Finally, we are on to the main event. Honestly, the real reason I try to fly to France  – besides hanging out with David  – is to hang out for a day with Menachem Israelievitch and taste through Royal’s current French portfolio. It is truly the highlight of my trip each time. It’s not just that the wines are great – and they almost always are. It’s also not just that Menachem does tasting in the most professional manner possible – and he does. It’s that he is a true mensch and a lot of fun to drink and talk with. There are few people in the world that are exposed to this great a variety of styles and terroirs and are able to produce wines that accurately  represent all of them – that are also of the highest quality. All the while, Menachem remains accessible and without ego and is just an all-around pleasure to hang with. That is not always the case with people in the wine business, where many winemakers are full of themselves or just talking up how awesome their wines supposedly are. Menachem lets the wine speak for itself. They aren’t ALL winners, and Menachem doesn’t try to portray them as such, which is very much appreciated.  So on day three of my trip, we travelled to Menachem’s newly finished home in Paris to taste through Royal’s new releases. While I am sure I would have fun doing this myself, doing these tastings with David just kicks it up a notch. This is especially true here where the three of us know each other well and have rapport and so more fun and lively discussion can be had throughout the tasting. David actually posted his notes weeks ago and they can be found here – and as always I highly recommend reading his blog in addition to mine.

The wines were on the whole simply excellent. In fact, if you take a look at the current lineup there are four that are 95 or above! (I am including the 2019 Malartic Blanc, which did not make it into the tasting, as Menachem thought that I had had it already  – luckily I was able to get a bottle the following week in NY and include the notes here.) That’s insane! Of those four we have the very best kosher white and IMHO the very best kosher red produced to date. To say this was a special tasting is a bit of an understatement. So, buckle up – here we go….