Israel

• Judean Hills
• Galilee

This is the third label in the Castel red wine offerings.  It is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot, and Syrah aged in stainless steel.  Purple in color, shimmering bright.  The nose is complex with a nice earthiness.  Notes of cassis, black cherries, plums and slight chocolate.  On the palate, this is ripe/slightly sweet.  Flavors of cassis, cherries and black cherries.  Nice finish.  This drinks easy and should work well with food.  Drink over the next five years.  Nice value.

At a recent tasting of Kosher wines from Israel, this was the runaway first place wine.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with black cherries, coffee, cherries and spice.  Full bodied.  Lovely texture.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, there is plenty of depth.  Flavors of cherries, black cherries and spice.  Good finish.  This should drink well for another five to eight years.  It is nice on its own and will work well with food.  It would go well with roasted chicken.  

This is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Petite Sirah, Carignan and Marselan from northern Israel.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with attic dust, cassis, black cherries, char and spice.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  On the palate, this is drinking well.  Lots of black cherry fruit with some spice and char.  Good finish.  This should drink well over the next three to five years.  It is nice on its own but would be better with food.  It will work well with braised meat dishes.  

This is a proprietary blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Petite Verdot and Merlot from Israel.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is deep and complex with cassis, black raspberries, char, moist earthiness, and spice.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  Nice balance.  On the palate, this has ripe black cherry fruit along with plums, spice, slight chocolate and char.  Long finish.  This is tasty and drinks easily on its own and will work well with many foods.  It should be a natural with Brisket (the Jewish kind).  It is Kosher.  Drink over the next three to five years.  

This is a blend of 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Shiraz, 12% Tanat, 11% Malbec, 7% Merlot, and 2% Cabernet Franc from Israel.  It is certified Kosher.  Purple in color with a thin ruby rim.  The nose is nice with cassis, black cherries, plums, spice and slight chocolate.  Medium to full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, nice black cherry fruit with some cassis and spice.  Long finish.  This is drinking well now and should continue for the next few years.  It is nice on its own but will work well with food.  A good wine to serve with Roasted Chicken.  

This is 100% Chardonnay grown in the Judean Hills just west of Jerusalem.  Deeper golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is nice with lemons, roasted almonds and a touch of buttered popcorn.  Medium to full bodied.  Good balance.  On the palate, lemons and spice with a touch of melon.  Good finish.  It seems like this went thru partial (or maybe full) malolactic fermentation.  The resulting wine is approachable but will likely mature over the next three to five years.  Drink over the next ten.  This is nice on its own but will work well with Matzoh Ball soup.  

This wine is made from Gewurztraminer using "an ancient Madeira style technology" using very ripe late harvest grapes.  One can only assume that means it was fortified and perhaps oxidized/heated as it was kept outside in barrels for 12 months.  It is 15% abv.  At the end of the day, it is a bit unusual, but very nice and if looking for a dessert wine that is Kosher for Passover, offerings are limited.  An unusual color and a pale orange with some light ruby notes, clear and bright.  The nose has lychee nuts but also a bit of orange peel, some vanilla, alcohol and a woody note.  Medium bodi

 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  95% Syrah and 5% Petite Sirah from Israel.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, gravel, roasted meats,  and minerality.  Full bodied.  Light tannins.  Good balance.  On the palate, this is varietally correct.  Black raspberry fruit with gravelly minerality and slight char.  Nice finish.  This is nice on its own and would be welcome with a brisket at a Passover Seder.  Drink over the next five to seven years.