Well, I saved the best for last. If you’ve been following my last couple of posts, after over a year I was finally able to take a trip in to the US to see family. David Raccah of Kosherwinemusings.com arranged his schedule to overlap with mine so we could do a couple of tastings together. I had no expectation of getting to see Ralph Madeb this trip, my schedule was so tight I didn’t even bother trying – but Raccah arranged everything, and we did a lunch with Ralph and a few friends on my way to the airport.

And what a lunch it was…. Let me start off by saying it is rare that you got a tasting thrown by a winery or distributor where every wine is a hit. Sometimes when writing about these hosted events, you do your best to find what nice things there are to say about certain wines – and even when the wines are all technically OK, there are often wines that are simply not for me. This was one of those rare times when I would have been happy to be served every single wine we had. One wine was better than the next. Let’s just say that the wine I liked least, the base level St. Marguarite, still makes my list of top rosés of the year! A few words about M&M in addition to what I have previously written. What makes this importer special is that M & M didn’t just settle with importing wines that were already in production. Don’t get me wrong – they do that as well – they are the official US importer for IDS, and at this lunch we tasted what I consider to be the very best kosher Burgundy ever produced, and that’s an IDS wine. And, on top of that, they also picked up whatever was left of the Gefen HaShalom wines that didn’t have US distribution – and as you know the 2014 Von Hovel are the best ever produced kosher Rieslings. But that’s not what makes them special. Unlike most importers, they have also become a producer in their own right. Looking for wineries – primarily in Italy – to partner with and produce kosher runs. If this sounds familiar, it’s what both Royal and IDS do so successfully in France. M & M has taken this approach to Italy and has partnered with various wineries to produce some INCREDIBLE wines. Among them, the highest ever rated kosher wine to date the 2016 Brunello di Montalcino, Betina Cuvee Franci from Fabio Tassi, which received a 97 point score from James Suckling and a 96 from Wine Advocate. I tasted a barrel sample last year, which already showed its potential. Sadly that wine was still in transit when I was in NY, but it is headed for both US and Israel and should be there soon.

When I tasted the Brunello last year, and Ralph started telling me about the various wines that were being produced, I planned a trip to Italy to visit the various wineries that M & M was working with. This trip was to immediately follow my US trip last year and was scheduled for mid- March 2020. Obviously that trip was put off indefinitely on hold, but there are in fact many wines in various stages of production that I am super stoked for including a few wines from Tuscany’s highly rated Domini Castellare di Castellina 2018 vintage – like Baffonero under their Rocca di Frassinello label which is 100% Merlot. Or perhaps even more special the Castellare di Castellina, I Sodi di S. Niccolò, which is their top rated wine – a blend of Sangiovese and Malvasia Nera. There is also a white coming from their Sicilian Gura di Mare label called Tirsat, which is a blend of Chardonnay and Viognier.  From what I understand, these three wines should all be available soon – and there are many, many more. It is ultra-refreshing to have such depth from this excellent region! Kudos to Ralph & David of M & M for making this happen. Now on to the wines from this tasting.