Recently I decided to spoil the clients (and of course myself) by popping six higher end bottles of wine and doing some rounds of tastings.
After very thorough analysis, purple tongues, and blurry vision, here are the results:
2007 Yarden, Chardonnay, Odem Vineyard: opened very toasty and dry, with a citrus rind and bitter aroma. This put people off right away. Later, the wine opened up a little bit and had nice citrus aromas and nectarine as well, and a pleasant sweet aroma. Then the pear shined through and the original toastiness of the wine rejoined us, making a very enjoyable and balanced Chardonnay.
2002 Chateau Montviel, Pomerol: This is a wine I previously reviewed a few months back and I decided to revisit it for the tasting. It was surprisingly darker than I remembered it to be; this bottle didn't have much of the bright ruby coloring of the previous one but was a little darker and more put together. The wine is very smooth and the tannins are just strong enough to keep you from gulping the glass down in one shot. A very enjoyable Bordeaux and one of the stars of the evening.
2005 Yatir Cabernet Sauvignon, Judean Hills (South): This wine was thoroughly enjoyed by all the texture and mouthfeel junkies. The wine is very full bodied and tannic. Herbal flavors that were present when the bottle was opened were still present later in the form of sage and eucalyptus notes. But as strong as the wine was, the velvety feel makes this wine drinkable even today. Some of the other participants thought this was too hot to handle in terms of the tannins and acidity, but that could be due to the mature, elegant wine that preceded it. This is the middle tier wine from Yatir- above the CMS blend and below the Forest super cuvee.
2004 Yarden Merlot, Ortal Yineyard: This wine had some very exciting aromas coming out the bottle soon after we opened it. Definitely present was the trademark (in my opinion) Yarden Merlot aroma of Grand Marnier; some warm, citrusy element that I can't identify more accurately than that. Other flavors were raspberry and other berries, crushed rocks (yes they have a smell), and a heavy but not overbearing cedar/oaky flavor. I think this wine is very enjoyable now but would be curious what 4 years has in store for it.
2006 Domaine du Castel, Grand Vin, Haute Judee: Quite an elegant wine from a producer that typically makes very "big" wines. The color wasn't too dark; almost a medium ruby color that wasn't very bright at all. The nose featured fantastic aromas of flowers, liqueur, and more of a pine smell. The wine wasn't too tannic and went down very smoothly, but reflected a finesse that the other wines that evening did not possess. One interesting note is that we were able to pinpoint a taste descriptor for the wine's aftertaste: Guinness! How about that- try a nice wine and get a beer taste for free. Not a bad thing since the Guinness description lines up with the floral elements mentioned above. I would drink this wine now since I don't see it being the most long lived of Grand Vin releases. This wine is classy, simply put.
2004 Yarden Syrah, Ortal Vineyard: We had great expectations for this wine and were not disappointed. It was dubbed "perhaps the best Syrah in Israel" so of course we had to try it. This wine had an intense aroma of flowers, chocolate covered raisins, vanilla cookies, toasted oak, and other port like aromas. I don't think I have ever come up with this many aromas and descriptors from one bottle of wine like this. The wine is thick and black and is palate coating to say the least. Strong and concentrated, this wine isn't for everyone. It might be best to let it cool off for a year or two in the cellar, just to give it more time to come together. But, you might lose some of the intensity factor that is so evident right now. A wonderful selection and a wine for the cellar!
