Dessert wines are excellent, at least the two specimens I tried. I had to restrain myself from another taste of the Jonathan Tishbi Muscat Dessert Wine 2007 - just really excellent, clean and refreshing, yet sweet with a distinctive fruit note I could not identify. Something like a very fresh, ripe raspberry or tiny sweet framboise. The wine is colored fuchsia with a slightly candied nose and palate.
Though I could have happily played the “name that flavor” game for hours, I had to move on. Yet if you buy it and try it, please tell your thoughts. The other wine was the wildly delicious Yarden Heights 100% Gewurztraminer from Galilee - also crisp and refreshing acidity with sweet flavors of ripe apricot, and pear. Well-balanced and very lean.
Also interesting with Yarden is that their Cabernet Sauvignon El Rom Vineyard 2004 is priced at $75, yet I liked their non-single vineyard 2004 Cab better. To me it seemed richer and riper. “You have good taste,” said the representative behind the table, indicating that Wine Spectator gave it 90 points. I looked it up just now on the Internet and here it is from Kim Marcus:
90 points - Wine Spectator, Sep 30, 2008
"Rich and refined, showing focused flavors of red plum, berry and spice, with appealing herbal overtones. Has excellent balance and structure, backed up by crisp acidity. Mineral and smoke notes fill the firm finish. Kosher. Drink now through 2012. – KM
So there you have it, my day’s adventure exploring the wines of Israel. In my tasting column I reviewed several Israeli wines, yet these are the wines from the bigger producers that are more widely distributed in the United States. It was really a privilege to taste all the different regions today, and I can’t wait until next year.
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...