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France, May 2025 – Part 2 – IDS – Short, but very sweet…
As always, one of the highlights of my trips to France is our visit to IDS. For a number of years, I used to make a single trip in November, as this is when Royal released their wines – and with all due respect to everyone else, no one produces as much wine with such consistent levels of quality as Royal. So, November each year it was. But, while I was making annual trips in November, David Raccah of Kosher Wine Musings. who always organizes everything for all of these visits, was making an additional yearly trip in May – and this is when he would usually taste the IDS wines as they release a few months later than Royal. Therefore, when we would get there together in November, he had already tasted a bunch of stuff – and I would miss out. I corrected this mistake a few years ago – and if there was ever a reason to justify a second trip, this was the visit. 2022 was a special vintage with some truly awesome wines produced – but the top of the heap, perhaps the GOAT, is the 2022 Smith Haut Lafitte. My notes for that are below, but while tasting, I noticed something that I had ignored each time I had tasted an SHL -there is QR code on each bottle that attests to its authenticity. Each bottle has a unique code – and each case lists the bottles contained therein.
There is a time stamp showing when the bottle was activated and a separate timestamp on the case showing when the case in question was packed. This is something that has been going on for the kosher releases as far back as 2009. And if you look at the results, the kosher releases are given unique trackers – in other words, the inventory is carefully managed down to the bottle. In the kosher world, I believe this is unique to SHL and just shows you how much the brand puts into making sure its customers – kosher included – are getting the quality product they expect. Anyhow, enough wine-geekery – though I can say, if there was ever a wine that deserved high-end inventory control and tracking, it’s this one. On top of the SHL we have wonderful showings from Château Lafon Rochet (a QPR superstar especially in France) and Domaine de Chevalier. We only tasted six wines in total (one of which was not an IDS wine and so is not included here but will be included in my next post) – so this visit was relatively short, but super sweet! Here are the notes:
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Blanc, Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte, Chateau-Lafon-Rochet, Domaine de Chevalier, Domaine ImpĂ©rial Premier Cru ClassĂ© since 1772, Grand Cru ClassĂ© de Graves, Grand Cru ClassĂ© en 1855, Grand Cru Classe de Graves, Pessac-Leognan, Saint Estephe, Sarga Muskotaly, Tokaj- HĂ©tszölö, TokajiNo comments on France, May 2025 – Part 2 – IDS – Short, but very sweet… -
France, May 2025 – Part 1 – Royal
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B, Blanc, Bordeaux, Bordeaux Superieur, Bourgogne, Cabernet Sauvignon, Côtes de Provence, Chablis, Chardonnay, Château Genlaire, Château Les Riganes, Château Roubine, Château Trijet, Chenin Blanc, Coteaux du Giennois, Cotes de Provence, Cru Classe, Domaine de Panquelaine, Domaine Ternynck, Grand Crus, Grenache-Syrah-Mourvedre, Hippy, J. de Villebois, La Maison Bleue, La Vie en Rose, Les Brulis, Les Marronniers, Les Tuffieres, Mediteranée, Merlot, Montmains, Petit Chablis, Pinot Noir, Porto Cordovero, Pouilly Fumé, Premier Crus, Premium, R De Roubine, Reserve, Rose, Rose Adasa, Roubine, Ruby Port, Sainte Beatrice, Sancerre, Sauvignon Blanc., Touraine, Val de Loire IGT, Valmur, Vin de France -
A Royal Wine tasting in NYC featuring some serious QPR WINNERS!
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Aera, Altira, Arnaud Baillot, Baron de Mamour, Beaune Premier Cru, Blanc, Bourgogne, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cascina Minot, Chateau Gazin Rocquencourt, Chateau Malartic Lagraviere, Chenin Blanc, Domaine Roses Louise, Echo de Roses Camille, ESSA Wine Co., Hautes-Cotes de Beaune, Herzog Cellars Winery, L’interdit de Valandraud, Langhe, Le Comte de Malartic, Marchesi Fumeanelli, Monthelie, Nebbiolo, Pinot Noir, Pouilly-Fume, Royal Wine, Savigny-les-Beaune, Terso, Teurons, Vento Bianco, Volnay -
Hotel Wine tastings – the final tastings from my trip to Paris – May 2025
As stated in my previous post, I was in Paris in Late May, with Avi Davidowitz from Kosher Wine Unfiltered. This trip was not about numbers, but rather about sheer logistics. The number of boxes across the number of hotels was more than I wished for! Of course, this was totally self-inflicted, as Avi was coming in for business the week before, and I was juggling too much at home. In the end, it was a far more relaxing trip, as the sheer number of wines was more in the 40s than the usual 60 or 80 wines. A lot of that can be blamed on the number of 2024 or new 2023 wines on the market – there are just ZERO new wines out there. There are loads of old 2022 and 2023 roses in the stores in Paris, and the same can be said for older whites and reds. Wines are not moving, and as such, there was less new stuff to taste.
Two years ago, we had some 80 wines; this May, we were at 40+ wines. There were a few wines that Avi missed, and a few I wished he was able to see evolve, but that is the game as we know it!
The wines were tasted in classic region/style order: Rosés, whites, Wines from Spain and Italy, a single Burgundy, Bordeaux/Blend wines, and I think that is it.
Rose Wines
We had a total of 10 Roses, and there was just one 2024 Rose in the stores. The rest of the wines came from a combination of Mercier Wines, Capcanes Winery, Terra di Seta Winery, and Taieb wines. The hands-down best Rose I had so far this year is locked away in Paris, and that is the 2024 ChaĚ‚teau Sainte Roseline Lampe de MĂ©duse – Cru ClassĂ© RosĂ©. This is the first time I have tasted this wine, and it was clean, controlled, and refreshing. That is a wine to BUY lots of for the summer.
I have often posted about Taieb wines, and if you want to read the whole background, read the first post I made here.
The 2024 Cave D’Esclans Whispering Angel and the 2024 ChaĚ‚teau Sainte Roseline Lampe de MĂ©duse – Cru ClassĂ© RosĂ© are the two Rose WINNERS from the tasting. The 2024 Elvi Wines Vina Encina Rosado was a solid wine, along with the N.V. Summer Ice Rose.
White Wines
We tasted through a lot of white wines. One of them I brought from the USA for Avi to taste was the 2023 Alex Rubin Arinto. That is a wine that I posted about earlier and one that Avi loved as much as I did. The 2023 Chevalier De Marmorieres Blanc was a shocking WINNER find along with the always enjoyable Herenza White. I have no idea why the Herenza White doesn’t move well in the USA; I have no idea! Folks buy a few and try.
On a slight rant, I will start with the positives, thankfully, we have more kosher white wine available now than ever before, PERIOD! However, what is clear is that the kosher-buying public has made Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay their next Cabernet Sauvignon! I am happy you are all starting to enjoy white wines – finally! But good Lord, there are OTHER white wines out there! As stated, I am firmly on the ABC train, outside of a few Cali and France. Sauvignon Blanc is a wonderful grape and please ignore EVERYTHING that Avi says to the contrary, it is not his fault, he has issues with good wine!
Now, all I see is that white wines that are not Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc linger on physical or virtual shelves. Thankfully, most of you get Riesling, almost. But that is it! You guys killed the only good Albarino from Ramon Cardova because you all refused to buy it! The Herenza is the same, and this wine is 30 to 40 percent Sauvignon Blanc! OK, I’ll give up and stop my rant here! TRY OTHER white wines – please!
The rest of them are wines that you can try and see if you like.
Italian and Spanish Wines
Overall, the red wines were split between Italy/Spain and Burgundy/Bordeaux. However, the hands-down leader in QPR (Quality to Price Ratio) WINNER scores was Spain and Italy. Spain and Italy had 12 wines, and 7 of them won the QPR score of WINNER.
I must be honest here, I drove everyone crazy! Moises at ElviWines, Jurgen at Capcanes Wine Cellars, and Daniele at Terra di Seta. All of them were very kind to send us samples. The cool thing is, we got to taste Terra di Seta wines long before they appear on the USA shores, or at least before they are released for sale. The same can be said for Elvi Wines; we tasted yet unreleased wines here in the USA. Finally, the Capcanes wines may be released, but either way, they are solid. Our sincere thanks to all of them for taking the time and sharing their excellent work with us!
The seven QPR WINNERS were the
- 2022 Elvi Wines Adar
- 2022 Elvi Wines Herenza, Crianza
- 2023 Capcanes Peeraj Ha’abib
- 2021 Terra di Seta Chianti Classico, Riserva
- 2021 Terra Di Seta Guiduccio
- 2022 Elvi Wines El26
- 2019 Terra di Seta Chianti Classico, Assai, Gran Selezione (which Avi did not taste).
The 2022 EL26 was another stunning Grenache-based red wine, and I cannot say it enough, Elvi is crushing it over and over and over again! The Adar is a lovely Mevushal option that is not sold here in the USA, though it sells nicely in Israel. The 2022 Elvi Herenza Crianza is equally impressive.
Terra di Seta has once again released some lovely new wines, but they will not be available in the USA for a bit. The 2021 Terra di Seta Chianti Classico, Riserva is beautiful, along with the 2021 Terra Di Seta Guiduccio, which shows more refined than the 2020 Guido. Finally, the wine that Avi did not taste, the 2019 Terra di Seta Chianti Classico, Assai, Gran Selezione, is mind-blowing! Pure mushroom and soy sauce heaven.
A single Burgundy and Bordeaux Wines
As is familiar with our hotel wines, they open slowly and they are very hard to get a grip on until we are almost on a plane home. I have no idea why this is the case; it feels like it is the curse of the hotel, but we have stayed in different hotels, and the theme remains the same. Also, this phenomenon happens ONLY with Bordeaux wines. The rest of the red wines we taste and the whites open as we expect. The 2020 and 2021 Chateau Olivier Blanc are wines that took 6 days to come around. The 2023 Chateau de Rayne Vigneau Grand Vin Blanc Sec took 6 days to open! I have no idea, no explanation. I am not a chemist, and I am not going to speculate. What I will state is FACT! Wines we taste in the hotel room, for reasons unexplained, just take a LONG time to come around.
So, it was NO surprise when the main wines we were looking forward to tasting went silent for three days. The 2022 Château Angelus Carillon de l’AngĂ©lus was closed for four or more days. The 2022 Relais de La Dominique was literally red water for three days. The 2022 Chateau Haut Condissas Prestige was an open book from the start. The 2022 Château Tour Baladoz was closed for two or more days. The 2022 Chateau Haut Brisson may have been the WORST of the bunch – changing over four days from red water to a lovely wine. The 2022 Chateau du Courneau was there and available from the start! The 2022 Vieux Chateau Chambeau Reserve was as open as the time I had it in San Jose. I bought it to make sure that Avi tasted it.
The TRUE SHOCKER was the 2022 Chateau Rocher Gardat! Yes, you have a good memory. We tasted this wine back in 2024. However, my memory isn’t as good, so when I am walking around Paris, I buy what I see. Turns out it was indeed a wine we had tasted and given time to come around, and it never did. HOWEVER, this time, the wine was a shocking WINNER! It showed incredible acidity, pop, and fruit structure, and for the price, GOOD LORD, that is a clear WINNER for Bokobsa! The joy of a feeble mind when in Paris!
In case you were wondering there were four QPR WINNER wines. I will leave it up to you to guess, or you can look below. One of them should be STUPID obvious, the other two, not so much, but hey, that is the joy of wine!
The rest of the wines were average and available, but not exciting.
Where can you buy these wines?
The Taieb wines will find their way to the USA through a menagerie of importers. Those include Liquid Kosher, Kosher Wine, and Victor Wines, which I continue to be baffled at where these wines actually sell, outside of Florida! The Elvi wines are already available in the USA. The Capcanes Cellar wines are already here. The Terra di Seta wines are now available in the USA, but their release will be delayed until the current stock is depleted. Then you have the Mercier Wines, none of which are here, I think. The 2022 Chateau Haut Brisson, 2023 Chateau Angelus Tempo d’Angelus, and the 2022 Château Angelus Carillon de l’AngĂ©lus are either available in the USA or on their way; I’m not sure. I saw a bottle on social media, but we can’t be sure if it’s actually here or was brought in by hand.
The 2022 Vieux Chateau Chambeau Reserve is readily available in the USA,
The Mercier wines will find their way here once the previous vintages are sold. As for the rest of the wines, I have no idea!
As always, the 2022 Pavillon de Leoville Poyferre is the Non-Mevushal version of the wine, and is only available in France, the UK, and Israel. We bought it because we couldn’t get a tasting of it – sadly, it didn’t show any better than its Mevushal version.
I have no idea what is going on with all the 2022 Rollan de By wines. These were all made by Taieb, but for some reason, they are not being imported into the USA, and they are hard to find in France, as well. The Condissas is a clear WINNER, but that only helps if you can find it!
Thoughts on this tasting
OK, so overall, this tasting was great! This was better than previous tastings because the 2022 vintage has shown far better than I originally imagined, unlike other hotel wine tastings. Of the 40+ wines that we tasted, 31 of them garnered scores that would be acceptable to most people. That is a great showing! 31 of 40+ wines! Good stuff! Still, Kosher plonk exists in spades in all regions of the world! The USA may have the largest availability to them, but Paris is not far behind!
Regarding other wines from France that people will ask me about, the answer is that we tried. We sent out emails and received initial responses, but all subsequent follow-up emails were directed to the Spam Bucket. Sometimes, I wonder if French people hate us Americans! Anyway, the winning lineup is impressive and holds wines that you should be buying. I sure will! There are a couple of wines that were not in that picture, but the scores will make clear they deserved to be there. The issue was that one wine was not delivered until after Avi left, and the others improved after that time as well. So, like I said, these wines take time to come around.
Before I forget – Avi took all the pictures from this trip, so if you dislike them, blame him. If you love them, disregard the previous sentence! Thanks, buddy!! Thankfully, this time we got all the wine pictures!
Finally, 100% of the deliveries were to the hotel this time. I have essentially stopped bothering my man Ari Cohen, AKA El-Presidente of Bakus Wines. He has essentially become totally AWOL on our trips. I think the more I go to Paris, the less I get to see him – maybe I am finally becoming a Parisian! Thanks for all the help, as always, buddy!
The wine notes follow below in the order that they were tasted. The explanation of my “scores” can be found here and the explanation for QPR scores can be found here:
2023 Jean-Philippe Marchand Aloxe Corton, Sous Chaillots, Aloxe Corton – Score: 92 (QPR: GOOD)The nose of this wine is solid, with pomegranate, dried cranberry, plum, cherry, rich smoke, roasted herbs, minerality, and red floral notes. The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine is lovely; it is ripe, not candied, more like a Pommard or Volnay, with incredible acidity, nice balance, along with layers of ripe and juicy pomegranate, dried cranberry, tart and juicy Bing cherry, all wrapped in mouth-draping tannin, rich smoke, and lovely roasted herbs. The acidity, juicy fruit, and smoke take center stage. Bravo! The finish is long, ripe, balanced with smoke, ripe, tart, and juicy fruit, with floral notes, and bitter mint flavor. Bravo! Drink by 2030, maybe longer; it feels missing in the tannin. (tasted May 2025) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13%)
2024 Elvi Wines Vina Encina Tinto, La Mancha (M) – Score: 82 (QPR: EVEN)The nose of this wine is a bit too ripe and shows more like a Beaujolais than a Tempranillo. Showing candied lifesaver and blue fruit. The mouth of this light-bodied wine is ripe, candied, without the acidity it needs, but it has fruit that is candied and is a bit green as well. Drink by 2025. (tasted May 2025) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 14%)
2022 Elvi Wines Adar, Ribera del Jucar (M) – Score: 91 (QPR: WINNER)The nose of this wine is ripe, but more controlled than previous vintages, with nice minerality, smoke, soy sauce, and roasted meat aromas. The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine is ripe, and the acidity is great, with notes of soy sauce, sweet oak, blackberry, plum, nice graphite, soft tannin, and roasted herb. The finish is long, ripe, and candied, yet balanced with acidity, featuring notes of charcoal, sweet vanilla, roasted meat, and soy sauce. Drink by 2027. (tasted May 2025) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 13%)
2022 Elvi Wines Herenza, Crianza, Rioja – Score: 91 (QPR: WINNER)The nose of this wine is nice, showing good acidity, pop, tart fruit, loads of smoke, intense sweet dill, hickory, ripe fruit, nice coffee, and umami. The mouth of this full-bodied wine is lovely. There is nice sweet oak, but the wine is balanced, with great acidity and smoke. At first, it is closed, but with time, it reveals blackberry, plum, and dark cherry flavors, along with a smooth mouthfeel, fine tannin, and lingering smoke. The finish is long, ripe, and balanced, with more sweet oak, intense sweet dill, lovely vanilla, and deep loam. Nice!! Drink by 2028. I think this vintage will not last as long. (tasted May 2025) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 14%)
2023 Capcanes Peraj Ha’abib, Montsant – Score: 92 (QPR: WINNER)This is a return to what I liked about Peraj Ha’abib in the past: smoky, dirty, earthy, charcoal, and tar-driven wine, with nice red and blue fruit. The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine, with ripe blackberry, plum, juicy boysenberry, smoke, tar, charcoal, intense tannin, and layers of fruit that come at you, and yet you are almost refreshed – an intense experience that has the bracing acidity to pull it all off. The finish is long, spicy, with smoke, cloves, vanilla, cinnamon, and more tar and charcoal. Bravo! Drink until 2030. (tasted May 2025) (in Paris, France) (ABV = 15%)
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Kosher French Wine, Kosher Red Wine, Kosher Rose Wine, Kosher White Wine, Kosher Wine, Wine, Wine TastingAdar, Alenar 767, Alkunya, Aloxe-Corton, Assai, Blanc, Blanco, Capcanes, Carillon de l'AngĂ©lus, Caves d’Esclans, Chateau Angelus, Chateau du Courneau, Chateau Haut Condissas, Chateau Haut-Brisson, Chateau Lafitte, Chateau Les Carregades, Chateau Puygueraud, Chateau Roc de Boissac, Chateau Rocher Gardat, Chateau Tour Baladoz, Château Sainte Roseline, Chevalier De Marmorieres, Chianti Classico, Crianza, Cuvee Boisee, Eclat De Diamant, el26, Elviwines, Elysee Palace, Gran Selezione, Guiduccio, Herenza, Jean-Philippe Marchand, Koenig, L'enclos de Zeide, La Chablisienne, Lampe de MĂ©duse, Meshi, Paris Hotel, Pavillon de Leoville Poyferre, Peraj Ha’Abib, Peraj Petita, Prestige, Priorat, R de Romy, Relais de La Dominique, Reserve, Riesling, Riserva, Rosado, Rosat, Rose, Sous Chaillots, Summer Ice, Tempo d’Angelus, Terra di Seta, Tinto, Viña Memorias, Vieux Chateau Chambeau, Vina Encina, Whispering Angel, White -
IDS tasting of current releases in Paris – Late May 2025
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Dalton Winery Visit – January 2025
Note – This article was written prior to the recent war with Iran – which even further delayed its release. Of course, with the war’s successful resolution and a return to normalcy, it remains as relevant as ever – and hopefully with a return of regular flights into Israel, we will see an increase in wine tourism!
Since October 7th, it has been difficult to write about wine in general. At first it seemed totally frivolous – and I really didn’t write for months. Additionally, Israeli wineries were having a super tough time – in the North due to the fact that MANY wineries were in firing range from Lebanon – and to a somewhat lesser extent in the south (missile range of the Hamas terrorists was shorter that the Hezbollah terrorists – and there are simply far fewer wineries in the south than in the North). But no matter where they were located, wineries were going through a tough time. In the north, just completing the vinification of the ’23 vintage was an issue. And ’24 was no easier, as there the harvest took place during a peak in hostilities. Let’s not even talk about the lack of tourism during this period – not just external (due to a lack of flights) – but regular internal Israeli wine tourism all but ceased. It was simply too dangerous.
For me, as I usually contain reviews of the wines I taste – and NEVER wanting to be not truthful, I decided it was simply better to not post reviews about specific bottles – outside of the context of perhaps a specific occasion (an RCC – or picking wines for the Seder – where for the most part (especially in the case of the seder), I am writing about wines that I have selected, and therefore the notes would be positive. I certainly did not want to be put in the position of giving a critique of Israeli wines – not now. They have enough on their collective plates – and who am I to open my mouth. For me, it was simply safer to avoid the topic altogether and generally send out supportive posts about buying Israeli wine.
But, in November of 2024, a ceasefire in the North was finally reached – and that meant a return to normalcy – to a degree – for the wineries up north. While there are still far too few flights due to the Houthi problem – internal wine tourism has certainly picked up, though slowly. I felt that, rather than simply tasting through a bunch of wines and providing notes, it would be nice to actually support local tourism and write a few posts about the wineries themselves – with a spotlight on how they dealt with the current situation. Within this context of wine education, I feel no qualms about including wines that I think highlight what makes the winery special !
First on my list was Dalton Winery. Throughout the conflict, I found owner Alex Haruni’s posts (mostly on LinkedIn) downright inspiring. They was a mix of resiliency, dedication, and urgency that really shined a light on what people and businesses in the north were experiencing on a day-to-day basis just a stones through from the daily bombardments across the border with Lebanon.
Just a brief history before we go on – especially as Dalton is celebrating their 30th anniversary this year! Dalton Winery, located in the heart of the Upper Galil in Northern Israel, is a celebrated name in the world of wine. Founded in 1995 by the Haruni family, the winery has grown from humble beginnings into a beacon of quality and innovation in Israeli winemaking. Situated at an altitude of about 800 meters above sea level, the unique terroir of the region is characterized by its rich volcanic soil and a climate that balances warm days and cool nights.. Over the years, Dalton Winery has gained a reputation for producing a diverse range of premium wines, including rich reds, elegant whites, and refreshing rosés, each reflecting the distinctive characteristics of the Galil region.
Alex Haruni, the owner of Dalton Winery, has been the driving force behind its success. With a deep passion for wine and a commitment to excellence, Alex has transformed Dalton into a leading name in the Israeli wine industry. His vision extends beyond mere winemaking; he has fostered a culture of innovation, sustainability, and community involvement. It is quite evident upon visiting that the Harunis have invested a great deal in keeping the winery up to date – across the board – from the winemaking vessels to the bottling and boxing.
Guy Eshel, the talented winemaker at Dalton Winery, brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the team. With a background in viticulture and oenology, and his attention to detail, Guy has been able to create wines that are both expressive and balanced.
Dalton has embraced modern winemaking techniques while staying true to traditional methods. The result is a commercial winery that aims to service the Israeli market and the kosher market aboard with quality professionally made wines across most standard price points. This is no small feat. What I love about Dalton is that it was designed to be a commercial winery from the ground up. Many wineries pursue some upper tier wines and their lower tier wines are an afterthought. Other wineries grow into the upper end without having planned for it. The Harunis have set these goals for Dalton from the outset, and I believe this is a key to their success.
Dalton Winery is located in the northern moshav of Dalton, and is set in the beautiful green, mountainous country of the Upper Galil – five kilometers from the Lebanese border. This location, while picturesque, has significant implications for the winery, especially during times of conflict, due to its proximity to Lebanon. The tense border area can be clearly seen from atop the Dalton Winery’s fermentation vats. Seeing the proximity up-close was eye opening.
During the worst of the conflict, there were obvious manpower shortages and challenges in working in the fields. But luckily both the 2023 & 2024 vintages were able to be produced. The 2023 vintage was already harvested when the war broke out, so vinification and the rest of production was tricky, but successful. With 2024, the opposite problem existed in that harvest was impacted – though most of harvest was completed before things really heated up in October of ’24. As a ceasefire was declared in in late November ’24, most of the production process was thankfully less eventful. Hopefully the quiet will continue into the ’25 vintage as well.
While visiting, besides climbing the fermentation tanks, we also toured through the rest of the facility. As I mentioned above, the Harunis have really invested in both the winemaking equipment – including wonderful massive imported clay Amphorae as well as the bottling and boxing. There is a real care about quality all the way around.
Guy and Alex shared a number of wines while I was there, and I took notes on all of them. Unfortunately after writing this article the first time, the file got corrupted and I no longer had my original notes. Luckily I shared my notes or at least my impressions on individual wines with various people (people often ask about individual wines – and I always try to answer)- and so I do have most of the wines covered, just not ALL ((I am fully missing notes on the last 2 wines we tasted) – and in some cases without as much detail as I would usually provide. So my apologies to the readers and certainly to the folks at Dalton. Here are the notes:
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Alma, Brut, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chenin Blanc, Dalton, Dalton Wild One, El Kosh, Estate, Family Collection, FumĂ©, Galilo, Grounded, Matatia, Methode Traditionnelle, Nadav, Pet Nat, Petite Sirah, Red, Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc – Semillon, Semillon, Shiraz, Single Vineyard, White of the Earth, Wild Yeast Chenin Blanc, Zuriman -
Paris tasting of Royal Wine’s 2024 Roses and Whites – Late May 2025
Thankfully, Avi Davidowitz from Kosher Wine Unfiltered is now able to join me on my visits in May and November. This trip was once again very complicated, given that another late Passover occurred, and then Avi had business trip issues, but it all worked out. It never ceases to amaze me how many days the French take off in a year! Thankfully, the trip was successful; we arrived and returned home, so I would call that a success.
We did little to no wine searching, once again. Other than one store, there are very few, if any, new 2024 White or Rosé wines in Paris, anywhere. All the stores are still selling the 2022 or 2023 white and rose wines. This is the same issue that exists in the USA. Online and brick-and-mortar stores are loaded with old wines. So, yeah, not much going on right now! Furthermore, the kosher wine-buying public has all but given up on rosé. This is NOT the case in the non-Kosher market, but it is in the Kosher market. White wines are far out-selling rosés, and the difference is significant.
Additionally, I remain surprised by how little wine French people consume. It’s a declining Kosher wine demographic, for sure! Israel is drinking more kosher wine, as is the USA, but Europe, as a whole, is drinking less kosher wine. The UK is a demographic that seems to be holding its own, but this is mainly among wine enthusiasts. Visit a store in London, and you’ll typically find kosher wines that are a year or more out of date.
As on past trips, the hotel knows me by now; they are very gracious and put up with all the wine deliveries, always making sure to handle them with care. Kudos to the team! This time, we had multiple hotel shipments as Avi was there for Business the week before we hung out. It was challenging wrangling all the shipments, but we managed to get it done, and many thanks to all the wineries and producers for their assistance!
Avi was in France the week before we met for business reasons, and he stayed at a different hotel. Many of the boxes arrived there, and yet more boxes came to our shared hotel. The most amusing thing was that we had so many boxes that we lost track of them, and the hotel did too! B”H, all the wines arrived and we tasted them all. Some wines came after Avi left – but that will all be described in the Hotel Post.
The next morning, we made our way to the lovely home of Menahem Israelievitch, Managing Director and Winemaker at Royal Wine Europe. At the tasting, we enjoyed many lovely wines, and you can read the notes below. I would like to share a few thoughts on them.
- The 2024 Roses, which I have tasted, are showing better than the 2023 vintage. I found some of these wines enjoyable.
- Overall, I think Rose production is slowing down, and stores I visited in NYC and NJ said they are being very diligent about which/Roses they bring in. Further, Paris and much of Europe are still sitting on 2022 Roses. The USA has stores with 2023 Roses. As stated, we hit Peak-Rose in 2022, and we are living off the leftovers.
- We had eight WINNER White wines. Two of those wines are repeats. These are lovely wines, and they should all be available in the USA in the Mevushal status that I tasted in France
The tasting was great as always. We tasted about 31 wines, 10 of which were red. Once again, the wines have been very slow to get to the USA from France; as such, this was the first time I had a chance to taste almost any of these wines, other than the two repeated Chablis. There was a lovely new Chenin Blanc, the 2024 J. de Villebois Chenin Blanc from the Val de Loire, IGT. There was also a new port from Portugal, the N.V. Porto Cordovero Ruby Port, Porto. Other than those two wines, the rest were just new vintages of past releases.
With that said, the La Maison Bleue wine line continues to expand with yet another label and blend, the 2024 La Maison Bleue Grenache-Syrah-Mourvèdre. Nice!
Avi took all the pictures so if you have any issues blame him! Thanks, buddy!
My thanks to Menahem Israelievitch and Royal Wines for hosting us and letting us taste the wonderful wines. The wine notes follow below – the explanation of my “scores” can be found here and the explanation for QPR scores can be found here. The wine notes are in the order the wines were tasted:
2024 Chateau Les Riganes Rose, Bordeaux (M) – Score: 90 (QPR: GREAT)The nose of this wine features notes of peach, flint, orange, cherry, and ripe fruit. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is nice; it has good acidity, nice fresh notes of orange, peach, lemon/lime, raspberry, and lovely tart fruit. The finish is long, tart, refreshing, with notes of flint and a nice finish. Drink now. (tasted May 2025) (in Royal Wines Tasting, France) (ABV = 12%)
2024 Rose Adasa Rose, Bordeaux (M) – Score: 90 (QPR: GREAT)The nose of this wine shows more red fruit, fresh notes of strawberry, lemon/lime, orange, and slate. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is nice, with good acidity, nice peach, raspberry, and strawberry, slate, nectarine, and orange notes. The finish is long and refreshing, with a nice slate note. Drink now. (tasted May 2025) (in Royal Wines Tasting, France) (ABV = 12%)
2024 Roubine R de Roubine, Mediterranee – Score: 89 (QPR: GREAT)The nose of this wine is almost classic Provence, with notes of strawberry and crème, as well as nice raspberry, smoke, and floral aromas. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is less interesting than the first two RosĂ©s; it has a bit less acidity, with strawberry, but not enough acidity to pump up the wine. The finish is long, spicy, with notes of cloves, sweet spices, and herbal elements, finishing with a hint of slate. Drink now. (tasted May 2025) (in Royal Wines Tasting, France) (ABV = 13.5%)
2024 Roubine Hippy, Mediterranee – Score: 88 (QPR: GOOD)The nose of this wine is ripe, with strawberry, rose hip, fleur de orange, rose water, and spices. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine lacks the acidity needed to make this work, with strawberry, raspberry, and spices. The finish is a bit short, featuring notes of spices, roasted herbs, cloves, and slate. Drink now. (tasted May 2025) (in Royal Wine Tasting, France) (ABV = 13%)
2024 Sainte Beatrice B Rose, Cotes de Provence – Score: 89 (QPR: GOOD)The nose of this wine is classic Provence, with rich strawberry and crème, lovely slate, nice rose aromas, and citrus. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is nice, with almost enough acidity, but it lacks the pop, with pith, strawberry, orange notes, and grapefruit. The finish is long, not tart enough, fruit, slate, and pith. Drink now. (tasted May 2025) (in Royal Wine Tasting, France) (ABV = 13%)
2024 Roubine La Vie en Rose, Cotes de Provence – Score: 90+ (QPR: GREAT)The nose of this wine is classic with strawberry and creme, less pith than B, and with more acidity, showing nice lemon/lime, nectarines, and smoke. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is nice, showing good acidity, nice mouthfeel, almost no pith, with strawberry and creme, nectarines, ripe orange, and nice slate. The finish is long, tart, and ripe at the same time, with good mouthfeel and nice attack. Drink now. (tasted May 2025) (in Royal Wine Tasting, France) (ABV = 13%)
2024 Chateau Roubine Rose, Premium, Cru Classe, Cotes de Provence – Score: 90+ (QPR: GREAT)The nose of this wine is nice, with tart strawberry, no creme, rhubarb, rose hip, and lime. The mouth of this medium-bodied wine is leaner than the others, without the weight to match the desire, with strawberry and rhubarb, with just enough acidity, though I wanted more pop. The finish is long, tart, and nice, with notes of slate and more strawberry. Drink now. (tasted May 2025) (in Royal Wine Tasting, France) (ABV = 12%)
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Kosher French Wine, Kosher Red Wine, Kosher Rose Wine, Kosher Sparkling Wine, Kosher White Wine, Kosher Wine, Wine, Wine TastingB, Chardonnay, Chateau Les Riganes, Chateau Roubine, Chenin Blanc, Coteaux du Giennois, Domaine de Panquelaine, Domaine Ternynck Bourgogne, Grand Cru, Grenache, GSM, J de Villebois, La Maison Bleue, La Vie, Les Marronniers Chablis, Paris, Petit Chablis, Pinot Noir, Pouilly-Fume, Premier Cru, R De Roubine, Rose, Rose Adasa, Roubine Hippy, Royal Wine, Sainte Beatrice, Sancerre, Sauvignon Blanc -
Another round of QPR (Quality to Price Ratio) Hits and Misses, 21 QPR WINNERS – June 2025
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Israeli Wine, Kosher French Wine, Kosher Red Wine, Kosher Rose Wine, Kosher Sparkling Wine, Kosher White Wine, Kosher Wine, QPR Post, WineAlex Rubin, Arinto, Bien Nacido Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chateau Lavagnac, Chenin Blanc, Chianti Classico, Clos de Menuts, Covenant Winery, Cumulus, Dalton Winery, Family Collection, Fiano, Fume Blanc, Generation IX, Hajdu Wines, Herzog Cellars Winery, Jean-Philippe Marchand, Latour, Limited Edition, Matar Winery, Mensch Red, Zinfandel, Mystic, Napa Valley, Netofa Winery, O’dwyers Creek, Otter & Fox, Pommard, Proprietary White, Puzzle, QPR, Quinta do Cerrado da Porta, Red Blend, Red C, Reserva, Reserve, Rose, Sauvignon Blanc, Sleight of Hand Cellars, Stags Leap, Syrah, Terra di Seta, Troviscal Tinto, Tzahov, Vermentino, Vieux Chateau Chambeau -
A tasting of M&M Importers’ current wines – June 2025
I did it again; too much time has passed since my previous post on M&M imports, and this follow-up post is now some 16 months later. This post aims to catch up on the wines I missed in my last post, unlike my last post, which was a total encompassing list of the wines M&M has available. Between these wines and the ones posted in my previous post, there should be very few wines missing.
It is always a pleasure to taste the wines from Ralph Madeb, president and CEO of M&M Importers.
Where can you find the wines?
Let us get the obvious out of the way first: tracking what M&M imports and where they are sold is challenging. The big news is that some of his wines are now available on kosherwine.com! I really hope this helps to spread the good word about the work that Ralph and his team do! More information on M&M Importers can be found here. The store with the biggest selection of M&M wines in NYC has to be Idrinkkosher.com (IDK). They are solid, both in terms of pricing and in what they purchase. However, knowing what is ACTUALLY available at IDK is almost impossible unless you show up at the store. I have visited the store a few times, and they offer great prices and good storage. Again, the issue lies in knowing what is actually for sale, as the website has never been updated. Calling in does not help much either, but this post is here to shed more light on the matter. I know Ralph is working very hard on this matter, and I hope we get more news on this soon. My friend Zev Steinberg is working there now and I hope things will get better!
However, the best news is probably that you can now purchase many of the SKUs directly from elkwine.com! Elchonon Hellinger is a dear friend, and as always, I make NOTHING from your purchases. However, if you live or are visiting the Miami area, please look him up! If you cannot find what you need on the site, please text him on WhatsApp at 17867501019. He is adding more SKUs as fast as he can!
Portfolio
If anyone wants to get a bird’s eye view of Ralph Madeb they should listen to the great podcast series from Simon Jacobs – The Kosher Terroir. The episode that focuses on Dr. Ralph Madeb and M&M Importers is this one.
From a Fifty-Thousand-Mile view, Ralph started his adventure by importing IDS wines while also creating his own. Even when he was bringing in some IDS wines, it was not all of them, and access to them was almost impossible.
Since then, things have grown by leaps and bounds, and now they produce or import more than 90 wines. You can read more about the entire portfolio over here at my last post!
Vallepicciola Wines
This is a second line of wines that M&M are importing from the Chianti region. This includes Super Tuscans and Chianti Classico wines. What is interesting is that, beyond those two styles of wine, he has brought in more wines from this producer, including a rosé bubbly and two Pinot Noirs. They are all solid wines, and two of which I gave my QPR (Quality-to-Price Ratio) score of WINNER! Great work! There is also a Super Tuscan in this release, which was also quite impressive.
Two Chianti Classico Wines
While I loved the Tuscan wines, the two Chianti Classico wines were solid but did not quite have the complexity to get the QPR WINNER scores.
Rocca di Frassinello
These wines continue to impress. These are the 2nd releases in kosher, and I continue to be impressed by them. There are three of them here in this post, and two of them were awarded the QPR WINNER score, and the other one (Baffonero) is equally impressive, but priced a bit higher, so the QPR score is lower.
Castellare Sodi
This is the second release of Castellare Sodi, and they are both incredible wines! These are big and bold wines that need many years before they reach their potential!
Masseria Frattasi
I have added three wines that Ralph made but are now sold through Royal Wines. These wines are made by Masseria Frattasi from the Beneventano IGT. There were two Falanghina wines imported from Masseria Frattasi last year, and both were solid. The three new Masseria Frattasi wines are nice to excellent, and I would like to try them again. There are two Aglianico wines: one made the traditional way and one made using the Appassimento method (drying the grapes). They are both solid wines! It’s impressive that the 2021 Masseria Frattasi Kapnios Agliancio, produced using this method, doesn’t come across as overripe or unbalanced. It has lovely dried fruit and a nice texture. Further, it comes in at 13.5% ABV!
Closing notes
This tasting was not done in a day or a week, like last time, it took over three weeks to taste through the lineup and throughout it all, I kept to the same approach. Write the initial notes at the opening, then a few hours later write any changes, and then finally over the days I would add thoughts. The wines did evolve, other than a few, and when/if they did, the notes reflect those thoughts and concerns.
My sincerest thanks to Ralph and his partner at M&M Importers for sharing their wonderful wines with us all! The wine notes follow below, listed in the order I tasted them – the explanation of my “scores” can be found here , and the explanation for QPR scores can be found here:
2020 Castellare I Sodi S. Niccolo, Toscana – Score: 94.5 (QPR: GOOD)The nose of this wine pops and is lovely, with ripe cranberry, raspberry, dark cherry, soy sauce, earth, smoke, menthol, and mint. The nose is intoxicating, rich, and redolent. The mouth of this medium-plus-bodied wine is layered, earthy, tart, precise, tense, and elegant, with rich notes of mushroom, soy sauce, lovely raspberry, dark cherry, smoke, and a hint of smoking tobacco, all enveloped in a mouth-draping curtain of elegant tannin. The finish is long, earthy, and dirty, showcasing dried tobacco and soy sauce, all of which are lovely. Incredible! Drink from 2025 until 2033. (tasted April 2025) (in San Jose, CA) (ABV = 14%)
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Aglianico, Baffonero, Boscobruno, Castellare, Caudium, Chianti Classico, di S. Niccolo, Extra Brut, I Sodi di S. Niccolò, Kapnios, Kottabos, Le Sughere di Frassinello, M&M Importers, Maremma, Masseria Frattasi, Merlot, Perlinetto, Pievasciata, Pinot Nero Rosso, Pinot Noir, Riserva, Rocca di Frassinello, Sparkling Wine, Toscana Rosso, Vallepicciola -
France, January 2025 – Part 4 – Hotel Tastings
As always, my last post in the series deals with the hotel tastings that I do each trip with David Raccah of Kosher Wine Musings. At this stage, while there are still some more big wines to taste (IDS and a couple of Mercier releases primarily), I have already reached conclusions about the ’22 vintage. In a nutshell, and this plays out among the wines represented here – small wines did NOT do well in ’22 – not a disaster like ’21, but really, nothing to write home about. The big wines almost universally did exceptionally well. Certainly the best vintage since ’19. I would even say that in kosher it was better than ’18 and ’20, which were both hot ripe years as well. I think the key here is that France is learning to manage the climate change. The wineries are more and more prepared for what G-d has planned, and therefore those wineries with staff on hand throughout the growing season who decided to pick early and then continue picking each plot as it reached its optimum maturity, did well. On the small wines, where grapes are simply picked once for the most part – I think you ended up with some anemic wines – likely because some plots ripened VERY early due to the heat. But this is just my conjecture. And honestly, the “why” is of much less import. The bottom line is that the big wines did very well – and quite frankly I am very excited to taste the rest of the ’22’s on my next trip in May. On top of that we got our first real taste of ’23. So far – it’s an “OK” vintage. Nothing as bad as ’21. Maybe in line with ’17 quality wise.
This trip in addition to standard tastings we also received barrel samples of the 2023 Domaine de Montille Burgundies. As they were barrel samples, I will not give notes here, but I will say that the whites showed well, while the reds were likely bottle shocked – so we’ll have to wait for the real releases. The ’23 Marchand Burgundies were the real deal and will be included below. ’23 in Burgundy seems to have real potential. Anyhow, enough chitter chatter, this post is long and a good four months late, so here are the notes:
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2023 Joseph Mellot, Alphonse Mellot, Aux Herbues, Barolo, Baron David, Beaujolais, Blanc, Blaye-Cotes de Bordeaux, Bodega Marco Abella, Bodegas Faustino, Bokobsa, Bordeaux, Bordeaux Superieur, Bourgogne, Bourgueil, Cantine Leuci Brunese, Cascina Perrone, Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux, Côte de Brouilly, Côte de Léchet, Côtes du Rhone Villages, Chablis, Chardonnay, Chateau Cantemerle, Chateau de Cor Bugeaud, Chateau de Fieuzal, Chateau de L’Anglais, Chateau Grand Corbin, Chateau Lamothe-Cissac, Chateau Teyssier, Chateau Tour de Bellegarde, Chateau Vieux Taillefer, Château de Rayne Vigneau, Château Fayat, Château Haut-Marbuzet, Château La Naude, Château Meilhan, Château Olivier, Château Tournebrise, Chinon, Chiroubles, Cuvee Prestige, Daleah, Dampt Freres, Domaine de  Montille, Domaine de Grava, Domaine La Martinelle, Domaine Lebrun, Dominique Piron, DOP Manduria, Elysee Palace, Elysee Palace Chardonnay, Gevrey Chambertin, Gigondas, Grand Cru Classé de Graves, Grand Cru Classe, grand vin, Grand Vin de Bordeaux, Hans Wirsching, Haut-Médoc, Hautes Cotes De Beaune, Hautes-Côtes de Nuits, Iphofer, Jean Philippe Marchand, Joseph Mellot, JP Marchand, La dame de Baladoz, La Graviere, La Moussiere, La Petite Métairie, Lalande de Pomerol, Le Chant des Vignes, Le Chene de Margot, Le Nardian, Le Parc De Faye, Les Hauts de Mole, Les Jardins de Soutard, Les Pierres Blanches, Les Remparts de Bel-Air, Les Sec de Rayne Vigneau, Loire Valley, Lugaignac, Madame de Rayne, Medoc, Merlot, Meursault, Moise Taieb, Nuits-Saint-George, Pays d'Oc, Pessac-Leognan, Pomerol, Pouilly Fumé, Premier Cru, Primitivo, Priorat, Puisseguin Saint-Émilion, Puligny Montrachet, Reserve du Fondateur, Riesling, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé, Saint-Estephe, Sancerre, Sauternes, Sec, Shomer, Syrah, Vieilles Vignes, Vielles Vignes, Visan AOP
