Exciting Israeli red wines
Tel Aviv
Tasted Sunday, January 1, 2017 - Tuesday, February 28, 2017 by KPB with 606 views
Introduction
During my sabbatical in Israel, I decided to broaden my computer science research agenda by also researching the up-and-coming Israeli wine scene.
Although many of these wines are kosher (meaning that the production followed certain procedures established by the orthodox rabbinical leadership), it would perhaps be best to view these as exciting wines from a region that is innovating very actively and creating some really stunning and original expressions of the regional terroir and climate. They are great wines first, and then happen to be kosher too, but if you always conceived of Israeli wines as something created primarily for Jewish festivals like Passover, that's a misunderstanding of the situation here.
Actually, a better way to think of Israel is this: the region is a lot like Sonoma or Italy in terms of its weather and the kind of soils they work with: moist in the spring, but then potentially quite dry and very hot through the summer. The more protected areas, like shady slopes, can avoid scorching summer heat and sunlight, and then you have conditions similar to the regions I mentioned, and the possibility of making wines that are every bit as good and as exciting. In fact, some of the world's first great wines were created here in the Judean hills 2000 years ago, and there is no reason that Israeli wines shouldn't be on the world stage side by side with the very best from California, France, Italy, etc.
My impression prior to this visit was that Israeli wines were often clumsy: overly oaky, sometimes poorly handled in the vinification process, and sometimes underripe or overripe. But what was perhaps an issue 20 years ago has given way to a new generation of wines made by winemakers who have experience in the world's top wine-producing regions and don't goof in amateurish ways. As it happens, today's wines are sometimes still too heavily oaked, and some of them include blends that to my palate task a bit awkward (even downright peculiar). But on the other hand, the local market seems to soak up those styles of wine, so you have a situation in which there is a local taste that actually seems to beg for more oak, and then an international market that looks for more balance. It doesn't help that imported foreign wines pay a crazy tax (something like 100%) and as a result are way overpriced: the Israeli consumer has less experience with upper-end French, Spanish and Italian wines than you might wish for, and consequently doesn't really know how good wines can be if handled a bit more subtly. But this is changing: as the modern wave of better-made wines continues to play out I think we will see fewer and fewer oak-bombs and the Israeli market will probably become more upscale and discriminating.
I'm continuing my project of tasting these wines, but with the spring holiday period approaching, I thought that people might get a kick out of putting a really great bottle of Israeli wine on the table whether for Passover, Easter, or even just for a really good meal unconnected to any kind of religious theme: these are wines that belong in our cellars and can stand side by side with high-end Sonoma reds or Bordeaux. And you know what? The price point is often very advantageous. You can drink far better wines from here, in a given quality level and style, than from Sonoma, for the same dollars per bottle. The wines age really well, and in a positive sense: they gain complexity and evolve positively in the bottle, often for decades.
Some are also quite unique. When I drink an Israeli Rhone blend or Bordeaux blend, the wine might evoke high-end Gigondas or Vacqueryas or Bordeaux. The whites can seem like outstanding southern whites from France or northern ones from Italy. And yet there is often some subtle regional character that you don't actually find from other areas. Well worth trying. You also find surprisingly few fruit-bombs: when I compare with Sonoma, I don't mean in the sense of high-octane ultra-dense cabernet. These wines are, at best, supple mid-weight reds with real balance and mineral lift. Plus you don't get those aromas of bath-salts or the bitter finishes I associate with drought-striken areas of California and Australia, where the water table has become very salty. So you can often find ripeness here without overripeness, and richness without heat. Worth experiencing (and you may want to own more, once you try the best examples).
A last remark: I'm rarely wild about Bordeaux these days, but in fact the Israeli Bordeaux blends are definitely among the very best wines one can find here. I do love Rhone varietals, and you'll see that below. And I haven't had as many chances to drink white wines as red, so this list is skimpy on whites, but blame that on our kitchen -- Israel produces many fantastic whites. We simply had to cut back on fish (someone in the family became allergic) so I have less need for white wines at home, and hence tasted fewer of them.
Flight 1 (51 Notes)
Closing
I'll be adding to this list, but I think the message is clear: at the upper end of the market, Israel is creating genuinely world-class wines, both red and white. My prediction: fifteen years from now, Israel will be producing wines we'll be signing up for on mailing lists, and quite happy to buy even at $175 a bottle, just like the top producers from Argentina, or Sonoma or Napa or Bordeaux. But why wait until they get expensive? Buying into these wines now will show your friends how connected and sophisticated you really are: you'll be the "Warren Buffett" of wine...
2011 Tishbi Syrah Single Vineyard 88 Points
Israel, Galilee
(1/2/2017)
Deep purple, with a nose that instantly evokes hot, dry-country Syrah: ripe blueberries, tar, sweet oaky vanilla notes. Flavorful, saturates the palate, medium length finish. A good wine, but lacks the finesse one sees in the very best Syrah reds, and slightly over-oaked, so I wouldn't predict a very long bottle evolution. A good value, and it actually gains interest steadily in the glass.
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2013 Flam Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 88 Points
Israel, Galilee, Upper Galilee
(1/3/2017)
Deep purple, with a nose of cassis compote, eucalyptus, toffee. On the palate, varietal but with slightly underripe fruit, so that the tannins are just a little too dominant. You pick up a nice mushroom note on the short finish. I would view this as the equivalent of a good cru bourgeois Bordeaux, but nothing special: reminds me of Chateau Gloria back in 1986 or so.... As such, a relatively poor QPR. The wine should improve with bottle age and I would bet that it will peak at around age 8.
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2012 Sea Horse Romain 88 Points
Israel, Judean Hills
(1/5/2017)
A light-bodied GSM red with clean lines, very enjoyable to drink. The Syrah here is crisp and doesn't overwhelm the Grenache, and for me that's the key to why it works. Easy to recommend for near term consumption.
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2014 Recanati Petite Sirah/Zinfandel Reserve 89 Points
Israel, Galilee
(1/5/2017)
This needs a little time in the cellar, maybe two years, but is already a lovely red. The wine is light bodied but intensely flavorful, and showcases crunchy red fruits: red currents or pomegranate. The fruit is ripe but framed nicely by lifting acidity and tannic structure. A lovely spicy nose is elusive now but should gain intensity as the bottle ages. Very much to my taste. A shame CT doesn't support a + notation on scores: thus might merit 90 or 91 points by 2018!
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2015 Domaine du Castel Rose du Castel 89 Points
Israel, Judean Hills
(1/5/2017)
I love the nose on this exuberant rose: rose petals, strawberries, floral tones! In the mouth, light and a bit sweet, perhaps a touch too light and too sweet for me. But as an aperitif this is a fantastic candidate.
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2014 Teperberg Chardonnay Essence 83 Points
Israel, Judean Hills
(1/7/2017)
On opening, a ringer for a solid Macon white, but then collapses. The wine is pale yellow, with an initially reticent nose showing stony white fruits, vanilla, perhaps a hint of beeswax. This gives way to a heavy vanilla/caramel perfume with time. Flavorful but much too buttery, and very over-oaked, to the point that it cloys as it sits (unfinished) in your glass.
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2015 Dalton Pinot Gris 89 Points
Israel, Galilee
(1/5/2017)
I was served a glass of this at Mashya, a trendy local place specializing in fish with mideastern spices. Perfect match! A dry and very varietal Pinot Gris, with hints of citrus and white flowers on the elegant nose and a crisp dry finish, but with the satiny mouthfeel Pinot Gris often shows. Good candidate for my "house white" for the next few months!
[update: the wine tends to sag when not served quite cold, and I should almost lower my score. I'll leave it at 89, but make sure to keep this on ice.]
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2014 Kishor GSM 84 Points
Israel, Galilee
(1/8/2017)
A clean Rhone-style red with very bright fruit: the blend seems almost more like SG than GSM. The Syrah component is very forward and sweet, almost over-ripe, and the Grenache is sweet too, so the overall impression is of a very fruity wine, a bit unbalanced. Short finish. You would want to serve this with a chakchouka or a ratatouille: something flavorful and spicy.
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2012 Katlav Wadi Katlav 90 Points
Israel, Judean Hills
(1/8/2017)
A lovely wine. Opaque, slightly dusty purple... nose is very fragrant with cassis, toffee and caramel, leather. Sweet and friendly, with soft tannins and fairly low acidity, palate coating soft, lush finish. You taste the new oak, but it isn't at a level that seems unbalanced. Very enjoyable now and for perhaps five years, and a super value: I rushed to order more and I'm sure I'll end up reordering if I use those up because a wine like this is so easy to pair with food, and so sure to please people. (Just the same, not a wine I would hold longer.)
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2013 Golan Heights Winery Malbec Yarden 88 Points
Israel, Galilee, Golan Heights
(1/8/2017)
A good food wine, but hard to taste by itself. This young Malbec is somewhat aggressive and hot. The wine is nearly black in color, fading to purple on the rim, with a muted nose of plum compote and vanilla, and hints of brioche. Intense fruit, fairly ripe, with slightly bitter tannins and a long palate-coating finish that reminds you of a dry vintage port. I love high-country Malbec, but this is really in a style you see mostly in wetter, valley soils in places like Cahors. Serve with a spicy roasted leg of lamb. This bottle needed LOTS of air: believe it or not, it was better after being open for 36 hours than it was at any point on the day we pulled the cork, so decant for 8 hours if you open it now.
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2014 Lewinsohn Garage de Papa Rouge 92 Points
Israel, Galilee
(1/11/2017)
This wine is very dark, nearly black, fading to a very deep purple on the rim. On opening the nose is dominated by violets and caramel, black cherries, and a hint of menthol. On the palate, the fruit is ripe and very flavorful: cassis or ripe black plums, chewy tannins, nice long finish. It isn't very evident but there is a hint of fizz on the palate (it vanishes overnight), presumably a slight secondary fermentation in the bottle. This wine clearly will have a long aging potential: for me it is similar in quality and material to a good California GSM (in fact the mix here is Syrah, Carignan and Marselan; the latter is a variety unfamiliar to me). Syrah-dominated reds can age remarkably well, and this wine would be very interesting to revisit at age 8 and then again at age 16. I bet that it will barely have budged before age 5 or 6 (although the nose may be more evolved), but that the nose will show substantial complexity and spice by age 8 and once the fruit integrates a bit more, it should be superb. There is enough acidity to hold for a long time: it would surprise me if it didn't still taste young and lively at 16. Very primary now, so if I were to rate it for drinking tonight, maybe 88-89. But if you hold it for a little while to let it settle and gain some complexity, I think it will quickly merit 92, which is the score I'm going to use.
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2014 Tulip Winery Syrah Reserve 88 Points
Israel, Galilee, Upper Galilee
(1/11/2017)
This wine is medium bodied, with a lovely ruby hue. Nose is expansive and varietal, showing ripe plums, smoke, leather, perhaps even a hint of the famous Syrah bacon fat. In the mouth the wine is lush and rich, a "southern rhone" (or California) style of Syrah. Balanced medium length finish.
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2015 Lewinsohn Garage de Papa Blanc 91 Points
Israel, Judean Hills, Jerusalem Mountains
(1/13/2017)
Very pale, watery yellow. The GDP 2015 blanc has a shy nose, elegantly floral, showing honeysuckle, lime, with a faint hint of something feline. A fairly substantial, chewy mouthfeel: ripe fruit, good grip, palate-saturating. Fairly long finish shows bitterness on opening, but that faded after the bottle was left open in the fridge for an hour. Like a good Macon white, not at all buttery. People who drink white burgundy should enjoy this wine.
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2015 Ahat Winery Upper Galilee 91 Points
Israel, Galilee, Upper Galilee
(1/13/2017)
For an American, the label on this wine is lovely, but challenging: not one word of English except the URL and the year! The wine is pale yellow in color, with a nose that seems slightly exotic, showing pineapple and beeswax, orange peel, hints of sweet white flowers. In the mouth a fairly dry wine, fruit is ripe but nicely framed by the acidity, long but light finish. I'm assuming this is a steel-fermented Chardonnay, although without being able to translate the label I can't be sure. I like it very much, quite Burgundian.
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2014 Vortman Mourvedre Carignan 92 Points
Israel
(1/16/2017)
Inky dark, nearly black, with a spicy nose showing blackberry pastilles, green olives, garrigue, creosote. Powerful with tongue-coating fruit, tannins that might not bite but definitely nip, very long mineral finish. I like this a lot, and it could definitely evolve even more complexity with additional cellar time.
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2013 Recanati Shiraz 86 Points
Israel, Galilee
(1/18/2017)
Black/purple with a nose of very sweet blueberries, licorice, creme de cassis. Very intensely flavored but a little syrupy, some astingent notes. Kind of collapses with time, revealing reductive aromas of mushrooms and brioche. Young, will improve with age and should merit a higher score in 3-4 years.
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2009 Tulip Winery Syrah Reserve 88 Points
Israel, Galilee, Upper Galilee
(1/18/2017)
Purple robe. An early stage of maturity, with the nose showing currents, tar, musk. Oak a bit evident. Slightly harsh palate shocks on entry, but then the wine opens and starts to seem a bit more balanced, with firm acidity and modest tannins. Perfumed notes on the finish, which is fairly short.
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2010 Alexander Winery Shiraz Reserve 87 Points
Israel, Galilee, Upper Galilee
(1/18/2017)
Murky purple. On opening this had a very intense bacon fat aroma, really overwhelming, which I took to be some form of Brett, but it gradually vanished over time, and I concluded that the wine was just overly reduced and needed air. Once you get past the bacon, cassis and garrigue, substantial oak. If I could tell CT to render my score as 87? I would do so.
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2008 Carmel Shiraz Single Vineyard Kayoumi Vineyard 93 Points
Israel, Galilee, Upper Galilee
(1/18/2017)
Brick red. Nose is lively wish crunchy red fruits and framboise pastille, hints of musk and mint. The musky aroma is perhaps a hint of maderization? Delicious, sweet fruit and lovely palate tension, very long with a mineral driven finish, tiny bit sharp or harsh at the end. Has potential to improve and could merit 94-95 if that reduced note doesn't become an issue.
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2007 Château Golan Syrah Royal Reserve 94 Points
Israel, Galilee, Golan Heights
(1/18/2017)
WOTN. Purple, lovely nose is spicy, with ripe plums and just the barest hint of surmaturite. On palate, very balanced, long finish, good acidity, balanced, mineral lift. Still young and can definitely improve with more cellar time.
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2011 Carmel Mediterranean 89 Points
Israel, Galilee, Upper Galilee
(1/18/2017)
Deep purple. Nose is spicy and appealing, creme de framboise, tar, oaky vanilla. Very soft mouthfeel, sweet fruit. A solid choice for near term drinking.
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2014 Shvo Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc 88 Points
Israel, Galilee, Upper Galilee
(1/21/2017)
Very light in color, with a pretty nose of stony fruits and honeysuckle. Clean, dry, lifted by mineral finish. Lingering aftertaste. A very nice wine!
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2013 Shvo Vineyards Red 88 Points
Israel, Galilee, Upper Galilee
(1/21/2017)
Bottle had been open a while, but the wine was good. Vivid ruby, nose is forceful showing Zinfandel-like fruit, tar, herbs. Powerful and a touch bitter on the palate. A good wine but better in a few years.
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2008 The Cave 93 Points
Israel, Galilee
(1/23/2017)
An impressive young Cabernet that could easily merit an even higher score in five years (in fact I was torn between 93 and 94, and ultimately went with 93 just to be cautious). Rich crimson purple, with a complex nose showing black cherries, tobacco, anisette, camphor. Sweet ripe fruit yet with substantial acidity and lush tannins, long mineral-inflected finish. Yet elegant, very lithe... The balance and poise of this wine set it aside from the pack. A real success!
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2011 Yatir Yatir Forest 93 Points
Israel, Judean Hills
(1/25/2017)
Dark purple. Sweet nose of toffee, cassis sorbet, blackberry pastilles, hints of tobacco. Ripe up front, but very soft, a bit sweet, medium length, tongue-coating finish. Nice minerality. Will surely improve with time.
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2008 Carmel Limited Edition 87 Points
Israel, Galilee, Upper Galilee
(1/28/2017)
Although quite high ranked by CT'ers, I guess my personal preferences don't entirely match: I felt that this wine was a good but rather middle-range Cabernet. Rather clean, maybe a touch too much oak, good balance, medium finish.
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2013 Flam Classico Judean Hills 90 Points
Israel, Judean Hills
(1/28/2017)
Quite a nice bottle. Deep brick red, nose showed cedar and pencil lead, cassis fruit, leather. Some toasty aromas on the tail of the nose. A rather classic Bordeaux, reminds me of a good medoc. I bet that side by side with Gruaud Larose, knowing the wines, many people couldn't figure out which was the one from Bordeaux and which from Israel...
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2012 Gvaot Pinot Noir Masada 91 Points
Israel, Samaria
(1/30/2017)
A ringer for an Oregon Pinot in a style I associate with Cameron, maybe the Ardsley's Leap. The wine has a lovely medium ruby, very aromatic with red currents and basmati rice, spice cake, toasty oak. You could sniff and swirl this for ages. Sweet, soft texture, surprisingly low acidity. On the palate you again get that distinctive basmati rice flavor. Medium length finish. Delicious now, and in fact I would drink this young.
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2009 Segal's Cabernet Sauvignon Unfiltered Kosher 91 Points
Israel, Galilee, Upper Galilee
(2/3/2017)
Delicious wine! Mahogany red... The nose just soars from the glass with cassis, leather, cigar smoke, crime caramel. Equally good on the palate: suave and soft. Overoaked, even "very" overoaked, but it isn't annoying. I guess sometimes oak just works really well... Long finish.
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2012 Recanati Special Reserve 90 Points
Israel, Galilee
(2/4/2017)
Medium purple. The nose here is a bit restrained: the wine seems a little closed. But I find red plums or perhaps a cranberry aroma, toasted brioche, spice cake. A fairly tart, medium-bodied wine, seems like it might have a fair amount of non-Bordeaux juice (carrignan, marselan, Syrah) in the blend, long mineral-inflected finish. I actually like the style here, but have never been wild of blends that combine Cabernet with Rhone varietals. You end up with an edgy wine. In this case, there is a further issue: perhaps the fruit was a little underripe or the yield a little high?
[Note: the wine seemed more integrated and smoother after a day, so I nudged my score from 89 to 90. But clearly it needs cellar time or a long chance to breath. If popped and poured, my original 89 was generous.]
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2015 Tzora Vineyards Shoresh 88 Points
Israel, Judean Hills
(2/7/2017)
I can see why others like this more than me, but even so, I'm going to be honest and say that I just don't like this wine. The wine is deep purple in color, with a strongly perfumed nose of blackberries and ripe plums, bakers yeast, oaky vanilla and toffee. In the mouth a powerful wine that will gain some mellowness with age, fruit driven and a bit flabby, with a fairly short finish. But the real issue here is with the blend: the latest in a series of Cabernet Sauvignon / Syrah blends (this one has petit Verdot too, probably explaining the somewhat floral nose). I find that Cabernet and Syrah clash and give an angular blend, like drinking from two glasses of wine at the same time: very different wines. Here, the components in the blend would individually have been very good as wines: I would love to try them bottled separately, and wouldn't be surprised to be giving scores close to 93 or 94. But sometimes the whole is less than the parts, and in this case the blend clashes and the wine is sort of cloying and awkward. Not to my taste at all.
If you do own it, or like this blend, cellar for at least five years before drinking.
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2011 Segal's Cabernet Sauvignon Unfiltered Kosher 90 Points
Israel, Galilee, Upper Galilee
(2/9/2017)
A good wine, although it needs another year or two in the cellar. Deep purple, with a classic Cabernet nose of cassis, cigar box, old leather, coffee. Richly flavored but not sweet, good acidity, oaky tannins a little dry, long finish. For me the oak is a touch too prominent, but not to the point of being a defect (call it a stylistic choice by the winemaker), and those who love oak would probably prefer it like this. Quite a strong effort, and it could sit side by side with many Bordeaux: I would say that the style reminds me of Gruard Larose.
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2012 Shvo Vineyards Red 86 Points
Israel, Galilee, Upper Galilee
(2/11/2017)
A solid table wine, similar in style to wines you find by the carafe in much of France. Richly flavored, but a bit disjointed, perhaps an issue with the blend.
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2013 Margalit Enigma 94 Points
Israel
(2/13/2017)
A delicious Bordeaux blend. Gently aromatic nose highlights ripe red currents and raspberries, toasted brioche, lavender. Sweet yet soft and balanced, long finish. Outstanding now with a long future!
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2010 Zauberman Merlot 90 Points
Israel
(2/14/2017)
Quite a good merlot, although that Israeli heavy hand on the oak is definitely evident here. The wine is inky dark, with a sweet nose of double-cassis de cassis and caramel custard, good grip, intense but with very lush tannins. One of the most Napa-like wines I've had since arriving in Tel Aviv six weeks ago. If you love Pride merlot, for example, this is a wine you'll definitely enjoy.
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2012 The Cave Old Vines 95 Points
Israel, Galilee
(2/15/2017)
As good a young wine as I've tried in Israel. This could easily pass for a high end Sonoma Cabernet. Softly fragrant with spicy cherries, leather and violet pastille aromas, hints of freshly baked pound cake. Sweet but very lifted with the tannic structure and acidity for quite a lovely balance, long mineral finish. This will age and improve for a decade or more (at peak, will it merit 97? 98?), and should still be drinking well twenty years from now. Bravo!
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2014 Sea Horse Chenin Blanc James 86 Points
Israel, Judean Hills
(2/17/2017)
Quite good at the price, reminds me of a St Aubin white burgundy we drank last year, although this is a chenin blanc, not a chardonnay. Medium straw, oaky/buttery but with enough acidity to lift the wine. Assertive fruit flavors. Drink soon.
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2010 Château Golan Geshem (Grenache, Syrah & Mourvedre) 88 Points
Israel, Galilee, Golan Heights
(2/19/2017)
A light-bodied wine, ringer for a chateauneuf du paper red from a less ripe vintage. The wine is ruby colored, with a gentle, sweet nose showing red currents and raspberries, leather, toasted baguette. Good flavors: pomegranate juice, some tannic structure, hints of dried figs. Light-bodied, lifted. Drink up soon, but even though in scoring terms I don't see a way to give this a super high number, the wine is actually quite enjoyable now.
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2014 Sea Horse Take Two Judean Hills 89 Points
Israel, Judean Hills
(2/20/2017)
A really good Rhone blend with Zinfandel, Mourvèdre and Petit Syrah. Medium density, sweet but with good acidity, source cherry pastille, lovely fruit/floral nose, really delicious. Seems like an ideal house wine to me. To drink soon.
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2014 Tzora Vineyards Shoresh 86 Points
Israel, Judean Hills
(2/23/2017)
Perhaps bottling variations? For me this was nowhere near what other reviewers found: just a very dull table wine, not flawed, but unexciting (and overly oaky).
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2016 Montefiore Montefiore Rosé Carignan Merlot 90 Points
Israel, Judean Hills
(2/27/2017)
Montefiore's 2016 rose is a tremendous wine, a real success. The color is lovely: a pale pink, very pretty in the glass. Recently bottled and needing some weeks to open up again (by late spring or early summer it should be ready for action), the wine has a slightly dusty nose but swirling coaxes out a lovely poupourri of rose petals and passion fruit, pomegranate. You can tell that the wine will be dry, and yet the nose hints at all sorts of exotic fruits. In fact the palate is light, dry, crisp: the fruit is subtle and the effect is similar to a dry Sauvignon Blanc, with no residual sugar at all. Very balanced and long. The perfect wine to open on the patio on a hot afternoon.
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2014 Château Golan Syrah 89 Points
Israel, Galilee, Golan Heights
(2/23/2017)
A good syrah, not one of the very best worldwide, but with a lot of potential. I drink plenty of Syrah from the Rhone and this is in a style I think of as northern Rhone: a bit leaner and more delineated, aromatic but not syrupy or jammy, long palate persistence. I wonder if yields were a tiny bit high?
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2015 Montefiore Colombard White 88 Points
Israel, Judean Hills
(2/27/2017)
A crisp, dry while with good acidity and a nice mineral-driven finish. You find tileuil and lime flowers on the elegant nose. Great as an apperetif or for kir.
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2012 Montefiore Petite Sirah 88 Points
Israel, Judean Hills, Jerusalem Mountains
(2/27/2017)
Medium violet, sweetly aromatic, spicy with pomegranate fruit. Ripe yet light, good acidity, a little tannic severity: for a wine intended to be drunk soon, maybe a little bit sharp? 88+.
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2015 Montefiore Cabernet Sauvignon 91 Points
Israel, Judean Hills
(2/27/2017)
A ringer for a good Sonoma Cabernet! Or perhaps St Estephe. This wine is elegant, medium bodied, balanced, with a clean mineral lift. Outstanding now, but drink it within a few years.
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2012 Montefiore Syrah 90 Points
Israel, Judean Hills
(2/27/2017)
Like a good St Joseph, this wine is dark in color but in a surprisingly Burgundian style: light on the palate, firm dusty nose with red currents, mocha, finish is tart and delineated. I think this will gain even more complexity with another two years in the cellar.
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2013 Montefiore Aria 93 Points
Israel, Judean Hills
(2/27/2017)
WOTN! A dark, spicy Rhone red, showing garrigue, lovely spicy palate, rich texture, sweet black fruits, mocha, lifted nose. Great inner energy and balance. You can tell that the soils were rich in limestone and dry. Outstanding.
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2012 Montefiore Petite Sirah 89 Points
Israel, Judean Hills, Jerusalem Mountains
(2/27/2017)
Black/purple, this wine's nose is plummy and ripe, with black olive tapenade, garrigue, black cherries. Swirling coaxes out spice, and waxy notes. Dark and brooding: forest floor. Lifted and shaped by lively acidity. Very successful!
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2013 Montefiore Petite Sirah 92 Points
Israel, Judean Hills, Jerusalem Mountains
(2/27/2017)
A dark, brooding wine, the 2013 Petite Sirah is extremely successful. It presents with an incredible spicy nose, very complex, constructed around ripe black fruits and black licorice. On the palate what stands out is the lovely balance of fruit with acidity and the soft tannins. Perfect with flavorful meat dishes. Could drink this now, or hold it for many years.
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2012 Montefiore Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz Kerem Moshe 89 Points
Israel, Upper Galilee / Judean Hills
(2/27/2017)
Very much a young Medoc, this Bordeaux blend is built around blackberries and candied cherry fruit, but with the structure and grip one expects from a grand vin. Interesting spicy nose hints at bell peppers. I would drink this young.
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2013 Montefiore Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz Kerem Moshe 90 Points
Israel, Upper Galilee / Judean Hills
(2/27/2017)
Although the wine needs more cellar time to really hit its peak (call it 89+ today), I think the 2013 Moshe is a great success with a long future. A Bordeaux blend that could be a strong Medoc bottling, similar in style to many very expensive grand cru classe bottles. The vintage style is cool and the wine is complex and cerebral, with cassis fruit, leather, fennel seeds, and just a hint of spice cake. Flavorful but not sweet, long finish. Very impressive!
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