TN: GHW Yarden Malbec 2010

Hello all,

Today I've had the pleasure to taste one of the wines that has created the most buzz over the past few months in our little bubble that is the Israeli and Kosher Wine World thus I've decided to post my tasting note in a thread of its own.

Golan Heights Winery, Yarden Malbec 2010: This is the first vintage of varietal Malbec by this winery, a wine that I've first heard about only a few weeks ago and one I've been quite eager to try. Produced from grapes grown at 700 meters above sea level in the Yonathan Vineyard, only about 6000 bottles were made which is not a lot by GHW's standards. Aged for 18 months in french oak barrels, the color is a dark cherry red towards purple, on the nose plenty of ripe red fruit such as raspberries, strawberries and cherries but also some blueberries with light floral notes of violets somewhat subdued by a veil of smoked meat and a touch of vanilla from the oak. Full-bodied with nice fruit extraction and again plenty of ripe red fruit as well as blueberries and plums, followed by roasted meat, vanilla and cloves with good acid and soft, caressing tannins on a long and elegant finish. A delicious wine and the best Malbec I've had the pleasure to taste so far. While it's ready to enjoy now I don't expect this one to improve significantly over time and as discussed on the other thread, while well-balanced and with no noticeable heat it's relatively high 15% Abv will probably limit a bit its ageing potential, my own guess being 2017 or so.

Best,

GG

Why would high ABV limit its aging potential?

Why would high ABV limit its aging potential?

As Lewis explained it well on the other thread, a dry wine with a high Abv, even if it's well-balanced and no significant heat is noticeable on release but as it ages, like any wine the fruit will slowly recede while the alcohol will remain high and will take over.

Great TN Gabriel, thanks a ton.

I will definitely seek out a bottle as I have tasted more than a few Malbecs from Argentina (non Kosher) which kicked a$$! Considering what a beautiful wine Victor's T2 is, a Malbec from the Yonatan vineyard sounds promising indeed.

15% isn't high on the Yarden scale. As far as I remember this is the baseline for most of the SV syrahs and merlots and some go higher...

Indeed, by this logic no Yarden wine should age well, which is clearly not the case.

While many GHW wines have indeed beared a high Abv of 14.5-15%, a number of those have not aged as well as expected (04 Ortals) with the alcohol more noticeable nowadays (while many people like that, the 04 Ortal Syrah is showing very liquorish) or having flavors of overripe fruit that didn't show when the wines were younger.

While many GHW wines have indeed beared a high Abv of 14.5-15%, a number of those have not aged as well as expected (04 Ortals) with the alcohol more noticeable nowadays (while many people like that, the 04 Ortal Syrah is showing very liquorish) or having flavors of overripe fruit that didn't show when the wines were younger.

Some have; some haven't. I only had one bottle of the Syrah left and it was totally over the hill, so I can't be sure if it's just a bad bottle, but the 04 merlots are still great, as are the 05 and 06 Kelas, any of the El Roms, and good old CSs from at least 2000 on. On the other hand, I was shocked at how poorly the 03 and 04 Katzrins showed at the last RCC. But now we're spilling over into the topic of the other thread.

Indeed, by this logic no Yarden wine should age well, which is clearly not the case.

Well, I don't have much personal experience on that, but what Yardens do age well other than the cabs?

Obviously the Cabernet Sauvignon wines age the best and the longest (the Elrom and "regular" versions) as do the Katzrin (which is majority cab), but (especially relative to other Israeli wines) certian vintages of the Kaztrin Chardonnay and Blanc de Blanc have aged nicely, and the same can be said for the Merlot. I also have plenty of the Ortal Syrah 04 that is still drinking very nicely, contrary to the experience of others on this board.

I also have plenty of the Ortal Syrah 04 that is still drinking very nicely, contrary to the experience of others on this board.

I never said that 04 Ortal Syrah isn't drinking nicely but I'm not a big fan of the liquorish mouth-feel and notes however all the people with whom I drank the last 2 bottles loved it. More a matter of personal taste. About the same could be said regarding the 07 Yonathan Syrah.

I also have plenty of the Ortal Syrah 04 that is still drinking very nicely, contrary to the experience of others on this board.

I never said that 04 Ortal Syrah isn't drinking nicely but I'm not a big fan of the liquorish mouth-feel and notes however all the people with whom I drank the last 2 bottles loved it. More a matter of personal taste. About the same could be said regarding the 07 Yonathan Syrah.

Now you've upset me, as I have several cases of the Yonatan syrah, and I expected the sweet liquorice to pass. I hope you're wrong. Will need to try a bottle sometime soon (all are in long-term storage so I have to get one first).

Liquor-ish and licorice...


are not nearly the same thing!

Liquor-ish suggests very ripe, raisined grapes, whereas licorice is a fennel/anise scent associated with specific terroir and grape varieties like CS, CF, or ME that are, IMO, appropriately ripe but not at all over-ripe.