Judge for Yourself / WeeksEnd wine

bsd
Ever take or give a bribe. To Judge Mind or to Judge Heart. Im sure I do it on a daily basis.
Have a good one; h

Mm, a bribe, on a daily basis... then better to take than give.

Shavua tov Harry!

Friday night:

"Enjoyed" my brother's wine, GHW, Golan, Moscato 2012. As with recent vintages this summer quaffer is too sweet for my taste with no sufficient bubbles let alone acidity to balance out that sweetness. I partially made it up to me with a few glasses of Williamine and Aberlour 10 Years.

Shabbat lunch:

Shirah Wine Co., Coalition 2011: This was quite an interesting wine and could hardly be more different than the 2010 that I loved. Whereas the 2010 had very little acidity and virtually no tannins but was full of tropical and white fruit flavors, the 2011 is a completely different story, as is the blend it is made of.
Zinfandel is the base variety with 60% and is complemented by 12% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc and 8% Touriga Nacional. I didn't decant this wine and it was very interesting to watch its evolution in my glass. Straight out of the bottle this dark cherry red wine shows on the nose heavy notes of ripe strawberries, green notes with bell pepper and tobacco leaves, mocha and dates. After a little while, the green notes almost fully blow off leaving space for more berry fruit and spices. Medium to full-bodied, leaning to full, with on the palate strawberries, raspberries, peaches, sweet wood decent acid and very soft tannins with a massive amount of jalapeño spiciness that rises on the mid-palate throughout the moderately long finish that shows as well some chili flavored dark chocolate. A very original and interesting wine, though flavor-wise I did like the 2010 more than this one.

Have all an excellent week,

GG

Hi, harry shavu'a tov,

Friday night: 2010 Dalton Alma C/V (white)
Shabbat lunch: 2012 Vignobles David, Tavel, Rose & 2009 Dalton Alma SMV (red)

Both the Alma C/V and Rose came out of the fridge too cold, so the acid showed through at the expense of all the fruit. As they warmed up, balance was restored.

The Rose and the Alma SMV were delicious. My wife enjoyed the Alma C/V but I am not so enamored. A fine wine, a bit interesting, but did not seem to cut it for me.

A good week to all,

Isaac

2006 Novy Napa Valley syrah (half-bottle) bought at the winery. Just perfect at this time.

2010 Four Gates Pinot Noir- red fruits and perfume on the nose, on the palate rather monolithic with dense sweet cherries approaching but never actually arrivng at the dreaded cherry cough syrup profile. I am guessing that this was the medicinal quality Elie was referring to last week. Not up to the 2010 or non-vintage Four Gates Pinots (save the cuvee d which is a different animal altogether) but I enjoyed it quite a bit.

GHW, Golan, Moscato 2012. As with recent vintages this summer quaffer is too sweet for my taste with no sufficient bubbles let alone acidity to balance out that sweetness.

Women love it, but I also think it is too sweet. Italian Moscato style is a bit different, less sweet, more fresh and delicate. I prefer it to Golan if there is a choice. Price, however is x2-x3. On the Kosher side, have you tasted Bartenura Moscato? It is quite good and inexpensive. Maybe not as good as (non-kosher) Vietti and Prunotto, but close to them and not as sweet as Golan.

Hi Harry,
No serious wine drinking this shabbos, just a glass of Bosca Verdi Sparklettini. I fixed that with some Courvoisier XO and dry prunes.

Following previous discussion on grape juice, I sampled grape juice from Hevron winery, which is made from Muscat grapes. Very sweet as typically expected from pure juice, lacking acidity and having a distinctive perfume aroma.
I also sampled grape juice made by Jerusalem Gold Winery (is this Jerusalem Heights?) from Carignan, Muscat and Argaman grapes - much better, lively and interesting. Enjoyable with a lot of ice, after it is partially melt in the glass to reduce the sweetness.

Shavua tov

GHW, Golan, Moscato 2012. As with recent vintages this summer quaffer is too sweet for my taste with no sufficient bubbles let alone acidity to balance out that sweetness.

Women love it, but I also think it is too sweet. Italian Moscato style is a bit different, less sweet, more fresh and delicate. I prefer it to Golan if there is a choice. Price, however is x2-x3. On the Kosher side, have you tasted Bartenura Moscato? It is quite good and inexpensive. Maybe not as good as (non-kosher) Vietti and Prunotto, but close to them and not as sweet as Golan.

Hi Harry,
No serious wine drinking this shabbos, just a glass of Bosca Verdi Sparklettini. I fixed that with some Courvoisier XO and dry prunes.

Following previous discussion on grape juice, I sampled grape juice from Hevron winery, which is made from Muscat grapes. Very sweet as typically expected from pure juice, lacking acidity and having a distinctive perfume aroma.
I also sampled grape juice made by Jerusalem Gold Winery (is this Jerusalem Heights?) from Carignan, Muscat and Argaman grapes - much better, lively and interesting. Enjoyable with a lot of ice, after it is partially melt in the glass to reduce the sweetness.

Shavua tov

Jerusalem Gold Winery is one of many newish wineries with the name Jerusalem in them. No this is not Jerusalem Heights - which is 100% plonk wine - all of it. JH wines are all mevushal (from what I saw) and taste like they are raisin juice mixed with VA. The Jerusalem Gold wines were good the last time I enjoyed them, but Geller was disappointed with their latest release - but he can talk about that more.

Alex, I've had the BBB of course (stands for Bartenura Blue Bottle Moscato) and to say that I'm not a fan would be an understatement... However, there's another kosher mevushal Moscato from Italy called Cantina di Terrabella that is actually quaffable and would as well please non wine drinkers and women alike.

Regarding the Jerusalem Gold Winery AKA Jerusalem Winery AKA Jerusalem Wineries, they have 2 lines of wines aside from the grape juice (which BTW I've never tasted), entry-level Ugav with 4 reds aged with oak chips (Merlot '11: ok, Cabernet Sauvignon '11: bad, Shiraz '11: not bad, QPR and Pinotage '12: quite nice and QPR) and 2 unoaked whites, an off-dry Emerald Riesling that isn't worse than its peers and a sweet dessert fortified Muscat that isn't bad at all.

As well, they have the Nikanor Reserve Series with QPR wines aged in french oak barrels for 15 months, a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Merlot with currently available vintages on the shelves being 2009 and 2010.

Best,

GG

Fri Night - glass of Gamla CS 2011 with a bottle of Inedit ale
Sat lunch - no wine, just a small bottle of La Chouffe blond ale

Hi; golan cab 2010 flavors of chocolate have become more upfront than half a year ago. And the 14.5 alc is not strongly felt. Really nice wine. H

Another Italian moscato better than the Bartenura is the one sold at Trader Joe's under the name Sara Bee. It's from southern Italy. I don 't know whether or not it'd the same one Gabriel mentions.

Another Italian moscato better than the Bartenura is the one sold at Trader Joe's under the name Sara Bee. It's from southern Italy. I don 't know whether or not it'd the same one Gabriel mentions.

The Sara Bee is a ridiculously good value. Something like $5/ bottle and it's mevushal. so we can serve it at shul .

Yoel problem with sara bee is that it doesnt have a vintage .

Yoel problem with sara bee is that it doesnt have a vintage .

Vintage doesn't really matter with Moscato, I assume TJ sell out pretty easily on such products thereby it's probably always the most recent vintage.

Friday night - terrenal red 4.99 from trader joes- yuch

Sunday went to a friends birthday party which included a wine tasting. Most were not serious wine drinkers.
2007- Segal unfiltered cab - my favorite. a lot of character - many found it too course
2009- the cave - the crowd favorite. Well balanced
2010 covenant. - also a crowd favorite. Full body, muscular, brilliant
2009 Castel grand vin- many did not appreciate the pronounced Tannins

Hi Harry,

Midbar Rose' 2012 - Since my other rose' is the Flam, I'm very pleased to have drunk this, providing me with a much needed second perspective on the genre. These two rose' couldn't be more different in style. While the Flam is lean, austere, and driven by acid and green overtones, the Midbar is fragrant, lush and giving. It's a blend of Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon, but admittedly, I cannot trace much of its character to the grapes from which it is made. It is so lush that I wonder whether or not it has undergone malolactic fermentation. By far, the most intriguing aspect of the wine is its intensely perfumed nose, with notes I don't pick up with floral whites, and that if I were to choose descriptors they would be orange blossom and roses. I don't find the mouthfeel to match the nose, but it would be unreasonable to expect that. The palate tastes very fresh and young. Oryah says that he didn't produce this like one would a white wine, allowing it more skin contact than is usual for a rose', and that results in deeper and livelier color. I've had an earlier version, the Asif rose' '09, and this is clearly the better of the two. 13.5% AbV. B+/**/Y

Hagafen Reserve Pinot Noir 2005 Fagan Creek Block 38 - The first sip misled me to think the wine was bad, but over time it regained its legs and was passable. Its dark and brooding, with some fruit, and tannins that have gone flat. I still have about 6 bottles of Hagafen's reserve Pinots. I'll labor through these bottles, purging them from my inventory. 13.5% AbV. C/*/N

Best,
-> Pinchas

Grading for quality: A - marvelous, B - good/intriguing, C - mediocre/uninspiring, D - subjectively flawed, F - objectively flawed
Grading for value: *** - it's a steal, ** - it's a reasonable deal, * - you've been robbed
Indication of further interest: Y - would purchase again, N - no desire to purchase more

Friday Night - Casa Di Luigi 2012 Chardonnay
Shabbat Lunch - Carmel Private Collection 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon & Castel 2012 Rose

Was not at home this weekend so Friday night, 2011 Cantina Gabriele Pinot Noir. I haven't had too many wines from this winery but this seemed to be just fine. Nothing offputting but nothing grabbing my attention.
Saturday day, 2007 Baron Herzog Contour. very random...
Sunday was the fun day. After a day at the beach we BBQ'd skirt steaks and opened 2009 Galil Mountain Winery Yiron. Spectacular. Then we decided to also have 2007 Golan Heights Winery Yarden Blanc de Blancs... freaking fantastic.

Pinchas - Is the 2012 Midbar Rose available in NY area?

Friday night - Yarden Syrah 2007
Shabbat lunch - Bravdo Chardonnay 2012.
Zvi

Pinchas - Is the 2012 Midbar Rose available in NY area?

No. I purchased it directly from the winery.

Best,
-> Pinchas

Sam wrote

Friday night - terrenal red 4.99 from trader joes- yuch

It depends on which red you're speking about. Trader Joe's can stock four different ones two from Spain and two from Argentina. In my opinion the Argentine malbec can be pretty nice but the quality of the other three can vary a bit. However, when they're on, the QPR is outstanding.

Hi Harry,

1848 5th Generation Cabernet Franc

Sorry Harry - long week. Sam M - the Terrenal Tempranillo is great (if you taste it blind). People have this pre conceived notion of Terrenal and they are wrong. The malbec, is not so much fun anymore. The 2012 Spanish Terrenal Cabernet is a B to B+ wine, but the Tempranillo is a solid B+ wine.

Anyway, this past Shabbos we had a lovely Cab Franc horizontal - Ella Valley and 4G won hands down:

http://kosherwinemusings.com/2013/08/16 ... orizontal/

David