First days of passover – wines and all

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David Raccah

Well, if you can believe it, the first days of passover are over and we have been enjoying lots of wines. The best part of the first days was that they were all enjoyed with family – which is the best way to enjoy the Holidays!

I will keep this short and sweet – the wines were mostly great – except for one wine that I was really looking forward to tasting – sadly it is not one I will buy more of. Other than the single disappointment – the rest of the wines were a huge hit.

We enjoyed matzah ball soup, brisket (yes an obvious choice), and potato kugel for the two evenings. For the lunches we went with simple cheese and matzah! What a joy it is – I look forward to eating hand shmura matzah with cheese every year!

The wines were lovely, starting with two rose wines that are available in Israel; the 2015 Carmel 2 Vats and the 2015 Tabor Rose. The 2015 Tabor rose is only a slight step behind the 2014, and that is saying a lot for the shmita year of 2015, which was not a home run for many wineries. That said, the 2015 whites and rose are showing well, which to me solidifies what I have heard and seen so far – which is that wines whose fruit were picked early, before the heat waves and the sand storms had a fine year, but they are still not equal to the epic 2014 vintage.

Following those two lovely wines was the letdown wine – the 2012 Tabor Merlot, Adama. Tabor is clearly the QPR winner in Israel with Recanati, Netofa, and Dalton. Sadly, this vintage was pushed with a 14.4% alcohol, which is high for Tabor’s Merlot. It is too ripe for me, no there are no dates, but the wine lacks in its previous perfect balance and earthiness. The next wine we had was the epic 2013 Domaine du Netofa Latour red. The wine was perfect for the 4 cups, as the wine is low in alcohol and big in flavor!

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  1. Ezra Avatar
    Ezra

    Hope you enjoyed the last days of yom tov.
    I was wondering if you were able to find the 14 PC in the states or brought it back. I have only been able to find the 2013 which was definitely nice but at its price point I usually look for nice full bodied red.
    We did end up opening up a bottle of the la domainie and it was a real disappointment. I didn’t have much hopes for it but I figured it wud at least be a nice quaffer (which it was not).
    We also opened up a bottle of the 2011 domaine netofa red; it was very different than any wine I am used to but then again I haven’t had much mourvedre. Unfortunately I was the only one whose interest this wine piqued although it’s possible the bottle I got was a bit off.
    We also had a binyamina 2009 Zinfandel reserve which was ok but a wine too heavily defining itself by the strong amount of French smoky oak.
    The last bottle we had was a 2010 odem mountain volcanic Cabernet Sauvignon this tasted a bit funky at first and after being decanted for about an hr it was enjoyable and only got better after yom tov was over.
    Hope you had more luck with your wines over the last days of yom tov.
    In case you want any of the 2011 domaine netofa let me know and I can pick up some bottles for you at Hungarian, it was reduced price to just under $15.
    Do you think that the zin needs some more time for oak to integrate?

    Reply
    1. winemusings Avatar
      winemusings

      The older Binyamina Zin was nice, but it is long past. Never was a huge fan of Odem – too much heat and sweetness.

      Reply
  2. Ezra Avatar
    Ezra

    Are the notes here for the latour or the regular (as it is labeled) domaine netofa red.
    I was just confused because in the blog you mentioned the latour and it is also the bottle pictured yet in the notes it is labeled domaine netofa red.
    Regards.

    Reply
    1. winemusings Avatar
      winemusings

      Hey Ezra – the notes are noted with Latour when they are a Latour. The picture included wines I did not get to. The wine I noted is correctly marked. Sorry for the confusion, I was trying to say that the Netofa Latour that I had noted in a previous post went well for the 1st cups. The Latour red which was not in the photo is what I had as well, so I noted it here.

      Reply
      1. Ezra Avatar
        Ezra

        Hey, quick question have you tasted the new Tabor thunder and storm? Also what’re your thoughts on their har and adama Cabernet and Shiraz?
        Thanks.
        Judging from the post on the France/Israel trip it sounds like you had a blast! I also got good feedback and some interesting stories from the other side.

  3. winemusings Avatar
    winemusings

    As u can see – here: https://kosherwinemusings.com/2016/02/29/tabor-winery-one-of-israels-top-qpr-wineries/ I disliked both of those reds, sorry. Did not care for the Har or Adama of Cab or Shiraz, though I like the 2010/2011 Adama Merlot, the 2012 is too ripe for me.

    Reply

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