Impressive showing for this wine. Inky purple in color. The nose has cassis and slight olives. Great texture. On the palate, black raspberries, black cherries. Sweet tannins. Nice finish. This is young and could improve a bit with a few years in the cellar. It will drink well for at least a decade after that. It will go well with brisket, burgers or roasted meats and fowl.
This a red blend of 45% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 13% Petit Verdot grown at high elevation in the Edom Mountains. It is Kosher. Purple in color, ruby at the rim. A very nice Bordeaux-like nose. Cassis, black cherries, cherries, slight cigar box, gravel and slighter bell pepper. On the palate, this is medium bodied with lighter but present tannins. Moderate acidity. A nice depth and complexity. Notes of cassis and cherry fruit over gravel. Ripe but not overtly. Drinks easily right now. I don't think this will get better but should drink well for five to seven more years.
This is a blend of 61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 16% Cabernet Franc, 7% Petit Verdot, and 4% Syrah from Israel. Purple in color with a ruby rim, mostly opaque and bright. The nose is nice with black raspberries, black cherries, plums, spice, slight chocolate and char. Medium to full bodied. Medium tannins. On the palate, there is some complexity and depth. This is tasty and easy to drink. Flavors of black raspberries, black cherries, spice and char. Good finish. This drinks well on its own and will work well with many (non seafood) dishes. A nice wine to serve with the main
This is my favorite Israeli wine. It is Kosher and it can hold its own among the best Bordeaux blends anywhere. It is a blend of 59% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petite Verdot. Ruby in color, purple at the core. The nose has cassis, dust, black cherries and slight chocolate. Medium to full bodied. Medium tannins. On the palate, cassis, black cherries, spice and slight char. Slight heat on the finish. This is young and needs some air or cellaring to sort out. Hold for as couple and then drink for ten after that. It would pair nicely with brisket at a
Castel is probably the consistently best top winery in Israel. Although modern Israel wine is a very young industry, so this is always changing. Castel has a proven track record. The Grand Vin is the best wine that they make. This is quite young and just not giving up much right now. After a couple of hours of air, it had improved but its best days are at least five years in the future. Inky purple in color. The nose has nice baking spices along with some cherries. On the palate, firm tannins. Black cherries. Monolithic at present. It is tasty but needs time develop a complexity
This is the second wine of Domaine Castel. It is a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot. Purple in color. The nose has cassis, plums, chocolate and slight black olives. Nice texture. On the palate, sour black cherries, some black raspberries over char and earth. Medium tannins. This needs a couple of years to sort itself out and then should be good for a decade. A nice choice for roasted meats, fowl and veggies.
