I found myself discussing this topic with a wine store owner tasting wine next to me, and together we discussed the excellence of the wines, and under what circumstances we would buy them after finding neither of us typically spent more than $15 or $20 for a casual every day dinner wine.
“So when would you buy it?” I asked. “For a holiday dinner?” The wine storeowner nodded. “Yes, and also to give to collector friends who love good wine. Even if they have a lot of expensive Northern Rhone Syrah in their cellar, I know they would enjoy this Israeli wine for half the price.”
And it’s true. I thought the Merlot and Syrah wines from Israel, virtually across the board, were fantastic, especially the higher-end wines in their thirties and forties. Binyamina winery had a wine I really fell in love with called Chosen Ruby, which is 97% Syrah, 3% Viognier. I liked the 2005 more than the 2006. This wine retails between $55 and $60. According to the representatives, “Chosen” is the name of the stone or jewel worn by a high priest (hence Chosen Onyx, Chosen Ruby). Very cool.
At Dalton (located in the Upper Galilee) I met Export Manager Alex Haruni. Marshall, a man I met at yesterday’s Washington State tasting, recommended the whites, a viognier reserve with wild yeast and a fume blanc. Nice and well balanced, yet after tasting so many brilliant reds I went straight for the Dalton Alma 2006 Bordeaux blend, 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 19% Cab Franc ($21.00). Very well balanced and rich with a medium plus, satisfying finish.
I was pretty dazzled by Hevron Heights and Noah Winery in the Judean Hills. I spent a lot of time talking to Michel Murciano, who wore a beret (!) — a significant number of other men wore yarmulkes — and really responded to his Judean Heights 2005 Merlot. To be fair, this is one of the first Merlots I had at the tasting and really was impressed by the rich silky smoothness of the wine, the fruit, the vanilla and blueberry finish.
Article comments
1 - Wine Tasting Guy
Great review. I'm happy to hear of your positive experience and thrilled to read about how much you enjoyed the wines you tasted.
Regarding price, the high prices of some Israeli wine is certainly an issue - but isn't price a relative item? You mention the expensive Northern Rhone lovers; they must be spending well in excess of $30-40 for some of those Rhone wines. And while $30-40 IS certainly not cheap, it is RELATIVELY cheap when compared with other wines.
Speaking of price, The Yarden El Rom single vineyard, although hard to find at this point, generally retails at closer to $50 (still expensive but not $75), while the Yarden Cabernet '04 that you enjoyed is a $25-30 wine. For a wine that made Wine Spectators top 100 list I'd say that is a good deal.
Thanks again for your fabulous review of the tasting event!
2 - barbara barnett
I attend a lot of Jewish functions that use high-end caterers, etc, and I have learned that Kosher wines are much more diverse and excellent than the stereotypical"Maneshevitz Concord Grape" I've learned a lot and really enjoy the syrahs (especially) I've tasted from Israel. I'm not a wine connoisseur, but I have my favorites among varietals. I've really been pleased that Israel has over the past several years produced quality wines (kosher) that can compete with non-kosher varieties.
3 - Ruvy
Interesting read....
I've become more interested in wine since my heart attack. My doctor prescribed a glass of wine each night.
But your article focused on Israeli wines exported, and well, I live in the country. So, whether a wine costs $10, $15, $40 or $55 is somewhat of an irrelevancy to me. Just for your general knowledge, a bottle of sweet Sabbath wine usually costs about New Israeli Shekels 16 (about $4), and the better wines at the supermarket (you can buy wine and vodka in a supermarket here) usually cost anywhere from NIS 20 to NIS 100 ($5 to $25) with a lot of them costing about NIS 70 ($17.50).
There are many Frenchmen who have come here and have become small vintners in the mountains of Samaria and Judea. We drink these wines - partly because they are the local product, and we want to support our neighbors, partly because they taste good, and mostly because we drink wine for the Sabbath and for festivals. And for me, there also that "prescription" from the cardiologist.
So, bir'shút maranán, rabotái v'g'vurotái: l'Háim!
4 - Dr Dreadful
"...Something like a very fresh, ripe raspberry or tiny sweet framboise."
Ahem...