2 days ago, I had a lunch in Catit with a good friend. It was my first time there , after I heard many praises , and they were all right ; it was probably the best meal I've had in Israel , and it was just a lunch. I can't imagine how a dinner there would be. There were so much tastes and flavours in each course and the place and service were also wonderful.
and there was also a wine ..... Pichon Baron 1990.
I've had it for the first time in 2002, and it was one of the greatest wine memories i've ever had , and probably the first great Bordeaux I had. When I tasted it in 2002 it had an intense aroma of very ripe black fruits with some tobacco notes full bodied, leading to very rich and fruity palate with long, long finish (At least this is my memory).
This time it was quite different - young ruby colour, Aromas of wet stones, tobacco and some black sherries in the background that emerged from time to time. In the mouth it was medium to full bodied , very smooth and round, very elegant with a sweet flavours of fruits and well integrated wood , and long and sweet aftertaste. Overall it was an excellent wine, very enjoyable but my strong memories of the first bottle that was close to perfect caused me a slight dissapointment. Score (my friend agreed with me fully) : 94-95
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Spanish Evening
Two days ago, I've had another evening of spanish wines, tasted blind. we tasted 3 bottles. 2 were nice but nothing special, but the third was very good : dark ruby, very nice, sweet nose of ripe black fruits and candies. medium to full bodied, rich, fruity with some notes of licorice and medium aftertaste. Score - 93 . The name is Enate - Riserva especial, 1998. Never heard about it before. It comes from an appelation called Somontano, north-west from Barcelona. Imported by Anavim.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Some wines during the weekend
This weekend unfortunately I got a mild flu. My little daughter managed to do what 1000 patients didn't , and delievered me her viruses, nothing truely severe but it was enough to impair my sense of smell. Even though, I didn't surrend, and with the help of Pseudo-Ephedrine (Sinufed) I tried some wines:
On Friday with my Friday's group I had the Domaine de la Mordoree - Lirac, Cuvee Reine de bois 2005. The nose was a bit closed (and so was my nose) with hints of blackberries , cassis and some spices, In the palate it was medium to full bodied, still tannic but with good mid-palate persistance and quite long aftertaste. for about 125NIS (32 US$) I think it's a very good value. Score 90-91. We also oppened a bottle of La Spinneta - Barbera , Vignetto Gallina 2004, that was dark coloured with a strong nose of espresso (even my dumb nose couldn't ignore it) and some black fruits in the back. Again medium to full bodied with good acidity , smoother tannins but less mid-palate persistance and shorter after taste. Overall a very nice wine , very modern style , I would score it about the same (But it's more ready today).
Today (Saturday), my family celebrated my nephew first Birthday. I brought 2 bottles. First was the Barkan Superiour 2003, that has a lovely nose of very ripe blackberries , cassis and tobacco (reminded me a bit the Altitude 720+ , 2003, from the same producer). In the mouth it was less impressive. medium bodied , smooth but with a bit thin mid palate and a nice but quite short aftertaste. Score 88-89 (92-93 for the nose, 86-87 for the mouth). Later Came the Golan heights, Yarden Cabarnet 2003, that was the opposite, quite closed nose , but fuller bodied, more tannic with more persistance and longer aftertaste. Score- again 88-89 (Lesser nose, better palate) . I must mention that I tasted the Yarden, Cabarnet about twice before and it was better. More fragarant nose, smoother and sweeter tannins . most probably my flu didn't help. I think I have 1 or 2 , more bottles, so I'll try one next year.
On Friday with my Friday's group I had the Domaine de la Mordoree - Lirac, Cuvee Reine de bois 2005. The nose was a bit closed (and so was my nose) with hints of blackberries , cassis and some spices, In the palate it was medium to full bodied, still tannic but with good mid-palate persistance and quite long aftertaste. for about 125NIS (32 US$) I think it's a very good value. Score 90-91. We also oppened a bottle of La Spinneta - Barbera , Vignetto Gallina 2004, that was dark coloured with a strong nose of espresso (even my dumb nose couldn't ignore it) and some black fruits in the back. Again medium to full bodied with good acidity , smoother tannins but less mid-palate persistance and shorter after taste. Overall a very nice wine , very modern style , I would score it about the same (But it's more ready today).
Today (Saturday), my family celebrated my nephew first Birthday. I brought 2 bottles. First was the Barkan Superiour 2003, that has a lovely nose of very ripe blackberries , cassis and tobacco (reminded me a bit the Altitude 720+ , 2003, from the same producer). In the mouth it was less impressive. medium bodied , smooth but with a bit thin mid palate and a nice but quite short aftertaste. Score 88-89 (92-93 for the nose, 86-87 for the mouth). Later Came the Golan heights, Yarden Cabarnet 2003, that was the opposite, quite closed nose , but fuller bodied, more tannic with more persistance and longer aftertaste. Score- again 88-89 (Lesser nose, better palate) . I must mention that I tasted the Yarden, Cabarnet about twice before and it was better. More fragarant nose, smoother and sweeter tannins . most probably my flu didn't help. I think I have 1 or 2 , more bottles, so I'll try one next year.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Wine Route - Winter Catalogue
Last week Wine Route published their second Winter Catalogue.
Last year their catalogue was sensational , featuring many excellent new wineries from Chateauneuf du Pape , Burgundy and Piedmont such as Roger Sabon , Pierre Usseglio, Vieille Julliene, Marcoux, Clos du Caillou , Girardin, Joseph Roty, Serafin , Paolo Scavino, Bruno Giacosa , La Spinetta and more.
This year there aren't so many new names (few from Burgundy, Sandrone from Piedmont, Mordoree from Cdp) , and for me the highlights are mostly the Chateauneufs from the superb 2005 vintage. After the dramatic raise in the prices of Bordeaux wines at the last few years , and the outrageous prices of Burgundy wines, the Rhone valley (especially CdP) remained one of the very few wine areas when you can still find magnificent wines at reasonable prices. In the catalogue you can find wines that score around 95 from most serious wine critics (I know scores aren't everything, but they are some kind of an indicator) for less than 300NIS , for instance , the Vieux Telegraphe Le Crau (a consistent and reliable performer), Roger Sabon -Cuvee Prestige, Vieille Julliene regular CdP and Marcoux regular Cdp .
I was expecting for 2004 Barolos that didn't arrive yet but in my opinion the Barolo Percristina from 2001 is a steal for 359NIS. The bric del fiasc from Scavino and the Ciabot mentin Ginestra from Clerico are also very interesting.
Burgundy wines aren't usually my cup of tea , but even I , couldn't ignore the Dujac Clos de la Roche 2005. A grand cru that earned high scores at a relatively reasonable prices. There are also some very interesting Mersault wines from various producers.
From Bordeaux , I haven't noticed something new, but in a few month the 2005 will arrive and my bank acount is going to suffer a lot.
Last year their catalogue was sensational , featuring many excellent new wineries from Chateauneuf du Pape , Burgundy and Piedmont such as Roger Sabon , Pierre Usseglio, Vieille Julliene, Marcoux, Clos du Caillou , Girardin, Joseph Roty, Serafin , Paolo Scavino, Bruno Giacosa , La Spinetta and more.
This year there aren't so many new names (few from Burgundy, Sandrone from Piedmont, Mordoree from Cdp) , and for me the highlights are mostly the Chateauneufs from the superb 2005 vintage. After the dramatic raise in the prices of Bordeaux wines at the last few years , and the outrageous prices of Burgundy wines, the Rhone valley (especially CdP) remained one of the very few wine areas when you can still find magnificent wines at reasonable prices. In the catalogue you can find wines that score around 95 from most serious wine critics (I know scores aren't everything, but they are some kind of an indicator) for less than 300NIS , for instance , the Vieux Telegraphe Le Crau (a consistent and reliable performer), Roger Sabon -Cuvee Prestige, Vieille Julliene regular CdP and Marcoux regular Cdp .
I was expecting for 2004 Barolos that didn't arrive yet but in my opinion the Barolo Percristina from 2001 is a steal for 359NIS. The bric del fiasc from Scavino and the Ciabot mentin Ginestra from Clerico are also very interesting.
Burgundy wines aren't usually my cup of tea , but even I , couldn't ignore the Dujac Clos de la Roche 2005. A grand cru that earned high scores at a relatively reasonable prices. There are also some very interesting Mersault wines from various producers.
From Bordeaux , I haven't noticed something new, but in a few month the 2005 will arrive and my bank acount is going to suffer a lot.
Domaine de la Mordoree - CdP Cuvee Reine de Bois , 1999
Today I had it over a lunch with Kobi Shaked (From Wine Route , who lately started to import it) at Rokah 73 restaurant . Very dark coloured. It has a very nice aromas of black fruits mostly black sherries and some flowers. In the mouth it was fantastic- medium to full bodied , rich, fruity, spicy, with great balance, good acidity and long and sweet finish. Gorgeous wine. Score - 95-96
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