Assorted wines from Purim and previous weekends and a new Terrenal Malbec

It has been a few weeks since I posted my wine notes. I have been posting other ideas, but this was a long time coming. The biggest take away for me was that the 2013 Terrenal Malbec was out, a new Terrenal kosher wine that can be bought at Trader Joe’s and it is mevushal. Sadly, I was not a fan. It is OK, but for me, I will look elsewhere. It is a shame as the non mevushal Terrenal wines from Spain continue to impress!

The other take away from these wines was that the new NV Freixenet Cava Excelencia Kosher Brut was no fun either. The final notes revolve around the return of Lewis Pasco and his wines! Mr. Pasco was the head wine maker at Recanati until 2006. After that he did wine in the US and other places and in 2012 he returned to Israel to work with Hillel Manne of Beit El Winery, and to make his own wines as well! The wines we tasted in early 2012 were nice, but the Pasco wine has really come around with oak and time. The insane Carignan wine of 2012, is not as good as we remembered it from the barrel in the winery, but it is still very nice a clear QPR.

Finally, as I stated when I was at the Tzora Winery, the 2012 Judean Hills is lovely and is a crazy QPR wine. That said, the notes have not changed but the wine needs serious time to open and when it does it shows its blue and black madness. The wine has really just arrived to the US and it seems to be in bottle shock, so either wait a month or two to enjoy, or open it now and decant for at least 2 to 3 hours ahead of time. If it is not black and blue, wait!!!!

So, I hope you enjoy the notes and have a great Shabbos! The notes follow below:

2012 Shirah Rosé – Score: A- (and then some)
WOW What a rose! This wine is 100% rose of Grenache. The nose is bright and tart with crunchy roasted herb, forest floor, garrigue, red fruit, and spice. The mouth is insane on this medium bodied wine, it starts with an attack of red currant, followed by blue fruit, herb, and crazy acid. The finish is long and attacking with mad acidic tart summer fruit, kiwi, candied strawberry, intense slate, mineral, and crazy tart zinberry that lingers forever, long after the wine is gone. The acid is so intense it is awesome and the fruit is ripe and expressive – BRAVO!!!

2012 Tzora Judean Hills – Score: A- (and more) (crazy good QPR)
When I was at the Tzora Winery, the 2012 Judean Hills was showing lovely and was a crazy QPR wine. That said, the notes have not changed but the wine needs serious time to open and when it does it shows its blue and black madness. The wine has really just arrived to the US and it seems to be in bottle shock, so either wait a month or two to enjoy, or open it now and decant for at least 2 to 3 hours ahead of time. If it is not black and blue, wait!!!!

This is a wine that is made of a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Petite Verdot, Syrah that was fermented and aged in oak, and named for the terroir and vineyard that the wine was sourced from. This was a barrel/tank sample but such a wonderful wine and one very close to bottling that I had to write about it. The nose on this deeply black colored wine is rich with crazy black fruit, along with ripe blueberry, blackberry, along with deep mineral notes, roasted animal, and nice floral notes with slate. The mouth on this lovely full bodied and elegant wine shows far more control than the 2011 vintage, with great control and style, with layers of concentrated black and blue fruit, rich graphite, bracing acid, coming together with mouth coating tannin, and spicy oak. The finish is long and mineral with lovely chocolate, bright fruit, and lovely sweet spices. BRAVO!

2013 Terrenal Malbec Kosher – Score: B
The 2012 vintage of this wine was a favorite of mine last year, till it turned into a flower bomb. This vintage is starting that way out of the chute. The noise on this purple colored wine starts off with nice blue and black notes, followed by floral notes that feels disjointed, along with plum, and spice. The mouth on this medium bodied wine shows blackberry fruit, blackcurrant that spikes, along with nice tannin and blueberry/green notes. The finish is long and all over the place with green blue notes that cover over the nice root beer notes.

2012 Beit-El Cabernet Sauvignon – Score: B+
This is a fine wine for the price for sure. The nose on this wine starts off with blackberry, spice, dark cherry, blueberry, and herb. The mouth on this medium bodied wine has controlled fruit, searing tannin, crazy black and blue fruit, with nice mouth coating tannin, spice, and sweet oak. The finish is long and spicy with tannin, blue fruit, plum, watermelon, and nutmeg lingering.

2012 LEWIS PASCO Pasco Project #1 (QPR) – Score: A-
A Bordeaux blend of 59% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% merlot, along with 3% of Petite Sirah, for rounding and depth. The wine was aged for 9 months in new French barrels. The nose on this purple colored wine starts with Merlot barnyard funk, black fruit, spice, and herb. The mouth on this medium to full bodied wine is rich and layered with concentrated fruit, lovely extraction, showing spicy oak, mouth coating spicy tannin, mounds of oriental spice, blackberry, and dark cherry. The finish is long and balanced with still searing tannin, acid, dark chocolate, with nutmeg, cinnamon, hints of blueberry, and fig lingering long – BRAVO!

2012 Beit-El Carignan (QPR) – Score: B+ to A-
I first tasted this wine at the winery from the barrel with Lewis Pasco and the Hillel Manne. Now the wine shows more earth and spice along with the insane blueberry and blackberry it showed in the barrel.
The nose on this wine starts with rich roasted meat, ripe blueberry, blackberry, heavy spice, and mineral. The mouth on this medium bodied wine shows lovely mouth coating tannin with great fruit control, ripe blue and black fruit, along with spicy oak and red plum. The finish is long with lovely tart blue fruit, root beer, watermelon, licorice, and sweet spices, nutmeg, and sweet basil – BRAVO!!! Please be careful, the one bottle I opened was throwing sediment.

2013 Lueria Gewürztraminer Upper Galilee – Score: B+ to A-
This is the third version of this wine. I personally, LOVE the dry version that Gidi makes, but he sells that to a restaurant and is not available to the consumer. The nose on this off dry wine starts with deep notes of intense orange, melon, honeydew melon, along with rich floral notes, rose hips, and nectarine. The mouth on this medium to full bodied off dry wine is sweet, please be aware of this and be ready for the residual sugar, showing in a not quite oily texture (but close enough), honeysuckle, pineapple, kiwi, and guava, along with peach, good spice, great balancing acid and bitterness and good nectarine liquor. Lovely!!!

NV Freixenet Cava Excelencia Kosher Brut – Score: B
This wine was not for me, far too sweet, and with far too much sweet quince, fig, and massive toast – pass for me – still very nice structure and GREAT spice, yeast, and intense medium bubble mousse attack.

2012 Hagafen Don Ernesto Collage, White – Score: A-
Well, this wine is clearly asleep! I opened it and it was a dud, all oak and no joy. Two days later the remnants are rocking and rolling. The wine is a classic Rhone Rider blend of Roussanne and Marsanne. The nose on this dark straw colored wine, is candied with summer fruit, crunchy herb, and straw. The mouth on this medium bodied wine is lovely, almost oily textured with great acid, green notes, herb, dried sweet quince, nectarine, green apple, grapefruit, and earth. The finish is long and herbal with loamy dirt, slate, and more herb.

2000 Château Labégorce-Zédé – Score: A- (and then some)
The wine was at its peak or over it, so the wine is in drink up mode, but was lovely still. The nose on this wine starts off with lovely barnyard notes, loose dirt, mushroom, and raspberry. The mouth on this medium to full bodied wine, is layered and rich with concentrated red and black fruit, blackberry, along with spice, and mouth coating tannin that linger long. The finish is long with great acid, dark chocolate, leather, graphite, and more mineral lingering long. BRAVO!

2013 Dalton Pinot Gris – Score: B+
The wine is nice with a solid QPR given the low price, the good acid, and the biting bitterness that wraps up the wine well. Serve very well chilled.
The wine has a lovely nose of straw, hay, cut grass, mineral, stone fruit, and good spice. The mouth on this light to medium bodied wine starts with green notes of apple leaves, along with spiced green apple, kiwi, floral notes, with intense spice, pepper notes, and spicy melon cider. The finish is long and mineral based with slate, intense bitterness, that masks the sweet grass and loamy dirt, with spice, peach, and fruit lingering.

2010 Weinstock Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Select (QPR) – Score: B+ to A-
I tasted this wine during my visit to the winery last year. The wine shows the effects of 2010, with green notes and not so quite ripe fruit, but still a lovely wine. The nose on this wine shows green notes, bell pepper, slight heat that blows off over time, with raspberry and plum. The mouth on this medium to full bodied wine shows off sweet cedar and sweet milk chocolate, leafy tobacco, all wrapping sweet and tart cherry, black plum. The finish is long and tart with green and red fruit, with lovely oak influence, and sweet herb.

2005 Yatir Shiraz – Score: A- (and then some)
To be fair this wine is lovely, but I enjoyed it when I was drinking heavily on Purim. In the end, the wine shows lovely with deep black and red fruit, lovely extraction, and layers of concentrated fruit that mingles with tar, rich earth, and spice. Bravo!!

2010 Shirah Counter Punch Vogelzang Vineyard – Score: A- (and then some)
The wine is a 50/50 blend of Grenache and Syrah, but from different vineyards than the 1-2 punch. The nose on this wine is really intoxicating and has now come together. The nose starts with white peach, apricot, kiwi, followed by pomegranate, ripe raspberry jam, crazy blue fruit, and earth. The mouth on this medium bodied wine is filled with nice watermelon, great spice, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, ripe blackberry, blueberry, boysenberry, and sweet cedar. The finish is long and ripe with sweet mocha chocolate, leather, nice rich mouth coating tannin, root beer, black tea, black pepper, and licorice. This may not be the same animal, and to be fair was actually punched out by the 2008 1-2 punch. However, this wine has come together, and I am happy that I hung on to some bottles!

2010 Recanati Petit Sirah-Zinfandel Reserve – Score: B++
Initially the nose and body were far too sweet for my tastes with strong date and lacking in blue and roasted meat notes. With time, the nose opens to show rich roasted meat, earthy notes, tar, and spice. The mouth on this medium bodied wine is less full and spicy, with good mouth coating tannin that rise, along with blackberry, plum, and cherry. The finish is long and spicy with sweet tobacco, dirt, mineral, charcoal, cloves, black pepper, and coffee.

2011 Eagles Landing Cellars Merlot – Score: B to B+
The nose on this almost cherry colored wine starts off wine notes of coffee, toffee, toast, green notes, and dark cherry. The mouth on this light bodied wine is filled with sweet tobacco, sweet cedar, plum, and spice. The finish is long with nice sweet fruit and more spice. It is a fine quaff but beyond that it lacks the complexity or body to grab your attention. With time the wine opens to a nice tobacco, tart fruit, and sweet cedar wine.

2007 Four Gates Merlot Kosher – Score: A- (and then some)
While the last bottle I enjoyed was free of added sulfites, this wine had clear sulfites in it and what a difference sulfites make. The past wine was clearly at peak or beyond it, two years ago, throwing sediment. This wine is barely at peak, no sediment to be found and crazy sick tannins that were lacking in the sulfite free wine.

This wine is 100% Merlot, aged for 24 months in French Oak. Still dark purple in color, the nose shows lovely fruit, luscious blackberry, ripe black plum, ripe raspberry, along with lovely crushed herb, graphite, and mineral. The mouth on medium to full bodied wine, comes at you in layers, with concentrated dark and red fruit, followed by licorice, pencil lead, balancing acidity, mouth draping tannins that grip to your mouth, along with spicy oak. The finish is long and ripe with jammy fruit, lingering tannin, coffee, jam, and vanilla that keep going on and on and on. This a fantastic wine that is not yet at its peak, and a wine that will hold its own for at least another 5 years.

2009 Tabor Adama Kosher – Score: A-
The nose on this wine starts off with lovely barnyard notes, mushroom, red fruit, cherry, and green notes. The mouth on this medium bodied wine is rich and layered with nice tart fruit, currant,blackberry, sweet bell pepper, mouth coating tannins that raise the body, and herb. The finish is long with great acid, spice, crazy sweet tobacco, chocolate, and sweet basil.

2007 Tabor Cabernet Sauvignon Special Edition 1/19000 – Score: B+ to A-
The feature of this wine was not the fruit or the mineral, but the lovely sweet mouth coating tannin! This is a wine that never made sense labeling wise, but is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from the choicest of plots and vineyards, sadly and unfortunately it did not show well at all.
The nose on this wine starts with little to no fruit, followed by ripping mineral and spice. The mouth on this full bodied wine followed the lead of the nose, with little to no fruit, but had lovely mouth draping tannin with good graphite, and hints of currant and blackberry, all wrapped up in sweet cedar and coffee. The finish is green and minty with bell pepper, eucalyptus, dirt, and vanilla, with hints of smokey notes.