Community Tasting Note

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Saturday, October 1, 2022 - Get me to a rooftop. Time to once again yell to the masses about the greatness of Recanati Winery. I tell anyone who will listen to look no further than Recanati for consistently good wine across the spectrum of their offerings.

Recanati is the culmination of the dream of Lenny Recanati and Uri Shaked, founded in 2000, and utilizing the proper balance of Old World and New, classic and modern, finesse and power. Recanati and Shaked had the inspiration during a night harvest in 2007 to produce wines focusing on Mediterranean varieties such as their beautiful Wild Carignan. Additionally, they began to produce native Israeli varieties such as Marawi, first commercially produced in 2014, and Bittuni, released just a few years ago.

These Mediterranean varieties are far better suited to Israel's climate and head winemaker Kobi Arviv has become a master at getting the best out of every grape, whether indigenous to Israel or not. Carignan, the focus of this note, can be harvested later in the growing season due to its naturally high acid, allowing for great fruit character with good tannin while maintaining its acidity.

The true greatness at Recanati is the consistency at each price point entry. I rely on great quality from the entry level Yasmin line, both Red and White in each vintage. Priced at just over $10, it's difficult to find better value. The Reserve line showcases precisely what a mid-level priced wine should - quality, depth, beauty. If only this were the case at every winery.

For the first Shabbos of the new Year, I pulled a nicely-aged Recanati from the cellar, the Reserve Wild Carignan, 2014. It was near perfect right out of the bottle. I wouldn't say this is a great impossiblity for an Israeli $30 wine, but it's another feather in the cap of Recanati how great this wine is now.

In the glass, dark red-to-purple. Pronounced nose of jammy, brambly raspberry, pipe tobacco, some smoke and cedar. On the palate, cranberry, raspberry, very nicely integrated fruit showing austerity. The acid is fresh and lively with nicely rounded tannins. Wow. A big winner for me. Beautiful wine showcasing the best of Israel.

$42, 14%ABV, non-mevushal

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