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.
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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.
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.
The Yatir Forest is on the edge of the Negev desert in southern Israel. I have had this wine before and thought it was labelled Negev but this 2012 vintage is labelled Judean Hills. I am not sure where the boundaries of the wine regions are. According to the label, this is 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Petite Verdot, and 9% Tannat. Inky purple in color. The nose has cassis, plums, char and baking spices. On the palate, this is more boysenberry with black cherries over a gravelly char. Slight tannins. Nice finish. This took some time to open and then kept opening all evening. It seem
This is a Bordeaux blend of 47% Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, 17% Cabernet Franc, 16% Merlot, 13% Petit Verdot and 7% Syrah. It is a delicious wine that is very "French" in style. Purple in color, ruby at the rim. The nose is nice with cassis, cherries, tobacco, plums and slight green beans. On the palate, this has nice cherry fruit with some cassis over dry roasted earth. Good acidity. Nice finish. Food friendly. I doubt this gets better but will hold for 5 to seven year or more. It is not a big wine, but worked great with our meal during the Seder at Passover.
