Blog Archives
Another round of QPR (Quality to Price Ratio) Hits and Misses, Six WINNERS – October 2021
To start – I really must state something in advance. I am sorry that I missed the chance to properly remember the 10th Yahrzeit of Daniel Rogov’s passing, which occurred on September 7th, 2011 (it may have been the 6th but Israel time and all).
I wrote two of my posts about the man, you can read them here and as such, I will simply say that I miss him as do most of the kosher wine drinking public. So much has changed in the past 10 years, since his passing, and I wonder what kosher wine would be like today if he was still with us. So much of the world is open to the kosher wine world, which was not the case 10 years ago. I wonder if Rogov would have embraced the opening. I wonder if he would have liked or disliked the fact that Israel is producing and importing loads of kosher wine from France and Italy, specially made for the Israeli kosher wine buying community.
I think, in the end, he would have loved all that is changing and we are all worse off by his lack of presence in our lives today. So I raised a glass of 2011 Yarden Blanc de Blanc in his memory and may we all be blessed for having known such a man!
QPR (Quality to Price Ratio) Wines
It has been a few months since my last QPR (Quality to Price Ratio) post and many people have been emailing me about some unique wine I have tasted and some lovely wines that are worth writing about.
Thankfully, no matter how garbage and pain I subject myself to, we are still blessed with quite a few wonderful QPR wines out there. This post includes superstars like Herzog Wines’s new 2019 Herzog Eagle’ Landing Pinot Noir, and a few others. It goes to show that when wineries reasonably price superior wines, even 46 dollar wines can be a QPR winner! Sadly, the Eagle’s Landing Pinot Noir is the most superior wine on this list. There are other nice wines to come but for now – this QPR wine list, overall, was not as good as previous lists.
We have an OK list of QPR WINNERS:
- 2019 Herzog Eagle’ Landing Pinot Noir
- 2017 Netofa Dor
- 2019 Chateau Genlaire Grand Vin de Bordeaux
- 2019 Elvi Vina Encina Blanco
- 2019 Pacifica Riesling, Evan’s Collection
- 2020 Domaine Guillerault Fargette Sancerre
There were also a few wines that are a slight step behind with a GREAT or GOOD QPR score:
- 2020 Domaine Joost de Villebois Pouilly Fume
- 2019 Domaine du Castel Grand Vin
- 2019 Nana Chenin Blanc
- 2019 Nana Cassiopeia
- 2015 Mad Aleph Blaufrankisch
- 2019 Aura di Valerie Zaffiro Super Tuscan
- 2020 Vitkin Israeli Journey, Red
- 2020 Domaine du Castel La Vie Blanc de Castel
- 2019 Herzog Malbec, Lineage, Clarksburg – GREAT Value for a varietal I am not a huge fan of
- 2020 Herzog Variations Be-leaf
- 2018 Binyamina Sapphire, The Chosen
- 2020 Tabor Sauvignon Blanc
- 2020 Bodegas Faustino VI Rioja
- 2020 Yatir Darom Rose
- 2020 Recanati Marselan Rose
- 2020 Arroyo del Imperio Chardonnay
There are a few wines that got a QPR Score of EVEN – meaning expensive or average:
- 2020 Herzog Sauvignon Blanc, Acacia Barrel Series – very unique but expensive
- N.V. Herzog Methode Champenoise, Special Reserve – Nice but expensive
- 2020 Herzog Chardonnay, Chalk Hill, Special Edition – Nice but expensive
- 2019 Castellare di Castellina Chianti Classico – very unique but expensive
- 2020 Matar Chardonnay
- 2019 Capcanes Peraj Ha’abib, Flor de Primavera – Still too ripe for me
- 2019 Weinstock Cabernet Sauvignon, Cellar Select
- 2020 Psagot Sinai, White
- N.V. Drappier Rose de Saignee, Champagne
- 2018 Les Lauriers de Rothschild
- 2020 Pacifica Rattlesnake Hills Viognier
- N.V. Vera Wang Party Prosecco, Brut
- 2019 Or Haganuz Elima
- 2019 Binyamina Chardonnay, Moshava
The others are essentially either OK wines that are too expensive, duds, or total failures:
- 2018 Covenant Cabernet Sauvignon, Lot 70 – Lovely wine but expensive for the quality
- 2019 Hagafen Family Vineyard Red Blend – Lovely wine but expensive for the quality
- 2020 Binyamina Moshava Rose
- 2019 Yatir Creek White
- 2019 Domaine du Castel La Vie, Rouge du Castel
- 2017 Barons Edmond & Benjamin de Rothschild
- 2018 Domaine du Castel M du Castel
- 2020 Padre Bendicho Rose
- 2020 Carmel Private Collection Rose
- 2020 Yatir Darom White
- 2019 Nana Chardonnay
- 2019 Segal Marawi Native
- 2019 Mia Luce Blanc
- 2019 Nana Tethys
- 2018 Odem Mountain 1060 Cabernet Franc
- 2018 Odem Mountain 1060 Red Wine
- 2017 Odem Mountain Alfasi, Special Reserve
- 2019 Mia Luce Syrah and Stems
- 2019 Mia Luce C.S.M.
- 2017 Tabor Merlot, Adama
- 2017 Tabor Cabernet Sauvignon 1/11,000, Limited Edition
- 2019 Chateau de Parsac
- 2019 Gurra di Mare Tirsat
- 2017 Tulip Espero
- 2019 Psagot Merlot
- 2019 Psagot Cabernet Sauvignon
- 2018 Jezreel Icon
- 2019 Psagot Edom
- 2017 The Cave
- 2018 Carmel Mediterranean
- 2020 Yatir Mount Amasa Rose
- 2020 Flam Camellia
- 2020 Netofa Latour, White
Some things that made me stand up and take notice (AKA QPR WINNERS):
The real WINNER here, from the entire list, is the lovely 2019 Herzog Eagle’s Landing Pinot Noir, another STUNNING Pinot Noir from Herzog – BRAVO!
There were other high-scoring wines in this overall list, nice wines from Covenant and others, but the prices of those wines put them at a disadvantage in comparison to others in their wine categories, and as such, they have poor to bad QPR wine scores.
In the end, IMHO, the overall list has less quality than the previous QPR list but there are a few nice wines here indeed.
The other WINNERS were the incredible 2019 Elvi Vina Encina Blanco, a lovely Macabeo for 13 dollars! Just lovely! The 2019 Pacifica Riesling, Evan’s Collection, is not as good as previous vintages – but another solid wine that many will enjoy. Finally, we have a Sancerre that I can get up and cheer about and that is the 2020 Domaine Guillerault Fargette Sancerre. It is here in the USA and it is nice!
Other wines worth of note (AKA QPR GREAT or GOOD):
Of these GOOD to GREAT wines – the most interesting of the list, for me, is the 2020 Domaine Joost de Villebois Pouilly Fume. No, it is not as good as the lovely 2019 Jean Pierre Bailly Pouilly Fume, still, it is a Mevushal wine that is reasonably priced, so it gets a solid QPR score. The 2019 Nana Chenin Blanc is nice, but for the price, it is not worth it, and it is DRINK NOW!
The 2019 Domaine du Castel Grand Vin, is nice, yes, but it is too ripe for me and the price is too much for the quality it is, so yeah, nice wine for those that like this style. The 2019 Nana Cassiopeia, is a wine that I found I could taste and at a decent enough price, so yeah, good going.
The 2015 Mad Aleph Blaufrankisch has so many stories revolving around it, that all I can say is, drink it if you like the style. I found it OK, but I do not need to buy any more.
The 2019 Aura di Valerie Zaffiro Super Tuscan is nice enough, but really, why did you need to put those words on the bottle? A Super Tuscon is a term used to describe red wines from Tuscany that may include non-indigenous grapes, particularly Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah. The creation of super Tuscan wines resulted from the frustration winemakers had towards a slow bureaucracy in changing Italy’s wine law during the 1970s (from WineFolly). Why would you place those words on a wine bottle??
The 2019 Herzog Malbec, Lineage is a solid example of what reasonably priced wine from California can taste like! Finally, the newly released 2020 Herzog Variations Be-leaf – handily beats all other no-added sulfite options!
Read the rest of this entry
More simple white, red, and rose Kosher wines, with some mid-range reds – with more WINNERS
As I close out the QPR posts for each of the wine categories, I forgot a few of the simple white wines – so here is a post of them. Please look at the past simple white wines post for more on QPR and the simple white wine category. Again, QPR (Quality to Price Ratio) is where kosher wine needs to go. QPR means well-priced wines. Still, people do not get QPR. To me, QPR WINNER is what I describe and explain here. The overall revised QPR methodology is described here (and linked from the WINNER post as well).
One more reminder, “Simple” white wines is a wine that will not age more than seven or so years. So, please no hate mail! There are many WINNERS here, enjoy! I also threw in a few roses with one WINNER, but it is a 2019 Rose, and 2020 roses are about to be released, so drink up those 2019 roses already. I also tasted a few reds, with the 2017 Les Lauriers de Rothschild getting a slightly higher score.
The clear WINNER of this tasting is the 2019 Chateau Lacaussade, Vieilles Vignes, Saint-Martin. That along with the 2018 Koenig Riesling, which I like more now than I did a year ago. Also, the 2017 Les Lauriers de Rothschild. The 2017 Les Lauriers de Rothschild, Montagne Saint-Emilion was a winner in my previous post, I just slightly raised the score on it.
The wine note follows below – the explanation of my “scores” can be found here and the explanation for QPR scores can be found here:
ROSE Wines (DRINK them now – if you must)
2019 Rubis Roc Rose – Score: 91 (QPR: WINNER)
This wine is a blend of 50% Cinsault and 50% Cabernet Sauvignon. This is a weighty and food-required style rose than a refreshing rose. The nose of this wine is fresh and alive, with meaty notes, showing red and blue fruit notes, with nice citrus, with good attack and herbs. The mouth on this medium-bodied wine is solid, a drop less acid than I would like, but still very good with hot peppers, green notes, blue fruit, raspberry, dried lime/lemon, with mineral, and nice spice. The finish is long, green, and enjoyable, with good structure and nice minerality, nice! Drink now. (tasted Oct 2020)
2019 Yaacov Oryah Pretty as the Moon Rose– Score: 89+ (QPR: POOR)
This rose is a blend of 45% Syrah, 40% Grenache, and 15% Petite Sirah. The nose on this wine is divine – a lovely nose of floral violet, loads of rosehip, followed by a bit of nice funk, dried and tart cranberry, along with loads of mineral, this smells like what I want from a Provence wine, with dried/tart red fruit, a bit of reductive oxidation, and green notes as well. The mouth on this medium-bodied wine is nice but the acidity is where the wine fails, it has acidity, but the wine’s profile, which has nice fruity and refreshing characteristics lacks the punch of bright acidity to bring it all together, still, showing mineral, and lovely red fruit, with tart strawberry, lovely green/tart apple, quince, watermelon, hints of passion fruit, and loads of mineral. The finish is long, complex enough, with slate, graphite, more flowers, and lovely freshness, WOW! Bravo! Drink now! (tasted Oct 2020)
Easy drinking white wines for 2020 – better than I expected
Well, the roses from the 2019 vintage, so far, are not inspiring, and initially, I thought the same for the white wines, thankfully, as I tasted through the last 15 bottles of wines things shifted. There is a reason why I have been pushing Price in relation to its quality, AKA QPR (Quality to Price Relationship).
For this tasting, I tasted more than 70 wines, however, I posted only some 49 wine notes here. Rest assured, the others were either not worthy or I did not have detailed enough notes to make it here on this post.
Interestingly, initially, I had zero hope for the white wines, much as I felt about the roses. However, all of this is data-driven and other than my wines notes, the rest is all prices defined by the USA market. The more, I tasted, the more I felt that there are options in the simple white wine category. I was really ready to give up hope, but thankfully, folks like Shirah, Kos Yeshuos, and other Europen wines really pulled their weight. Sadly, of the top 27 wines, there were a total of 11 from 2019. Of them, only two were from Israel. The rest hailed from California, France, and New Zealand. In the end, so far, the vast majority of the Israeli white wines I have tasted from 2019 are also highly uninspiring.
With that said, the median price for the wine category of non-aging white wines is going up! There lies in my over-arching issue, prices keep going up!! The median price for non-aging white wines, here in the USA, is now 24 dollars! Seriously!! COME ON!! This is crazy! As the kids say, total Cray Cray! Turned around, the total number of wines below the median price of 24 dollars that received a 90 or higher was 12, and many of those are our QPR WINNERS. Overall, 2019 is still a dud in Israel, of those that have made their way to the USA, and Califonia is saving the day, so far.
All the wines here are scored both quantitatively, AKA using my classic wine score described here, and using the newly revised QPR score described here. So, yes, there will be more of the QPR discussion that will arise from this post. Thankfully, we have a good number of wines, 7 from my count, that received the QPR score of WINNER, sadly, they are mostly from 2018. Therefore, I repeat again, I am highly unimpressed with how many 2019 white wines I had and how many are subpar. Please be careful with the ones you buy.
Finally, in order of price, the first of the 7 QPR WINNER wines come in at wine #38, sorted by price! That means there are loads of other wines far less interesting than the 2018 Ramon Cardova Albarino, the most expensive of the 7 WINNER QPR wines. This is the kind of data that makes me scream. This is what needs to change! Wineries are willing to produce wines that are more expensive and less interesting, than more than HALF of the wine I tasted! This is what needs to change, kosher wine has gotten out of control, price-wise.
Do yourself a favor, check the price, you do it for everything else you buy! Check the wine, check the price, and then decide!
The wine note follows below – the explanation of my “scores” can be found here and the explanation for QPR scores can be found here:
2018 Ramon Cardova Albarino, Rias Baixas – Score: 92 (QPR: WINNER)
This wine is in the 2nd quintile of quality scoring and it is just below the median price line, so this wine SHOULD get a score of GREAT for QPR. However, it is ALSO one of the few white wines that score at least a 91, and that has a price that is below the median price line, so this wine gets the coveted score of WINNER for QPR. Bravo!!!
The 2018 vintage of this Albarino, in its second vintage, shows less tropical and ripe than the first vintage, 2017. This bottle also had the thermal active label, and it shows up when the bottle is at the proper drinking temperature. My only REAL and serious complaint is the cork, why would Royal waste the money and my money of a real cork? Use a Diam or any other amalgamated cork, like almost everyone else is. I really hope I do not hit a bad cork for the wines I have.
The nose on this wine is better than the 2017 vintage, Lovely nose of rich mineral, with loads of straw, with which salinity, and lovely peach and dry pear, with honeysuckle, gooseberry, along with green notes galore. Lovely! The mouth on this lovely green and acid-driven wine has a more oily mouthfeel than the 2017 vintage, showing rich salinity, green olives, with lovely dry quince, green apples, more peach, green apple, but also with lovely lime and grapefruit, no sense of guava or melon-like on the 2017 vintage, with a tinge of orange notes. The overall mouth is lovely and it comes at you in layers. The finish is long, green, with gooseberry, tart fruit, with an incredible freshness, and orange pith, slate, rock, and incredible acidity lingering long. Incredible!! Bravo!! Drink until 2022.
2018 Hagafen Dry Riesling – Score: 91 (Mevushal) (QPR: WINNER)
This wine is in the 2nd quintile of quality scoring and it is below the Median price line, so this wine gets a GREAT score for QPR. However, it is ALSO one of the few white wines that score at least a 91, and that has a price that is below the median price line, so this wine gets the coveted score of WINNER for QPR. Bravo!!!
The nose on this wine is tropical and sweet fruit-focused, with pineapple, guava, melon, peach, but now THANKFULLY the petrol is in full gear, and it commands your attention, with the tropical fruit still very present, along with some nice mineral. The mouth on this medium-bodied wine is fun, tart, nice acidity, with more petrol funk, showing nice balance, with good acidity, still, the mouth is sweet and ripe, the petrol and tart notes help, with green apple, tart grapefruit, tart stone fruit, and slate galore, with waxy notes, and tart pineapple. The finish is long, green, with intense mineral, slate, flint, and lovely petrol that gives way to nice acidity, and hints of tannin. The wine has indeed come around and now petrol is more present and the hole in the middle is gone. Drink until 2024. Read the rest of this entry
2020 Bokobsa Sieva Wine tasting just outside of Paris
Well, I am one post in and I have another 5 to go. As I stated in the first of my 6 posts on my trip to wine tastings in London, Paris, NYC, and L.A., I am truly thankful that my trips ended well for everyone, the news keeps getting uglier.
As I stated the kosher wine tasting season was upon us, and the first of my posts about the ones I attended was my London post. After a quick train ride to Paris, and a stop at the hotel, it was time for another tasting, the Bokobsa Sieva tasting.
The Bokobsa Tasting, is presented by the company known in France as Sieva, and it happened in Paris (well not exactly Paris, more on the very outskirts of Paris to be exact) on Tuesday, on the stunning grounds of the Pavillon des Princes in the 16th district. I arrived early and after taking a bunch of pictures I just relaxed and waited for the event to start. One of the issues from the tasting in past years was the older vintages of wines poured, along with the food that was cold and quite simple. This year, the food was nicer, they had warm food, and some very well put together dishes. Sadly, the vintages on the Royal wines were still strange, some new 2017 vintages while some wines were 2014 and 2015. However, the Bokobsa wines were all the latest, other than the 2018 Chablis which was not being poured.
One wine two Hecsher/Kosher Supervisions means two labels
One of the biggest shocks I had at the event was the realization that France is in a far worse place, in regards to kosher supervision than Israel and the USA. I have seen many times, where Badatz Edah HaChareidis and the OU would both be on the same bottle of wine, like Or Haganuz wines and others. However, in France, that seemingly is not an option! Understand that there are NOT multiple mashgichim (kosher supervisors) when there are multiple supervisions on a single bottle. Rather, the ONE/Two mashgichim all do the stringencies of one or both of the kosher supervisions. However, in France, this cannot work – I am not kidding! Clarisse showed me two bottles of the same Champagne made by Bokobsa Sieva. The difference between them, was not the overall supervision, as that was one the same, nor was it in any way a different vintage or winery, nope! They were EXACTLY the same wine – EXACTLY! The only difference was the name of the supervision on the back of the bottle! One had the kosher supervision of Paris Beit Din and the other had the kosher supervision of Rabbi Rottenberg.
So, I then asked the head of the supervising Rabbis, who was at the tasting, if the Paris Beit Din accepted to be on the same label with Rabbi Rottenberg, would Rabbi Rottenberg agree? He said no! OMG! I was speechless. ME! What question would you followup to that answer? I asked why? He said because they have different requirements. I said they are the same Mashgichim, so why would you care? In the end, he said that is how it is in France. Sadly, that is the state of affairs and I moved on.
Another fascinating difference between the labels is that the Paris Beit Din version of the wine has a different Cuvee name than the Rabbi Rottenberg version. That, I was told, was just for marketing, so that people would not be as shocked as I am now! Finally, there is also a pregnant lady with a slash through it, denoting that alcohol and pregnancy is not a good idea, the normal disclaimer wines have on their labels. On the Rabbi Rottenberg label, it was all in text, no images of a lady. Read the rest of this entry
Wine Musings Blog 