Decrees / WeeksEnd wine

b"sd
That which we don't understand,in contrast to that with which we disagree.
And often there are many things going on we don't totaly understand the why aspect.
Yet knowledge is a bedrock of humanity and the quest is energy that runs through the veins of our journey.
Perhaps its very dependent on how we ask.With the right words one can even draw water from a rock.
Have a good one; h

Looking forward to this Friday evening when I was pretty sure we'd enjoy Shabbat alone (meaning my wife and I with immediate family only, a pretty rare occurrence lately) with our daughters.

My wife prepared her classic Moroccan fish with red sweet peppers, hummus, garlic, and cilantro. I roasted a chicken stuffed with herbs both in the cavity and under the skin, while cooking whole small roasting potatoes, zuccinni hunks, quartered onions, whole garlic cloves and more fresh herbs on the same platter. Tarragon under the skin of the chicken, rosmary and zatar stuffed in the chicken cavity and splayed among the roasting potatoes.

With all this emphasis on fresh herbs in tonight's - tomorrow's meal plan,and fish and chicken no red meat, the weekend calls for white wine, and IMO most notably a Sauvignon Blanc. Which brings me to the question of the occasional bizarre comment I get from people here and there: that "Israeli's don't like Sauvignon Blanc." I find this shocking relative to my experiences making Sauv Blanc for 10+ years both at the Tishbi and Recanati Wineries. I have found Israelis to love a good Sauvignon Blanc, although perhaps somewhat reluctant to pay top $$$ for it. Which is understandable, at least for the non-religious non-observant non-kosher keeping crowd as absolutely terrific Sauv Blanc can be had pretty cheaply with smart shopping around the globe. But great, or even very good, Kosher Sauv Blanc might be a bit tricker to find.

At least, it was in a wine store I visited in Beit Shemesh recently, with a wide selection of Israeli kosher red wines and a huge selection of single malt Scotches to boot. I gathered the store catered to a dati clientele... So I was very curious to hear the response from the young, obviously knowledgeable and very polite French born salesman when I asked him why didn't they carry more (or any, for that matter from my 1st glance) varietal Sauv Blancs. His answer was as straight as an arrow. Israelis don't like Sauvignon Blanc because it is too amer (French for bitter) for them. They don't like bitter wines.

Any modern winemaker worth his or her weight in salt knows how to (fairly selectively) remove bitter flavors from a wine, or perhaps even better to prevent bitter grape flavors, almost entirely from the seeds and the skins, get too obvious into the wine to begin with. For the reasons of limiting bitterness in my Sauv Blancs at both Tishbi and Recanati I regularly employed these specific techniques when making SB, and our wines had a lot of loyal fans.

Anyway among this shops impovershed white wine selection was a 2011 vintage Barkan Sauv Blanc Reserve, and that will be our 1st wine tonight.

Will report back on it later.

Interested to hear your SB story! To me, the best SB in Israel is Teperberg and Tabor. The food sounds devine

I'm enjoying the Shvo SB 2011 tonight. It''s non-kosher, but I like how, in my opinion, it refers to the Loire rather than NZ. I appreciate it much the same way I dig the whites from Tzora and Midbar.

The wine was disappointing. The things I look for in Sauvignon Blanc - green pyrazine notes, green-ripe tropical fruit aromas like guava and passionfruit, smoky reductive notes like flint or a whiff of gunpowder, and bracing acidity - pretty much none of those flavor notes were present to any significant degree.

On top of that, the wine was I thought maybe slightly cork tainted. I can't figure why anyone would chose to use a natural cork (and this was a high quality one, so serious money had been spent on this bottle's closure) in a delicate white wine. It did have a lovely feeling in the mouth - a rich texture (almost oily in a good way) and at least enough acidity to wash down cleanly.

My wife couldn't pick up any cork taint - so maybe that was my imagination running wild - but her comment was simply that the wine didn't have much flavor at all...

David - the fish was good but tuna really isn't a great choice for the Moroccan preparation. Upon simmering it turns rather tough and dry in texture, even if it's flavor matches the rich Moroccan seasoning well. My chicken (we only had a taste yesterday and had it for Shabbat lunch at room temp) was great, as were the potatoes and zucchini along side it. The onions and garlic cloves had caramelized, the herbs (in the tray) had well browned and lent a fantastic taste and aroma to the gooey "sauce" of chicken drippings that accompanied them.

A flavorful SB would have been perfect this afternoon.

Shavua tov Harry and all,

Indeed, both Tavor and Teperberg made great Sauvignon Blanc in 2012 and the soon to be released Ella Valley of the same vintage is excellent as well. I've been told good things about the releases of Barkan and Carmel and will hopefully taste those soon.

Unfortunately no good red wines for me this past shabbat but some excellent whites!

Friday night:

Eyal, Merlot 2009: The first Eyal wine I've ever had, thanks to a fellow forumite. Rogov has discussed their wines in the past but unfortunately this one did not live up to my expectations. A blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon that was aged 14 months in mostly new french oak barrels. Bright garnet in color with on the nose oak, red fruit and alcohol. Medium to full-bodied with on the palate some sour red fruits and lots of heat with spicy wood on the finish. Lacking balance, extraction and acidity let alone complexity I can't find anything positive to say about this wine.

Herzog, Special Reserve, Late Harvest Chenin Blanc 2007: Deep orange-ish gold in color with on the nose apricot jam, floral notes with honeysuckle and ripe summer fruits with a touch of vanilla. Medium-bodied with a delicious viscosity and much of the same on the palate with some sweet cantaloupe and tangerines and a touch of candied ginger on the long finish. Really nice, good acidity that prevents the sweetness in this wine from being cloying, a successful vintage and I don't see this wine dying soon.

Shabbat lunch:

GHW, Golan, Moscato 2012: Luckily not as sweet as the 2011, a very decent Moscato.

Ella Valley, Chardonnay 2008: Thanks again to the fellow forumite who offered me this bottle! Aged 11 months in french oak casks. Bright gold in color with on the nose apples, citrus blossom , pears and a touch of butter. Medium-bodied with on the palate fresh ripe apples and pears as well as a touch of light buttery cream, nice, well-balanced acidity, all finesse and elegance in this wine with a long finish and just the right dose of oak that is kept in check and is perfectly integrated. The best Chardonnay I had in a while, loved it!

Bashan, Naveh, Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot 2008: The first time for me with a Bashan wine and I'm in no rush to try another one... Dark plumy garnet in color towards ruby at the rim and medium-bodied, with on the nose and palate forest berries and dusty wood and some VA, I highly disliked this wine. Totally out of balance and lacking on all accounts. Something very strange, it doesn't say wheteher the wine is Heter mechira or Otzar bet din though the latest seems to be the answer as it does say that the wine is kedushat shvi'it. What is really strange is that the label bears the OU symbol which to me is a first on a wine from the shmitta year!

Have all an excellent week,

GG

Friday night:
Adir Shiraz 2010

Shabbat Lunch - Bravdo Rose 2011 (tasted it at the winery Friday afternoon and couldn't resist taking home a couple of bottles - something new from a winery I'm a fan of). Made from 100% Cab Franc.

Motzei shabbat - late night sushi with friends. Yarden Gewurtztraminer.

Three for three this weekend. No complaints.

Shavua tov.

Mark

Hi Harry, shavu'a tov,

Two for two this Shabbat: 2009 Four Gates Pinot Noir & 2010 Bravdo Cabernet Sauvignon.

The pinot has it all --- aroma, taste, depth, balance, finish; and the Bravdo drank beautifully.

A good week to all,

Isaac

Shavua Tov all.

Friday night - Ben Zimra 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon
Shabbat - Recanati 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon

Enjoyed both!

Last week Har Bracha Winery left a bottle of each of their new Reserve Wines for us to taste. This was a treat. The Petite Syrah and Cabernet both won medals at Decanter this year. The new reserves are big wines that will develop over the next couple of years. Both the Cabernet and Merlot gave richness, elegance, and complexity and announced that they are here to stay.

2006 Sidduri Sonoma County pinot noir, 2010 Domaine de Montmartel Cotes-du-Rhone blanc and a guest visiting professor from Mexico City, all going down very well.

BS"D

Friday night:
Hosted a Uphruff(Shabbos before man gets Married) in Monsey for about 125 people and chose these wines to serve with the food:

2011 Le Soreq - Sauvignon Blanc(semi-dry) - Maldova - tamed lightly buttered fruit(Not toasty or heavy oak at all)
2011 O'Dwyers Creek - Sauvignon Blanc - New Zealand - BIG HIT! - JUST straight up Grapefruit and powerfull too!
2011 Hagafen Oak Knoll - Chardonnay - USA - Well done!
2009 Weinstock Cellar Select - Chardonnay - USA - good but how this has 20 months in oak?
2011 Le Ramparts De Bel Air - Bordeax - France - BIG HIT!
2011 Hagafen - Pino Noir - USA good soft fruit needs time.
2010 Shilo - Legend - Israel - BIG HIT!
2011 Adir - Cabernet Sauvignon - Israel - too young..yet drank better at end of night.. waiting to hear how Shabbos day went
2010 Shilo - Secret Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon - Israel - for those who needed a cab ..worked great.
2010 Chateau Rollan Du By - France - bolder flavors for those needing not a heavy wine were happy.
2000 Hafner - T.B.A. - Austria -BIG HIT!

Shabbos Day:

2009 Yarden - 2T - Israel - This wine needed forever to open up yet when it did .. I like the FRUIT FRUIT TOOTY FRUIT!
2012 Hermon - New Blend - Israel - good lavor for another new lower coast wine..

@ Lewis Pasco

Hope you enjoyed the Barkan Reserve SB. I tried it at the White Wine Festival at the Herzlia Marina a few weeks backs and I was quite impressed, enjoying it much more than many higher priced SBs.

For Shabbat dinner we were invited to my in-laws for dinner. The wine brought by their daughter-in-law's parents was Galil Mountain's Barbera, which went quite nicely with the roast chicken. Not an outstanding wine by any measure, but rather pleasant and head and shoulders above what they might have brought (I won't mention any names), so I was happy.

Friday was our 35th wedding anniversary so for Friday night we went upscale:

Friday night: Yarden El Rom Cabernet 2008, followed by Chateau Quinault 2005
Saturday lunch: Recanati Reserve Merlot 2007

Everyone wished that I had reversed the order on Friday night because the Yarden was so rich and delicious, it made the Quinault seem a little thin.

Bill Mazel Tov!!! Did not know your wife was a wine drinker as well - will help us get through the CRAZY wines we need to hit next week - looking forward to seeing you, will email. Mazel Tov again.

David

Bill Mazel Tov!!! Did not know your wife was a wine drinker as well - will help us get through the CRAZY wines we need to hit next week - looking forward to seeing you, will email. Mazel Tov again.

David

OMG, Carole's nose and palate are WAY better than mine!

Hi;was anxious to try petit verdot so went with tel arz.definitely a different grape. I'm geussing the yatir is much more complex. By day tried the recanati shiraz 2012. Bursting with fruit and spice but probably could use a bit more age in the bottle to fully express itself. H

After a tough week touring Israeli wineries, relaxed with Landsman Syrah, Lueria Rose, Carmel Kayoumi Riesling and Castel GV 07; all great.

Put on a shevah brachos for Shabbos lunch. Of course, we had a bottle of Cab for dinner, then for lunch as much of everything as we could, including a bottle of Cantine Gabrielle Moscato. The Agua Dulce wines were plentiful and mediocre, the Moscato surprisingly good, though way on the sweet side. Everyone enjoyed guzzling extremely young red wine as an experience, though I'm sure everyone has had better. Syrah and Zin are tasting better than Cab at this point.

2007 hagafen estate syrah. Very very pleasant

Just drank Eagles Landing Russian River Valley 2009 Chardonnay. Big and excellent!

Mazal Tov Bill and enjoy your wineries tour with Dave, trust me, you're in for a treat! Been there, done that.

Best,

GG

Hello Harry,

This week we enjoyed some lovely braised ribs and a bottle of the 2009 Recanati PSZ - nice and mostly controlled Israeli wine - which is saying alot for the 2009 vintage.

http://kosherwinemusings.com/2013/06/17 ... andel-psz/

Yiron 2009, really good