A few days ago, I was invited to a special tasting of Mersch, A company that imports Boutique Australian shirazes and now added to their Portfolio some Sauvignon Blancs fron new Zealend.
In this tasting , Mersch introduces some new wines they started to import as well as new vintages of wines they imported before.
1. Astrolabe - sauvignon Blanc, 2007 - Straw coloured. A Nockout nose of tropical fruits , mostly Passion fruit and Guava with some citrus and grapefruits afterwards. In the mouth light to medium bodied, a good balance of sweetness and bitterness that follows to the medium finish. Lovely wine . Score 92-93
2. Foxes Island , Sauvignon Blanc, 2007 - Straw coloured. A bit closed in the nose at the beginning, then started to give some citrus and minerals. As it developed in the glass, the aromas become more intense and were followed by grass. In the mouth - medium bodied, very good balance between sweetness and refresshing acidity and very nice aftertaste. Score - 92-93
3. Rockbare - Mojo Shiraz 2006 - This entry level shiraz had a nockout nose of black cherries and blueberries. In the mouth less impressive with Medium body, fruitiness but some lack of mid-palate presence. nice finish with some pleasent bitterness is a plus. If I could score its nose seperately I would give this a score of 93-94, but overall its a 90 points wine which is also very nice for a wine with a price ticket of 87NIS before discounts. Very good Value.
4. Teusner - Ebenezer Road Shiraz 2006 - Dark Ruby. Nose more understated with toasted wood and some Dark red fruits. In the mouth it was also medium bodied but richer with more mid-palate presence. The finish is medium-long with nice bitterness. Score - 92-93
5. Rockbare - Shiraz Mclaren valley 2006 - The nose resembles that of the Mojo (from the same winery) but more complex with a hint of coffee accompany the black cherries, blueberries and raspberries. In the mouth -Full bodied, chewy, very fruity, with a long finish . Score - 93-94
Outstanding value (108NIS before discounts).
6. Radford Dale - Shiraz 2005 - At the beginning we got some unpleasent aromas , that soon replaced by black and dark red fruits with licorice, In the mouth - Full bodied , chewy with a very dominant bitterness that was pleasent and interesting. The finish was long . Very interesting wine, Quite different from typical shirazes. Score - 92-93.
7. Noon - Eclipse ,2006 - The 2004 vintage of this wine was one of first wines I tasted from Mersch , and I fell in love with it , immediately. The 2005 was even better. and the 2006 ?
A blend of 67% Grenache and 33% Shiraz , its Ruby coloured, with a nose full of red and black cherries with some black pepper. In the mouth - medium to full bodied, very elegant (as always) with nice spiciness and wonderfully long finish. Score - 94-95. This is one of the few wines I buy each year automatically without the need to taste it before.
8. Glaymond - The Distance Shiraz , 2005 - Very Dark coloured. In the Nose very ripe black fruits with some wood and black pepper. Full bodied, very rich, Jammy, with long and sweet finish. A very impressive wine . Score 94-95.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Riesling's Evening
Last week , I hosted an evening devoted to Rieslings from 3 countries : France, Germany & Australia.
1. Grosset - Riesling, Polish hill , 2007 - Supposed to be one of the best Australian makers of Riesling (If not the best) . This is their top cuvee. A bit too young now. Nose of citrus fruits, a bit tropical fruits , mostly pinapple , and minerals. In the mouth, medium bodied, quite dry , with nice balance , good acidity and medium finish. Nice. Score - 90-91
2. J.J Christoffel , Erdener Trepchen, Riesling Auslese , 1975 - Yes, this wine is still alive, very much alive actually. Golden coloured. A nose with dominant petrol aromas , with some peaches in the background. In the mouth medium to full bodoed, oily textured , so fresh with a lovely balance of sweetness and acidity and a long finish. WOTN for most of the members . My score - 94-95.
3. Zind Humbrecht , Riesling , Rangen de Thann, Clos St.Urbain 2002 - My contribution , and the third bottle of this wine I tasted , and quite different from the former ones. The Nose has mostly citrusy aromas with some minerality , In the mouth it was medium bodied , fresh, with a special mouth feel that resembled Grapefruits with a special combination of sweetness , acidity and pleasent bitterness. Some (Including me) liked it a lot, others, much less. Score - 94-95
4. Emrich Shoenleber , Riesling Spatlese , Monzinger Halenberg, 2004 - Usually a favourite of mine, this evening , it didn't perform so well. A lovely nose of peaches , citrus and even some flowers . In the mouth it was again medium bodied with good sweetness and also good acidity that didn't integrate well enough . still very pleasurable, but not as good as two former bottles I had lately. Score (this evening) - 90
1. Grosset - Riesling, Polish hill , 2007 - Supposed to be one of the best Australian makers of Riesling (If not the best) . This is their top cuvee. A bit too young now. Nose of citrus fruits, a bit tropical fruits , mostly pinapple , and minerals. In the mouth, medium bodied, quite dry , with nice balance , good acidity and medium finish. Nice. Score - 90-91
2. J.J Christoffel , Erdener Trepchen, Riesling Auslese , 1975 - Yes, this wine is still alive, very much alive actually. Golden coloured. A nose with dominant petrol aromas , with some peaches in the background. In the mouth medium to full bodoed, oily textured , so fresh with a lovely balance of sweetness and acidity and a long finish. WOTN for most of the members . My score - 94-95.
3. Zind Humbrecht , Riesling , Rangen de Thann, Clos St.Urbain 2002 - My contribution , and the third bottle of this wine I tasted , and quite different from the former ones. The Nose has mostly citrusy aromas with some minerality , In the mouth it was medium bodied , fresh, with a special mouth feel that resembled Grapefruits with a special combination of sweetness , acidity and pleasent bitterness. Some (Including me) liked it a lot, others, much less. Score - 94-95
4. Emrich Shoenleber , Riesling Spatlese , Monzinger Halenberg, 2004 - Usually a favourite of mine, this evening , it didn't perform so well. A lovely nose of peaches , citrus and even some flowers . In the mouth it was again medium bodied with good sweetness and also good acidity that didn't integrate well enough . still very pleasurable, but not as good as two former bottles I had lately. Score (this evening) - 90
Friday, June 27, 2008
Euro Semi-Final with Numanthia 2004
Yesterday I invited 2 friends to watch the second semi-final of the Euro between Spain and Russia. What should I open? I asked my friends and they answered together - a spanish wine.
I suggested Alion 2001 , but one of them already had it last week so I opened a bottle of Numanthia 2004 (scored 98 by Jay Miller from the WA , and not far from it by WS).
The wine was as usual very dark coloured. The nose had a very dominant sedar with blackfruits and some eucalyptus and menthol in the background. with time - some licorice emerged. In the mouth it was full bodied but not a blockbuster like some former vintages (2003) still quite tannic , with good (but not huge) mid palate persistence and quite long aftertaste. A very good wine for sure , and definately a very good value , but my score is more like 94-95 .
BTW ...
Spain defeated russia 3:0 , now what should I open for the final between Spain and Germany ?
A german riesling or a spanish wine ?
I suggested Alion 2001 , but one of them already had it last week so I opened a bottle of Numanthia 2004 (scored 98 by Jay Miller from the WA , and not far from it by WS).
The wine was as usual very dark coloured. The nose had a very dominant sedar with blackfruits and some eucalyptus and menthol in the background. with time - some licorice emerged. In the mouth it was full bodied but not a blockbuster like some former vintages (2003) still quite tannic , with good (but not huge) mid palate persistence and quite long aftertaste. A very good wine for sure , and definately a very good value , but my score is more like 94-95 .
BTW ...
Spain defeated russia 3:0 , now what should I open for the final between Spain and Germany ?
A german riesling or a spanish wine ?
Friday, June 20, 2008
Beaucastel Evening with Pierre Perrin - Impressions
Yesterday evening, a special tasting of Beaucastel wines , conducted by Pierre Perrin, the current winemaker was held. Here some of my impressions from the evening :
1. It was the first time I tasted the famous whites of Beaucastel. While very nice (The regular white CdP with mostly citrusy flavours and fresh acidity in the mouth. the Rossanne VV much more complicated, with less fruit and more butter and minerality both in nose and the mouth), I didn't fell in love with it, and still prefers the whites of Alsace and germany.
2. The 2001 and 1998 vintages of Beaucastel regular red CdP, always among my favourite wines , underperformed this evening. The 2001 was too ripe and porty and lacked the freshness I got from former bottles. The 1998 had too much brett in it, in my opinion.
3. Before this evening, I couldn't understand why they put the 1994 vintage in this tasting, but this wine was the big surprise of the evening, a lovely wine, great for drinking now, with great balance, and good food matching.
4. The Beaucastel regular CdP from 1989 vintage was the wine of the night (WOTN in hebrew). without any serious competition. Simply gorgeous. Complicated nose of red fruits (mostly Cherries , with some meat and spices in the background, medium, to full bodied, balanced, very rich with long long finish. Superb.
5. The Hommage 2005 tasted like ...Shiraz. Dark coloured, strong nose of raspberries without much subtlety , superconcentrated and a bit sweet. Even though I like some Australians, this one was too much for me, and didn't integrate well with the other wines. I liked the regular Cdp from the same vintage much more.
1. It was the first time I tasted the famous whites of Beaucastel. While very nice (The regular white CdP with mostly citrusy flavours and fresh acidity in the mouth. the Rossanne VV much more complicated, with less fruit and more butter and minerality both in nose and the mouth), I didn't fell in love with it, and still prefers the whites of Alsace and germany.
2. The 2001 and 1998 vintages of Beaucastel regular red CdP, always among my favourite wines , underperformed this evening. The 2001 was too ripe and porty and lacked the freshness I got from former bottles. The 1998 had too much brett in it, in my opinion.
3. Before this evening, I couldn't understand why they put the 1994 vintage in this tasting, but this wine was the big surprise of the evening, a lovely wine, great for drinking now, with great balance, and good food matching.
4. The Beaucastel regular CdP from 1989 vintage was the wine of the night (WOTN in hebrew). without any serious competition. Simply gorgeous. Complicated nose of red fruits (mostly Cherries , with some meat and spices in the background, medium, to full bodied, balanced, very rich with long long finish. Superb.
5. The Hommage 2005 tasted like ...Shiraz. Dark coloured, strong nose of raspberries without much subtlety , superconcentrated and a bit sweet. Even though I like some Australians, this one was too much for me, and didn't integrate well with the other wines. I liked the regular Cdp from the same vintage much more.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Some latest TN - Friday group
Last month I drank some really nice bottles at Wine Route , that also represents good values :
Antinori - Guado al Taso , 2001 - Very dark ruby, nose quite closed with black fruits, tobacco and licorice. In the mouth , full bodied, rich, quite tannic feel , with good persistency and aftertaste. not ready now, but will be very good in 2-3 years. Score - 95
Clos Mogador, 2004 - My second time with this wine , and my impression didnt change. Nose still closed with hints of black and dark red , spices and licorice, full bodied. very rich , chewy , great midpalate feel with long aftertaste. Superb value at 339 NIS before discounts. Score - 95-96
Artadi - vinas de gain, 2005 - One of the last bottles remained. Jay Miller (from the Wine advocate) gave it a score of 94 and drinking ability till 2030, not sure about both. Dark coloured, Medium to full bodied, still a bit tannic but quite fruity, decent mid - palate feel but not quite like the Clos mogador 2004, tasted afterwards, and nice finish. Overall, a very nice bottle , can be drank now or better 1-2 years from now. Probably will last 10-12 years from now , but why should we wait. Score- 92 . At 139NIS before discounts , a great value .
Clos Du Caillou - CdP Quartz , 2000 - Ruby coloured , wild nose of meat, leather , provencal spices and some dark red fruits in the background , the wine is quite full bodied, rich, spicy, chewable , with classic Chateauneuf feel in the palate, and nice aftertaste. I drank it with friends , some of the not realy Chateauneuf fans, and still all of the liked it a lot. Score - 94 . Again realy nice value for 349NIS before discounts.
All those wines makes me hold my opinion that today, with the rising prices of the Bordeaux & Burgundy wines , wine lover should pay attention to wines from the Rhone valley , Spain and Italy (Superb Barolos from good vintages such as the wines of Clerico and Scavino are being sold in Italy and hopefully in Israel for about 50-60 Euros), not to mention Australian wines which have a different style , but if you like it , you can find superb wines at a relatively good prices.
Antinori - Guado al Taso , 2001 - Very dark ruby, nose quite closed with black fruits, tobacco and licorice. In the mouth , full bodied, rich, quite tannic feel , with good persistency and aftertaste. not ready now, but will be very good in 2-3 years. Score - 95
Clos Mogador, 2004 - My second time with this wine , and my impression didnt change. Nose still closed with hints of black and dark red , spices and licorice, full bodied. very rich , chewy , great midpalate feel with long aftertaste. Superb value at 339 NIS before discounts. Score - 95-96
Artadi - vinas de gain, 2005 - One of the last bottles remained. Jay Miller (from the Wine advocate) gave it a score of 94 and drinking ability till 2030, not sure about both. Dark coloured, Medium to full bodied, still a bit tannic but quite fruity, decent mid - palate feel but not quite like the Clos mogador 2004, tasted afterwards, and nice finish. Overall, a very nice bottle , can be drank now or better 1-2 years from now. Probably will last 10-12 years from now , but why should we wait. Score- 92 . At 139NIS before discounts , a great value .
Clos Du Caillou - CdP Quartz , 2000 - Ruby coloured , wild nose of meat, leather , provencal spices and some dark red fruits in the background , the wine is quite full bodied, rich, spicy, chewable , with classic Chateauneuf feel in the palate, and nice aftertaste. I drank it with friends , some of the not realy Chateauneuf fans, and still all of the liked it a lot. Score - 94 . Again realy nice value for 349NIS before discounts.
All those wines makes me hold my opinion that today, with the rising prices of the Bordeaux & Burgundy wines , wine lover should pay attention to wines from the Rhone valley , Spain and Italy (Superb Barolos from good vintages such as the wines of Clerico and Scavino are being sold in Italy and hopefully in Israel for about 50-60 Euros), not to mention Australian wines which have a different style , but if you like it , you can find superb wines at a relatively good prices.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Roger Sabon / Emrich Shonleber
about a month ago my old PC passed away at the age of 7 . It took me some time to arrenge a new one , so I'm back. During that time I haven't had the chance to drink many wines but 2 bottles stood out.
The Roger Sabon - Cdp Cuvve Reserve 2004, was one of the nicest surprises I've had for a long time. A nose of red and black fruits intermixed with provencal herbs and a bit of bret , In the mouth it was full bodied, rich with chewy tannins, some spicyness and a very nice finish. I gave Kobi Shaked (The importer) a sip , blind, and he was very impressed, he almost couldn't believe that this was the Cuvee reserve , a wine that was sold for about 160NIS . If I could find more I would buy at least 5-6 more bottles. Score - 93-94
About 2 weeks ago I've had a bottle of Emrich Shonleber , Monzinger Halenberg , Riesling Spatlese 2004 at Zepra. By the time I arrived to the restaurant the bottle was a bit hot , and even though we got a Champagniere , it took more than 30 minutes till the wine reached the correct temperature , but when it reaches it, it was great. sweet nose of minerals, some lime , apples and flowers , in the mouth it had a great balance between sweetness and refreshing acidity, great fruitiness and long finish. Superb. maybe even better than the Donhoff that I've had a month before. Score - 95 . If you can still find one, grab it immediately.
BTW
It was my first time at Zepra. The service (including the wine service) was very good, and the food mostly very good. It is a restaurant that meant mostly to have fun with its small palates . Not a cheap one , but the whole experience worth the money in my opinion.
The Roger Sabon - Cdp Cuvve Reserve 2004, was one of the nicest surprises I've had for a long time. A nose of red and black fruits intermixed with provencal herbs and a bit of bret , In the mouth it was full bodied, rich with chewy tannins, some spicyness and a very nice finish. I gave Kobi Shaked (The importer) a sip , blind, and he was very impressed, he almost couldn't believe that this was the Cuvee reserve , a wine that was sold for about 160NIS . If I could find more I would buy at least 5-6 more bottles. Score - 93-94
About 2 weeks ago I've had a bottle of Emrich Shonleber , Monzinger Halenberg , Riesling Spatlese 2004 at Zepra. By the time I arrived to the restaurant the bottle was a bit hot , and even though we got a Champagniere , it took more than 30 minutes till the wine reached the correct temperature , but when it reaches it, it was great. sweet nose of minerals, some lime , apples and flowers , in the mouth it had a great balance between sweetness and refreshing acidity, great fruitiness and long finish. Superb. maybe even better than the Donhoff that I've had a month before. Score - 95 . If you can still find one, grab it immediately.
BTW
It was my first time at Zepra. The service (including the wine service) was very good, and the food mostly very good. It is a restaurant that meant mostly to have fun with its small palates . Not a cheap one , but the whole experience worth the money in my opinion.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Lamaione 1997
When I started my obsession with wine , at the beginning of the millenium, Super-Tuscans were very popular, the 1997 vintage was just released , and recieived praises all around. Many wines were , relatively affordable. and approachable. Among the wines that were available in Israel were the top wines of Antinori (of which , the Guado al Taso was my favourite), many wines from Banfi (The Sirrah and Cabarnet was sold at around 100NIS and were very nice) , Cassalferro from Ricasoli, and more but one of the greatest wines was the Lamaione from Frescobaldi, a 100% Merlot wine from Castelgiocondo in Montalcino.
Since then Super Tuscan went out of fashion . One reason was that the success of the 1997 vintage made many raise their prices. Another reason was that these wines were good but not unique like other regions (maybe too internationally styled). Today when Bordeaux prices reached stratosphere , the Super Tuscan are actually bargain. Wines such as Massetto 2004 are sold for about 1000NIS , much cheaper than top Pomerols.
Yesterdai I opened my last bottle of Lamaione 1997, and again it was superb. Dark ruby, Nose of black cherries, plums and a little bit oak. the highlight was in the mouth, medium to full bodied, rich, smooth , fruity, mouth coating, with long and sweet aftertaste. Elegant in the best sense of the word. Score - 95
Since then Super Tuscan went out of fashion . One reason was that the success of the 1997 vintage made many raise their prices. Another reason was that these wines were good but not unique like other regions (maybe too internationally styled). Today when Bordeaux prices reached stratosphere , the Super Tuscan are actually bargain. Wines such as Massetto 2004 are sold for about 1000NIS , much cheaper than top Pomerols.
Yesterdai I opened my last bottle of Lamaione 1997, and again it was superb. Dark ruby, Nose of black cherries, plums and a little bit oak. the highlight was in the mouth, medium to full bodied, rich, smooth , fruity, mouth coating, with long and sweet aftertaste. Elegant in the best sense of the word. Score - 95
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