Friday, October 06, 2006
GPCI tasting event #4 - Boutique Israeli wines
Sep 28th, 2006 Summerhill LCBO, Toronto, ON, Canada.
http://www.israelwines.co.il/ArticlesEng/Article.asp?CategoryID=82&ArticleID=1947
After focusing my previous wine tasting events on wines from Italy, Spain, Australia, Chile and France, I had decided it was time for the Canadians to try something different, surprising, exotic and new – wines from Israel.
It was time to shatter the myth of “Israeli wines are all Kosher and too sweet”.
Well, for that serious mission I needed Paul Lokash.
Paul, who imports Israeli wines to Ontario, has arranged this wonderful 4th GPCI tasting event, focusing on boutique Israeli wines.
In order to make this an evening to remember, Paul had invited his close friend Jonathan Livny, who is extremely knowledgeable of the emerging Israeli wine industry. Jonathan shared some of his knowledge and guided us through the different exquisite wines that we sampled.
We gathered 12 passionate, enthusiastic and experienced wine lovers to explore and challenge their palates with these Israeli wines.
Planning on a special evening, Paul had managed to book one of the better LCBO locations in Toronto. Located in the historic North Toronto station and fully restored to its former glory, this 30,000 square foot Toronto landmark includes a 145-foot Venetian clock tower, the great hall, marble walls and brass ticket wickets. It features more than 5,000 wines, spirits, beers and gift ideas, as well as a vintages area, tasting stations and demonstration kitchen.
Israeli wines had come a long way since the “Manishevitz Kosher wines” era, and the 8 wines we tried that evening demonstrated just how far…
Here are the wines (by order of tasting) along with their general tasting notes:
1 – 2003 Sea Horse, Camus – Syrah based. Deep ruby-purple color. Smooth. Peppery. Medium body. Medium finish. A bit bitter after taste. Nice Syrah.
2 – 2003 Ella Valley, Ever-Red – Cab-Merlot. Deep purple color. Flowers/perfume. Smooth. Medium body. Short-medium finish. A nice day-to-day blend.
3 – 2004 Saslove Aviv, Cabernet Sauvignon – the 2003 was introduced about less than a year ago in Ontario. This 2004 cab sauvignon has a nice ruby color. Smells like a basket of berries - fruity with clean texture. A simple yet great day-to-day wine (I wish we could have shared Saslove’s Reserved series. Maybe next time…)
4 – 2004 Karmey Yosef, Bravdo Merlot – this wine needs time. The tannins were a bit green and tight. Hints of dark chocolate and blueberries.
5 – 2001 Chateau Golan, Eliad - A serious cab. Full body. Dark-inky colour. Long finish. This is “the real deal”. International standard! Excellent in every way but price!
6 – 2003 Sea Horse, Elul – after the Chateau Golan, Elul had a challenge. But it didn’t fall behind! What an amazing effort from this winery. This wine is outstanding. Great dark ruby color. Complex in texture and flavors – all possible berries are inside. Full body. Very long finish - after a sip, you just sit back, smile and let the wonderful taste take you for a ride of a good 30+ seconds…
7 – 2005 Tulip Just Cabernet Sauvignon – the best weekend-at-the-cottage-with-BBQ wine for a fair price (~C$22) – the cheapest in the evening list. Purple color. Medium-full body. Lots of dark fruits. Approachable and open for immediate consumption. Medium finish.
8 – 2004 Tulip Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve – dark ruby color. More complex and close than his brother “Just” – layers of dark and red fruits - prunes, dark berries, cassis and hints of oak. Full body - fat texture (a good thing). Great long finish – 20+ seconds. Will further evolve in the cellar (2-3 years).
The “panel’s” verdict:
The participants were very impressed by the high quality all of the wines had provided.
A few people thought the 2003 Sea Horse Elul had a unique and high quality taste that excelled the rest – indeed a world class wine.
Chateau Golan, as well, appeared as one of the evening stars with its perfect smooth and round Cabernet extract and balance. The only downside was its relatively high price (almost C$ 50). In my humble opinion, the average Canadian would not often spend C$ 50 on French or Italian wine, let alone a wine from a lesser known wine producing country like Israel…
The panel consensus was around the 2004 Tulip Reserve - Its complexity and the way it evolved its flavors in the glass (even a simple-small wine tasting glass did the trick…) as well as its full intense texture appealed to everyone. It seemed to be the best value for quality wine of the evening – most, if not all wanted to buy a case of this wonderful wine.
At the end of this memorable evening, everyone left with a new perception – Israeli wines definitely have something to offer in the endless and competitive sea of great New World wines.
http://www.israelwines.co.il/ArticlesEng/Article.asp?CategoryID=82&ArticleID=1947
After focusing my previous wine tasting events on wines from Italy, Spain, Australia, Chile and France, I had decided it was time for the Canadians to try something different, surprising, exotic and new – wines from Israel.
It was time to shatter the myth of “Israeli wines are all Kosher and too sweet”.
Well, for that serious mission I needed Paul Lokash.
Paul, who imports Israeli wines to Ontario, has arranged this wonderful 4th GPCI tasting event, focusing on boutique Israeli wines.
In order to make this an evening to remember, Paul had invited his close friend Jonathan Livny, who is extremely knowledgeable of the emerging Israeli wine industry. Jonathan shared some of his knowledge and guided us through the different exquisite wines that we sampled.
We gathered 12 passionate, enthusiastic and experienced wine lovers to explore and challenge their palates with these Israeli wines.
Planning on a special evening, Paul had managed to book one of the better LCBO locations in Toronto. Located in the historic North Toronto station and fully restored to its former glory, this 30,000 square foot Toronto landmark includes a 145-foot Venetian clock tower, the great hall, marble walls and brass ticket wickets. It features more than 5,000 wines, spirits, beers and gift ideas, as well as a vintages area, tasting stations and demonstration kitchen.
Israeli wines had come a long way since the “Manishevitz Kosher wines” era, and the 8 wines we tried that evening demonstrated just how far…
Here are the wines (by order of tasting) along with their general tasting notes:
1 – 2003 Sea Horse, Camus – Syrah based. Deep ruby-purple color. Smooth. Peppery. Medium body. Medium finish. A bit bitter after taste. Nice Syrah.
2 – 2003 Ella Valley, Ever-Red – Cab-Merlot. Deep purple color. Flowers/perfume. Smooth. Medium body. Short-medium finish. A nice day-to-day blend.
3 – 2004 Saslove Aviv, Cabernet Sauvignon – the 2003 was introduced about less than a year ago in Ontario. This 2004 cab sauvignon has a nice ruby color. Smells like a basket of berries - fruity with clean texture. A simple yet great day-to-day wine (I wish we could have shared Saslove’s Reserved series. Maybe next time…)
4 – 2004 Karmey Yosef, Bravdo Merlot – this wine needs time. The tannins were a bit green and tight. Hints of dark chocolate and blueberries.
5 – 2001 Chateau Golan, Eliad - A serious cab. Full body. Dark-inky colour. Long finish. This is “the real deal”. International standard! Excellent in every way but price!
6 – 2003 Sea Horse, Elul – after the Chateau Golan, Elul had a challenge. But it didn’t fall behind! What an amazing effort from this winery. This wine is outstanding. Great dark ruby color. Complex in texture and flavors – all possible berries are inside. Full body. Very long finish - after a sip, you just sit back, smile and let the wonderful taste take you for a ride of a good 30+ seconds…
7 – 2005 Tulip Just Cabernet Sauvignon – the best weekend-at-the-cottage-with-BBQ wine for a fair price (~C$22) – the cheapest in the evening list. Purple color. Medium-full body. Lots of dark fruits. Approachable and open for immediate consumption. Medium finish.
8 – 2004 Tulip Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve – dark ruby color. More complex and close than his brother “Just” – layers of dark and red fruits - prunes, dark berries, cassis and hints of oak. Full body - fat texture (a good thing). Great long finish – 20+ seconds. Will further evolve in the cellar (2-3 years).
The “panel’s” verdict:
The participants were very impressed by the high quality all of the wines had provided.
A few people thought the 2003 Sea Horse Elul had a unique and high quality taste that excelled the rest – indeed a world class wine.
Chateau Golan, as well, appeared as one of the evening stars with its perfect smooth and round Cabernet extract and balance. The only downside was its relatively high price (almost C$ 50). In my humble opinion, the average Canadian would not often spend C$ 50 on French or Italian wine, let alone a wine from a lesser known wine producing country like Israel…
The panel consensus was around the 2004 Tulip Reserve - Its complexity and the way it evolved its flavors in the glass (even a simple-small wine tasting glass did the trick…) as well as its full intense texture appealed to everyone. It seemed to be the best value for quality wine of the evening – most, if not all wanted to buy a case of this wonderful wine.
At the end of this memorable evening, everyone left with a new perception – Israeli wines definitely have something to offer in the endless and competitive sea of great New World wines.
