantina Giuliano A Mano Cabernet Sauvignon, Tuscany – Expensive and poor
- 2021 Cantina Giuliano Chianti, Tuscany – poor quality
- 2022 Capcanes Peraj Ha’abib, Montsant (M) – poor quality and expensive
- 2021 Cantina Giuliano Merlot, Tuscany (M) – poor quality
- 2021 Le Pletzl, Bordeaux (M) – poor quality
- 2022 Herzog Pinot Noir, Lineage, Clarksburg, CA (M) – poor quality
Some things that made me stand up and take notice (AKA QPR WINNERS):
The real stunner here is the 2021 Shirah Pinot Meunier, Santa Maria, CA! I have posted already about how the 2021 vintage SAVED California. Sadly, that may have been short-lived, with the recent raft of vineyards being ripped up and wineries closing. Still, the 2021 vintage has been a boon for Cali after the horrific 2020 fires.
The 2021 Shirah Pinot Meunier has to be one of the most unique and wonderful wines I have had in a very long time. It is not quite a Pinot Noir and yet it is also captivating. Sim ply said, read the notes, and buy!
The 2016 vintage of the Golan Heights Winery Blanc de Blanc, Yarden was a miss, but that is fine, they are normal in the wine business. The 2018 returns the bubbly to its crown position as the QPR sparkling wine.
The 2022 Chateau Hauteville, Saint-Estephe continues the streak for this wine. It is another WINNER after how well the 2021 vintage showed and the 2020 before that.
The 2020 Chateau La Tonnelle, Haut-Medoc, is a return to its status. This vintage is nice.
The 2022 Dampt Freres Bourgogne is the answer we need for non-Burgundy-priced wines from Burgundy. It is 2022, so it is ripe, but it is balanced and refreshing, and in the end, that is what Burgundy MUST BE!
The 2020 Chateau Greysac, Medoc, is a solid option for those who want a simple but fun and refreshing Mevushal Bordeaux.
Finally, this wine surprised me, the 2022 Lovatelli Nebbiolo, Monferrato (M) came in under a fair amount of internet chatter. However, I found it refreshing and for a Mevushal wine – a solid showing.
I was UNIMPRESSED by Royal’s new import – Cantina Giuliano, all of the wines were a hard miss. The Lovatelli wines are either a miss or a hit. The 2021 Lovatelli Barbera d’Asti and the 2022 Lovatelli Nebbiolo are WINNER to me. The other Lovatelli are either hard misses or just OK, so far. Still, two hits for a new brand is a good average!
Other wines worth noting (AKA QPR GREAT or GOOD):
I tasted this wine in Israel blind and I found it less than desirable. This time the 2021 Netofa Latour, Red showed better.
I had hoped for the 2022 Capcanes Peraj Ha’abib Pinot Noir, Catalunya, but it did not have the refreshing approach that I needed.
The rest of this group is just good enough wines to get these QPR scores. The miss here is the 2022 Herzog Cabernet Sauvignon, Special Reserve, Alexander Valley. It used to be that even vintages were the WINNER, but with 2021 things switched, 2021 was the WINNER vintage, and 2022 was a miss. Still a nice wine, but it lacks the refreshing aspect I expect.
Wines that are either good but too expensive or average (AKA EVEN):
As stated above, this post includes almost all the wines from Cantina Giuliano and in the end, for me, they lack balance, plain and simple. Two of the Lovatelli have that balance.
Wines that are either OK but far too expensive or bad wines (AKA POOR/BAD):
Not much here mostly poor-scoring wines. There are also, many duds to losers and I will just leave you to peruse the names and scores down below.
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 Shirah Pinot Meunier, Santa Maria, CA – Score: 92.5 (QPR: WINNER)
This may well be the first time I have tasted the single varietal called Pinot Meunier. Of course, it is the grape used to make Champagne but I have never tasted a single varietal that I know of. How does Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier differ? Pinot Noir is leaner and richer, earthier, dirtier, all of what you crave from Pinot, Meunier is fruitier, ripens faster, grows in very hard areas, and colder regions, and has citrus notes that a truly unique! Bravo Weiss Brothers!
The nose of this wine is unique, yes I would have said this was Pinot Noir, sorry, this is new, tasted blind I would have also said it was a riper Pinot, and the citrus would have made me think of a blend, but I am really not sure. The nose is ripe, not candied, blunted a bit by the oak, with rich floral notes, yellow and jasmine, very unique, with oolong tea, orange/Meyer Lemon, like what! Followed by sweet oak, roasted meat, and rich red fruit. Bravo! The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is on point, showing great acidity, lovely cranberry, dark cherry, Cherry Cola, and hints of blueberry, this is one strange cat, with nice mouth-draping tannin, and yes, sweet orange. The finish is long, plus, almost round, but with great acidity, and sweet notes that carry this wine. Bravo!! Drink by 2027. (tasted July 2024) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14%)
Hotel Wine tastings – the final tastings from my trip to Paris – Late May 2024
As stated in my previous post, I was in Paris in Late May, with Avi Davidowitz from Kosher Wine Unfiltered. The number of boxes in our room was not nearly as insane as two years ago. That was a tower of boxes. Still, we had a lot of wines to taste through and some good wines to talk about.
Two years ago, we had some 80 wines, this May we were at 60 wines. There was one wine that Avi missed and there are a couple of wines I think were bad bottles, so I will not post them, so I guess it comes to some 58 or so bottles.
Half of these wines were tasted blind and the rest were not. Let me make this simple, unless we can find someone to pay to help us manage the tastings, tasting blind, and then gathering all the metadata and the forms, and sheets, it is just INSANE! We really need to get a helper, who understands English enough and can handle sheets and the such, in Paris and wherever else we taste wines. Until then, we will have to give up on tasting blind.
The wines were tasted in classic region/style order, whites, reds from Burgundy, Rhone-like areas, Bordeaux/Blend wines, and I think that is it.
Barbera, Rhone, Burgundy, Provence, Loire, and Germany
These were some of the blind wines we tasted. I honestly grabbed bottles shaped in anything other than Bordeaux and we did the tasting blind. It was eclectic and we retasted them twice, so they got their chance. There were two wines in the lineup that were off, and they were removed from the scoring. Otherwise, the wines fell into what I expected, with the real find being the Rhone from Ventoux. The German red wine was nice while the white wine, we tasted later, was a total loss.
There were a total of 13 wines on this flight and one of them was a bad bottle, so we have 12 wines scored below. Six of the 12 were from Taieb Wines. Yoni and his family continue to make well-priced wines and garner QPR WINNER scores. This tasting was no exception, with two WINNER for the Burgundies and other QPR WINNER scores for other wines we tasted in the hotel.
I have posted often about Taieb wines and if you want to read the full background read the first post I made here.
There were four Burgundies made by kosher Taieb in 2022 and we received three of them for tasting. The notes on these wines changed a bit but the scores were consistent. We also got some Loire Valley wines and they showed well as well. There was a Burgundy from Ribeauville that I had already tasted but needed to have Avi taste it, so I made sure to make that happen.
The real find was the Rhone from Ventoux, I have no idea who made the wine, maybe the winery did, but it is a nice wine. I have no idea why it sat around until now, nor do I know why the 2016 wine we tasted later sat around until now!
White and Sparking Wines
We tasted through a lot of white wines and sparkling wines. The Sparkling wines came from Taieb and they were nice to WINNER. The Elvi Vina Encina were both solid and the Herenza White are lovely WINNER wines. I have no idea why the Herenza Whites do not sell in the USA, no idea! Folks buy a few and try.
On a slight rant, I will start with the positives, thankfully, we have more kosher white wine available now than ever before, PERIOD! However, what is clear is that the kosher-buying public has made Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay their next Cabernet Sauvignon! I am happy you are all starting to enjoy white wines – finally! But good Lord, there are OTHER white wines out there! As stated, I am firmly on the ABC train, outside of a few Cali and France. Sauvignon Blanc is a wonderful grape and please ignore EVERYTHING that Avi says to the contrary, it is not his fault, he has issues with good wine!
Now, all I see is that white wines that are not Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc linger on physical or virtual shelves. Thankfully, most of you get Riesling, almost. But that is it! You guys killed the only good Albarino from Ramon Cardova because you all refused to buy it! The Herenza is the same, and this wine is 30 to 40 percent Sauvignon Blanc! OK, I’ll give up and stop my rant here! TRY OTHER white wines – please!
There was a new Sancerre and the new 2023 Domaine Lebrun Pouilly-Fume and they were nice. The 2023 Domaine Lebrun Pouilly-Fume is truly exceptional, it keeps up with the great 2021. Though I would be drinking the 2021 already! This one will be good for a few years.
Also, Avi brought an Israeli white wine! Yes! The 2021 Recanati Sauvignon Blanc, Odem Vineyards, Atelier! Lovely wine, and further proof that what Israel needs is good white wine!
The rest of them are wines that you can try and see if you like.
Italy, Spain, and Bordeaux
OK, half of the wines we tasted fall into these two categories and they garnered 8 QPR WINNER scores. Once again, Taieb had many GREAT to WINNER scores here along with some new Italian wines. There was one SHOCKER from Luzzatto, who until now have been really uninspiring wines. However, the 2019 Luzzatto Barolo is a clear WINNER, and yes, it is Mevushal. It started out very slow but with time, it came out of its shell, and showed nicely!
Avi brought the 2022 El Orador Rioja, Rioja Alta from Israel, and that also started very slowly, but it came out of its shell as well. We then tasted three Elvi red wines, which I had last year after Avi had already left. Those were the 2021 Elvi Clos Mesorah, the 2020 Elvi EL26, and the 2019 Elvi Adar. I had the 2019 Elvi Adar in Israel, and the EL26 at home.
The rest of what mattered was a mix of Bordeaux wines ranging from 2016 to 2023. Yes, we tasted a 2016 Chateau Croque Michotte! Why it was not released until now is beyond me. Sadly, I think that wine was oxidized. I have no idea if it was the wine or the bottle. I tried to get another and no matter the emails/WhatsApp chats I could not get another one to try.
The 2023 Baron David and the 2023 Palais de L’Ombriere were solid wines that are available now in Paris and ones I would pick up for a nice Shabbat! Two great wines from Taieb.
Then we had three mid-level quality wines from the 2022 Bordeaux vintage. If these wines prove to be the flag-bearer for that vaunted vintage I may come around and have as much faith as Avi does. Avi believes every vintage is innocent until proven guilty, sadly, I see things differently. I guess, I see wine as uninteresting until the glass proves me wrong.
The three QPR WINNER wines were the 2022 Chateau Tour Perey, 2022 Chateau La Fleur Perey, and the
2022 Chateau Tour Seran. We had issues with the 2022 Chateau Rollan de By. One bottle was bad and one bottle was OK to bad. At this point, if you buy it, I would not hold it for long, if at all. Buy it, open it, and enjoy!
We also tasted a 2012 Chateau Cru DuCasse, a wine I had not tasted for two years and it was on crazy sale at Winess.com. This was a wine that Avi had not yet tasted, as I tasted it back in June of 2021 when Paris was just coming to life from under the cloud of Covid. It had evolved a fair amount and was deeply closed at the start. Another crazy closeout wine I saw at Winess was the 2020 Chateau Taillefer Pavillon de Taillefer. It was selling for 40 or so dollars. I tasted that wine last year May 2023, a trip Avi missed, so I wanted him to taste the wine.
We tasted the white and rose wines from Cantina Giuliano and they are fine, I am sure some people will like them more than I did.
The one wine that Avi was not around for was the 2023 Cave D’Esclans Whispering Angel. It reminded me of the 2021. A solid showing.
Where can you buy these wines?
The Taieb wines will find their way to the USA through a menagerie of importers. Those include Liquid Kosher, Kosher Wine, and Victor Wines which I continue to be baffled at where these wines actually sell, outside of Florida! The Elvi wines are in the USA already. The Cantina Giuliano wines are in the USA already. The 2020 Chateau Haut Brisson is already in the USA, the other Corcos wines, I am not sure.
The Mercier wines will find their way here once the previous vintages are sold. As for the rest of the wines, I have no idea!
Thoughts on this tasting
OK, so overall, this tasting was solid! This was better than previous tastings because the 2021 vintage is mostly played out, unlike other hotel wine tastings. Still, 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! I am still not buying into the 2022 hype but as stated before, I will reserve happiness until I taste good wine!
Regarding other wines from France that people will ask me about, the answer is we tried. We sent out emails and got initial responses and then all follow-up emails went into the Spam Bucket. Sometimes, I wonder if French people hate us Americans! Anyway, the winning lineup, which always is the heading photo for the hotel wine-tasting posts, was solid, and wines I would drink! Sadly, that winning lineup photo is nowhere because I got really sick at the end of the week. I barely made it into Shabbat. I slept it off all Shabbat.
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!! I was flat out and Avi was trying to get out for his flight back to Israel. Sorry buddy I could not help.
Finally, 90% of the the deliveries were to the hotel this time, my man Ari Cohen, AKA El-Presidente of Bakus Wines, was totally AWOL this trip! I think the more I go to Paris the less I get to see him – maybe I am finally becoming a Parisian! Thanks as always! Thanks for all the help as always buddy!
The wine notes follow below in the order that they were tasted. The explanation of my “scores” can be found here and the explanation for QPR scores can be found here:
2022 Jean-Philippe Marchand Aloxe Corton, Sous Chaillots, Aloxe Corton – Score: 92.5 (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this wine is quite nice with darker plum, raspberry, cherry, and sweet spices, along with sweet herbs, floral notes, lavender, dark smoke, and minerality. The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine feels rich, layered, and smokey, dirty, with nice mushroom, forest floor, nice funk, lovely minerality, plum, ripe raspberry, dark cherry, herbal, with nice tannin, and great acidity. The finish is long, tannic, herbal, and funky, but also richer, a bit rounder, but tannic, tart, and refreshing, Bravo! Drink until 2032. (tasted May 2024) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13%) (tasted Blind)
IDS tasting of current releases in Paris – Late May 2024
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!
Oh, and yes, Avi Davidowitz, from Kosher Wine Unfiltered finally made a trip to Paris in May! Congrats my man!
Le Vin IDS Wines
Thankfully, many of the supply and wine bottling issues of 2022/2023 are gone and all the wines were available and ready to taste in May of 2024! 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 last 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. Though, at this time, none of these wines are in the USA, yet!
Two new Champagne and a white wine
Sadly, none of the new 2023 wines are out yet, so I will have to wait for those to come here before tasting them.
What we tasted were two new Champagne from Maison Jeeper and a lovely 2021 Domaine de Chevalier L’Esprit de Chevalier. The 2022 Paul Aegerter (yes they changed the name again) white wine had not yet been bottled, so we did not get the chance to taste that.
If you are wondering where the name Maison Jeeper comes from:
The house was founded by Armand Gourtobe, a winemaker whose legs were injured while rescuing American soldiers. To thank him and reward him for his courage, the U.S. army gave Gourtobe a Jeep which he then used to tour his vineyard, thus gaining the nickname ‘Jeeper’ which he naturally used for his Champagne bottles. (From Sommeliers International).
I thought they were both exceptional and Champagne that most people will love, though they are expensive!
Finally, the 2021 Domaine de Chevalier L’Esprit de Chevalier is a stunning white wine. The 2021 vintage has blessed us with many a great white wine and thankfully this one will not break the bank! Bravo!
Red Wines
The next 13 red wines, mostly from the 2021 vintage, outside of the 6 2022 Paul Aegerter Burgundies (yeah as stated before, yet another new name).
We started with a run of the 2022 Burgundy wines. They were all nice to lovely! The last one was the closest Burgundy that Aegerter has made which reminded me of the 2019s. We started with a Domaine Aegerter Bourgogne Hautes-Cotes de Nuits. That was followed by a 2022 Domaine Aegerter Volnay. Then came the bigger/riper Burgundies and the Premier Cru. The 2022 Domaine Aegerter Beaune Premier Cru, the 2022 Domaine Aegerter Nuits-Saint-Georges, followed by the 2022 Domaine Aegerter Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru, and finally the 2022 Domaine Aegerter Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru. That is two QPR WInner and four QPR WINNER, quite a good run.
Then came the 2021 Bordeaux wines. These are all new wines – with some new wineries and the return of Chateau La Gaffeliere, with its second wine as well, the Clos La Gaffeliere. There are new wineries like the Chateau Lespault-Martillac, Chateau Puyblanquet, and Chateau Edmus. Quite a bunch of new wineries that IDS has made kosher in 2021. The last time a Chateau La Gaffeliere was made in Kosher was 1993! Some 28 years ago!
The shockers here are the 2021 Chateau Puyblanquet, Saint-Emilion, 2021 Chateau Marquis d’Alesme Becker, Margaux, and the 2021 Chateau La Gaffeliere. The Gaffeliere and the Puyblanquet are made from a majority of Merlot, which helps in the 2021 vintage. However, the Marquis d’Alesme Becker is a majority Cabernet Sauvignon and it shined bright in the 2021 vintage. Impressive!
Between the Marquis, Puyblanquet, and the Chateau Gaffeliere – it proves that there exist Kosher 2021 Bordeaux wines worthy of being bought. Bravo!
Sweet Wine
Finally, we cannot end this post without discussing the 6 Puttonyos Tokaji! Look this is a sweet wine, it is ripe, it is candied, and yet it is seductive, enveloping, and bracing in its acidity. It lacks the funk of Sauternes, but it surpasses it with its approachability, seduction, and rich mouthfeel. In ways, the funk of Sauternes can get in the way of the sheer enjoyment of botrytized wines, and this wine is proof. We have had a few 5 Puttonyos Tokaji made Kosher but this is the first and only 6 Puttonyos Tokaji! The next level is Aszú Eszencia, which is really close to the 6 Puttonyos (150 (grams per liter vs 180 grams per liter), and then there is the granddaddy of them all the Eszencia (at 450 gpL).
This wine is a baby. Look around and the market is selling the 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2013 vintages. It is crazy to even think this wine is accessible and showing its best at this point. Still, it is a wine that is fun now, but one that will evolve richly over the next 30 years.
The wine, like almost all Six Puttonyos Tokaj, is 500 ml and it is not cheap but it is a lovely wine that deserves your attention!
Closing
My many thanks to Ben Uzan for setting up the meeting, sharing his wines with us, and taking time out of his busy schedule to meet with us. 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:
N.V. Maison Jeeper Brut, Champagne – Score: 92.5 (QPR: GREAT)
This Champagne is a blend of the 2020 and 2022 vintages.
The nose of this wine is lovely! with rich yeasty notes, lovely peach, quince, red apple, creamy notes, brioche, citrus curd, and rich salinity.
The mouth of this medium-bodied sparkling Chardonnay wine is rich, with a creamy texture, and notes of ripe Asian pear, apple, lemon, and grapefruit, with small mousse bubbles.
The attack is creamy, rich, and persistent, with the fruit and mousse playing well together.
The finish is long, and yeasty, with brioche, citrus, and brioche lingering long. Nice! Drink until 2028. (tasted May 2024) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 12%)
N.V. Maison Jeeper Brut, Grand Rose, Champagne – Score: 92.5 (QPR: GREAT)
Like the Brut, this wine is a blend of 2020 and 2022 vintages.
The nose of this wine is ripe with strawberry and creme, rich salinity, but also ripe with raspberry, brioche, and lovely minerality. Fresh, ripe, and refreshing!
The mouth of this medium-plus bodied wine is richer than the Brut, riper, and more layered, with ripe strawberry, raspberry, and rich peach, highlighted by its peak note of strawberries and creme, the mousse bubbles are persistent, and the acidity is intense and the mouthfeel is plush and creamy with some orange peel, orange notes, and the orange blossom notes that interplay with the strawberries and small bubble mousse. Bravo!
The finish is a bit muted but the attack and mouthfeel make up for that and it may come with time. Drink until 2028. (tasted May 2024) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 12%)
2021 Domaine de Chevalier L’Esprit de Chevalier Blanc, Pessac-Leognan – Score: 93 (QPR: WINNER)
This wine is a blend of 80% Sauvignon Blanc & 20% Semillon.
The nose of this wine is lovely, ripe, extracted, and funky with intense funk, straw, hay, smoke, rich toast, sweet oak, Asian pear, smoked duck, citrus, gooseberry, wet grass, green notes, and sweet herbs. Bravo! The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine has richness, precision, and an impressive verve, the funky minerality follows through from the nose with ripe Asian pear, lovely gooseberry, lemon curd, and lemon Fraiche, followed by ribbons of minerality, saline, graphite, all wrapped in a toasty, funky mouthfeel, lovely! The finish is long, tart, ripe, balanced, and refreshing with great acidity, smoked duck, smoked pear, gooseberry, and tart lemon, lovely! Drink by 2030. (tasted May 2024) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13%)
The 2024 Kosher Rose season is open – along with a bonus – the 2017 Yarden Rose Brut!
I started tasting some of these wines in January and February of this year and at the start, some of them were nice to GREAT. This year, brings the return of Israeli Roses and white wines, after the Shmita year of 2022.
While rose wine in the non-kosher market is exploding – especially Rose wine from Provence; a wine region of France, kosher roses have ebbed and flowed. Last year, the kosher market for roses went into a tailspin. It is now clear that 2022 was the year of Peak-Rose. The 2023 year had the Israeli Shmita year of 2022 wines, so that meant a smaller number of Roses. However, what was VERY clear, was that the Kosher wine market was in Rose-fatigue. There are TONS of 2022 Roses all over the market along with some 2021 vintage wines as well. I think we have seen the end of Rose as a fad and now, it is another wine that is out there.
Personally, I stand by my own feelings when it comes to Rose, which is, that I prefer white or Sprakling wines. Further, anyone trying to move 35-dollar or more roses will be in for a rude awakening this year, IMHO!
QPR and Price
I have been having more discussions around my QPR (Quality to Price) score with a few people and their contention, which is fair, in that they see wine at a certain price, and they are not going to go above that. So, instead of having a true methodology behind their ideas, they go with what can only be described as a gut feeling. The approaches are either a wine punches above its weight class so it deserves a good QPR score. Or, this other wine has a good score and is less than 40 dollars so that makes it a good QPR wine.
While I appreciate those ideals, they do not work for everyone and they do NOT work for all wine categories. It does NOT work for roses. Look, rose prices are 100% ABSURD – PERIOD! The median rose price has risen a fair amount from last year, some are at 40 to 45 dollars – for a rose! So far, it is around 32 bucks, this year, up from 29 last year, that is NUTS!
As you will see in the scores below, QPR is all over the place and there will be good QPR scores for wines I would not buy while there are POOR to BAD QPR scores for wines I would think about drinking, but not buying, based upon the scores, but in reality, I would never buy another bottle because the pricing is ABSURDLY high.
Also, remember that the QPR methodology is based on the 4 quintiles! Meaning, that there is a Median, but there are also quintiles above and below that median. So a wine that is at the top price point is by definition in the upper quintile. The same goes for scores. Each step above and below the median is a point in the system. So a wine that is in the most expensive quintile but is also the best wine of the group gets an EVEN. Remember folks math wins!
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California Dreaming – 2021 through 2023 vintages are showing well
It has been a long time since my last post and I am a good 100 wines behind, at this point, so these next few posts will be short and to the point.
Before Passover and after it, as well, I got into my car and drove to Covenant Winery, Hajdu Winery, Hagafen Winery, Marciano Estates, and Shadybrook Estates to get a bottle of kosher wine they made called Monetin. I also had many wines shipped to me from Herzog and Mayacamas. Finally, I had dinner with Gabriel Weiss and Alex Rubin and I tasted their wines as well. So, yeah this is a full California tasting. This is NOT a list and scores of each of these winery’s wines, but rather a set of tastings of what I have not yet had from these wineries.
The plan here is to list the wineries and their wines in the order I tasted them (mostly as I did taste some of the wines more than once).
My many thanks to each and every winery here for putting up with me and sharing their wonderful wines.
Marciano Estates (Feburary 2024)
Elk was in town that week and I drove through the pouring rain to pick him up, that was the craziest day of driving since my trip to Northern Israel in a carwash of rain on those mountainous hills, just nuts! Thankfully, we arrived at Marciano Estates, quite alive, almost on time, I will leave that part of the story for another time! However I must state that Elk should never be allowed to travel without his gear working. My hearing is still recovering! We were met by Michael McMillan, the General Manager at Marciano, and we were given the wines to open. The three wines were the 2022 Marciano Estates Blanc, the 2021 Marciano Terra Gratia, and the 2021 Marciano Estates. They were all stunning wines, and while the prices are high for these kosher wines, so is the cost of land, fruit, production, and so on in Napa Valley.
As always the time spent in Marciano Estates is always fantastic, the estate is stunning, as is the wine and the surrounding area. My many thanks to the entire Marciano team for putting up with us, along with the frequent time changes, and so on. The wines and the scores speak for themselves, I personally bought a few of the Marciano Blanc, the 2022 and 2021 vintages. 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 Marciano Estates Blanc, Napa Valley, CA – Score: 93 (QPR: GREAT)
The nose of this wine is lovely, and bready, with smoke, oak, brioche, peach, apricot, yellow plum, and orange blossom. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is really lovely and ripe, with intense acidity, lovely mouthfeel, plush-styled, a beautiful expression of French white, with intense peach, complexity, sweet oak, apricot, sweet yellow plum, intense loam, verve, and beautifully tense, with sweet tannin, grapefruit, lemon/lime, really lovely! The finish is long, intense, layered, concentrated, and richly extracted, with incredible sweet blossom, and sweet vanilla, on the long finish. Incredible! Drink from 2028 until 2034. (tasted February 2024) (in Napa Valley, CA) (ABV = 14.1%)
2021 Marciano Terra Gratia, Napa Valley, CA – Score: 93 (QPR: GOOD)
The nose of this wine is lovely, balanced, ripe, and rich, with raspberry, strawberry, blackcurrant, plum, iron shavings, squid ink, rich minerality, loam, sweet spices, roasted herbs, and sweet oak, impressive. The mouth of this full-bodied Napa Cab blend is ripe, layered, extracted, and balanced with great acidity, and concentration, with lovely blackberry, cassis, raspberry, ripe strawberry, milk chocolate, rich tension, nice extraction, lovely plushness, a theme throughout the three wines we tasted today. Lovely! The finish is long, ripe, rich, extracted, and tense, with freshness, sweet oak, sweet tobacco, and sweet vanilla. This wine is incredibly accessible but please stay away from it for at least 3 years. Drink from 2026 until 2032 (tasted February 2024) (in Napa Valley, CA) (ABV = 14.8%)
2021 Marciano Estates Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, CA – Score: 94 (QPR: GOOD)
The nose of this wine is incredible, purer than the Gratia, rich, expressive, but far more elegant, showing ripe, milk chocolate, milky, with blackberry, plum, raspberry, tar, smoke, and rich sweet spices. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is ripe, layered, and extracted, with great acidity, lovely tension, sweet tannin, blackberry, plum, sweet oak, sweet vanilla, raspberry, strawberry, juicy strawberry/raspberry, sweet spices, nutmeg, sweet earth, plum, and sweet loam. The finish is long, dirty, earthy, ripe, and elegant, with juicy and ripe strawberries, sweet oak, vanilla, and sweet tobacco. Drink from 2027 until 2033. (tasted February 2024) (in Napa Valley, CA) (ABV = 14.8%)
California Dreaming – 2021 is quite the vintage – part #2
The 2020 fire-riddled vintage in much of Northern California has thankfully given way to a stunning vintage of 2021! After suffering drought, fire, and extreme temperature swings, Cali has been gifted a vintage that while low on yields, in some locals, is high on quality.
This is the second post on California wines that I have tasted recently and this one is less complimentary of the wines than the previous one. Please go read the first post and see those wines before reading this post.
I will say I was unimpressed by the Chardonnay from 2021 and even though the Oakville came in with the highest score I wished it had more acidity and more verve. I am still trying to get my hands on the Herzog Lake County Cabernet Sauvignon, it is just impossible sometimes to get wine, such is life! I hope I finally have a line on it for next week!
The real WINNERS for me were the 2023 wines from Covenant. I have been banging the drum for their wines for around a year-plus now. dating back to the tasting I had in Berkeley in September of 2022. They have really not missed a step these past two years. and the 2023 vintage is starting with a bang! The Viognier and Sauvignon Blanc are both Fruity but balanced and refreshing, and that is the word you want to see in my posts, sometimes more than the Nice or Bravo (keywords).
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California Dreaming – 2021 is quite the vintage
The 2020 fire-riddled vintage in much of Northern California has thankfully given way to a stunning vintage of 2021! After suffering drought, fire, and extreme temperature swings, Cali has been gifted a vintage that while low on yields, in some locals, is high on quality.
Tasting through much of Herzog Wine Cellars (it is really difficult at times to get wine), Covenant Wine, and Hagafen Wine Cellars, along with some Four Gates Wine as well, it is clear to see that 2021 is a true gift. The alcohol levels are all down, the acidity is brighter and the wines all show less oak and more balance. Herzog’s new winemaker, David Galzignato, has been championing different oak regiments but the vintage overall cannot be summed up with just the use of different oak. That can be said for all the wineries. The acidity shines and the fruit is balanced.
You can read more about the fabulous vintage here and here. Ok, on to the wine notes!
Wines in this post
The 2021 Herzog Napa wines were the best I have had in a long time. The Napa and the Rutherford wines were both lovely and I have never scored them this high. The 2021 Alexander Valley may well be the best one in a very long time, yes a bit better than 2014 and 2016.
Since I am posting about some 2021 California wines I thought I should also post the other wines I tasted at different wineries at the same time. Further, some of these wines were tasted at the wineries (like Hagafen and Covenant) and some were tasted at my home. The location is stated in the notes.
The wine notes follow below – the explanation of my “scores” can be found here and the explanation for QPR scores can be found here:
Hajdu Wines
2022 Hajdu Zinfandel, Ancient Vines, Califonia – Score: 90 (QPR: GOOD)
The nose of this wine is ripe, with a bit of heat, nice fruit, strawberry, raspberry, good dirt, loam, and floral notes. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is ripe, layered, and a bit over the top, but controlled enough, with classic strawberry, cherry cola, smoke, black plum jam, rich tannin, mouth-filling, almost refreshing, with lovely acidity. The finish is long, ripe, layered, and jammy, nice! Drink until 2027. (tasted August 2023) (in Berkeley, CA) (ABV = 14.5%)
2022 Hajdu Grenache, Califonia – Score: 90 (QPR: GOOD)
The nose of this wine is lovely, controlled, spicy, earthy, and smoky, with watermelon, root beer, and lovely red fruit. Nice! The mouth of this medium-plus bodied wine is ripe, layered, and not overly concentrated, with nice extraction, and good enough acidity, with lovely raspberry, cranberry, strawberry, ripe Kirsche cherry, mouth-draping tannin, and nice coffee. The finish is long, ripe, and controlled, with enough acidity, coffee, sweet tobacco, sweet spices, cinnamon, and cloves. Drink until 2027. (tasted August 2023) (in Berkeley, CA) (ABV = 14.5%)
2022 Hajdu Aglianico, Califonia – Score: 90 (QPR: GOOD)
The nose of this wine is ripe, fruity, smoky, and spicy, with raspberry, Red Oolong tea, root beer, red floral notes, and smoke. The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine is ripe, with enough acidity, red floral notes, dark raspberry, intense tannin, strawberry, and raspberry jam, with plum, candied berry, and sweet spices. The finish is long, spicy, ripe, and floral, with sweet tobacco, and sweet spices. Drink until 2027. (tasted August 2023) (in Berkeley, CA) (ABV = 14.5%)
Covenant Wines
2022 Covenant Chardonnay Lavan, Sonoma Mountain, Sonoma County – Score: 92.5 (QPR: WINNER)
The nose of this Chardonnay is lovely, showing melon, ripe peach, apricot, yellow apple, brioche, and bright fruit under a veil of smoke, oak, and sweet spices. Lovely! The mouth of this full-bodied wine is nice, with enough acidity, baked apple, smoke, brioche, elegance, smokey, and grippy, with a refreshing and captivating mouthfeel, rich, layered, and expressive, showing peach, melon, citrus, and sweet oak that lifts the wine and helps round out the lovely acidity, nice!! The wine is lush, balanced, elegant, round, yet acidic, tart, yet accessible, WOW! The finish is long, ripe, layered, and spicy, with sweet oak, more fruit, candied citrus, chamomille, and cinnamon/cloves. Nice!! Drink by 2027. (tasted August 2023) (in Berkeley, CA) (ABV = 13.9%)
2021 Covenant Solomon Cabernet Sauvignon, Lot 70, Napa Valley, CA – Score: 93 (QPR: GREAT)
The nose of this wine is lovely, ripe, controlled, elegant, and new-world, with intense minerality, iron shavings, graphite, and black and red fruit, lovely! The mouth of this full-bodied wine is ripe, layered, elegant, and balanced, with lovely acidity, minerality, blackberry, cassis, plum, earth, smoke, and dense, with layers of concentration, extraction, and rich smoke. Bravo!! The finish is long, dense, ripe, elegant, mineral-driven, and smoky, wow! With scraping minerality, sweet tobacco, dark chocolate, leather, and sweet spices/smoke. BRAVO!! Drink until 2033. (tasted August 2023) (in Berkeley, CA) (ABV = 14.5%)
2022 Covenant Solomon Blanc, Bennett Valley, Sonoma County, CA – Score: 92 (QPR: GREAT)
This is the 3rd year of this lovely wine, I think this one sits right between the 21 and 20 vintages, which means this is another WINNER. Bravo! The nose of this lovely wine is impressive with intense bright fruit, bright acid, tart lemon/lime, sweet orange blossom, lanolin, sweet bright pear, sweet Honeydew melon, and lovely oak influence. The mouth of this medium-plus bodied wine is intense, layered, and complex, with rich layers of tart orange, lemon/lime, melon, Asian pear, yellow apple, and piercing acidity, with an impressive expression, of fruit and oak, sweet oak, smoke, sweet mint, and sweet fruit. Bravo! Though I liked the wine at the start it felt a bit lacking with time. It may turn into what I hope, for now, a solid wine! The finish is long, tart, ripe, and fruity, with some oak influence, and hints of vanilla, but really the finish is a focus of acidity, melon, orange, and lemon, all wrapped up beautifully! Bravo!! Drink until 2030. (tasted September 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 13.4%)
2021 Covenant Cabernet Sauvignon, Black Label, Napa Valley, CA (M) – Score: 92 (QPR: GREAT)
WOW! This is the first Covenant Cabernet Sauvignon that is Mevushal! OK, there is a first for everything! Also, this is the first vintage of Covenant Cabernet Sauvignon using 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. The nose of this wine is ripe, dense, and fruity, with ripe purple and black fruit, dense smoke, tar, anise, chili pepper, white pepper, iron shavings, and an extremely spice-driven nose. 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, blueberry, 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, cloves, vanilla, chili pepper, and anise lingering long. Lovely! Drink until 2030. (tasted September 2023) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14.8%)
With a heavy heart – we must try to push on…
In my last post, I was clear that Israeli wine is the best option for us to support Israel. In many ways that is still the case, as it supports our brothers and sisters who are in desperate need of support in Israel. With only one airline flying to Israel, and hundreds of thousands of men and women on the front lines or in supporting roles, the economy of Israel is suffering. The families of those brave protectors are bearing the brunt of the load to support and manage their own lives. The entire country seems to be both at a standstill and also thriving to keep their country moving. It feels from afar like a story of two lives. Those in the war or near it and those who know people in the war. Companies are trying to stay afloat with their employees on the front or supporting them. My brother was there and the stories are gut-wrenching.
From afar, we see the stories of the war, we see the terror and the suffering, we see the strength and resilience. What we continue to see is a story of the Jewish people, sadness and strength, happiness and sadness. One of my dearest friends lost his father half a world away just a day after his grandson was born in Israel. How does a person even come to grips with that? How does a family get their heads around such a tragedy and such happiness? Getting a ticket into Israel last minute is not as easy as it used to be and yet the airport is practically empty. The pictures of Lod Airport are both depressing and yet exhilarating as those who come are always bringing more and more support to those who are suffering.
I am not posting this to be depressing, my purpose is to show that while I am reeling from the suffering and sadness, I am also living a world away. The readers, mostly, are also a world away. While I still feel that posting anything would seem like a slight to those who are suffering, we can bifurcate our lives as Jews. We can feel the suffering and we can also feel the happiness that one gets from friends and family. So, with a heavy heart, I will start to catch up on the hundreds of notes that people have been asking for. I am not proud of myself at this moment, I still feel I am letting people down, but I also feel that I am helping others. With that, let’s try to put some words together about the wines.
I am months behind on posting
At this point, I am 6 to 7 months behind – which is a world away from where I want to be. Most of that is still on me and the last two months. I wish I could try to give some of these wines a bit more background but I am also very cognizant of the number of posts I need to do to get anywhere near where I want to be. So, to be blunt, these next few posts will essentially be without a theme. I will throw in a couple of Winery-themed posts, here and there. They will essentially be wine note dumps, in order of the tasting dates. There are many great wines in each of these upcoming dumps but they will still be just that. I will order them as always, in regards to their scores, the QPR scores will not be an ordering mechanism.
The sad part, aside from the world within which we live at this moment, is that I never got to do a Rose post this year. Rose wines will be posted over these next posts. My overall take on the 2022 roses is that they improved from the past vintages but the overall appetite for them from the public is waning, it feels like 2021 was the peak Rose and we are now on the downhill, the end of fad. Time will tell.
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Wine Musings Blog 