Kosher Food and Drink

It’s getting tougher with my schedule to do deep dives on individual wines, leaving me to not comment on many interesting wines I taste. So occasionally, or maybe as a regular feature, I’ll write a more general review of wines I tasted over the course of the week and include my tasting notes for your purview.

One night last week, a close friend came to visit on a particularly breezy and gentle night. We opted to sit out front and shmooze. Good conversation coupled with wine is a simple pleasure of life. I opened the Binah, Pennsylvania, Merlot, 2022. While winemaker Kevin Danna had told me on our recent podcast that he felt this wine could use time, I found a very approachable wine that I truly loved. I would have sworn this was not American, but rather French. But this is why it is so important to have a kosher winery producing cool climate wines so different from the riper versions of warm climate California. This Merlot showed tart red fruit, very nice elegance, and bright acid, all typical for cool climate Merlot, but all atypical for kosher American Merlot. I want more.

$30, 13.5% ABV, non-mevushal

My friend brought a gift from another friend, a wine from one of the best wineries in Israel, Matar, by Pelter. Matar is the kosher wing of the well-regarded Pelter Winery in Kibbutz Ein Zivan in the northern Golan Heights. We enjoyed the Matar, Cumulus, 2021, and it is more important than ever to drink not only Israeli wines, but wines from the north of Israel, a region under endless attack from an evil terrorist regime just meters away. This is a blend of 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, and 20% Cabernet Franc, aged for 14 months in oak. A big, juicy wine, showing loads of black fruit such as blackberry, boysenberry, black plum and cherry, with tobacco, eucalyptus, and vanilla. Rich and concentrated, with good length. Not overly complex but very nice. Give this time to open in your glass, allowing the alcohol to blow off slightly. Drink now until 2030.

$36, 15% ABV, non-mevushal

Friday before Shabbos/entering Shabbos, we got together with some dear friends, dearer more so after he opened the Four Gates, Santa Clara Valley, Petit Verdot, 2019. Reports of the recent decline of this magical winery are greatly exaggerated, to borrow from an oft-misquoted Twain quote. This was a wonderful wine. Garnet in the glass. Nose of dark cherry fruit, blackberry, boysenberry, floral notes, sage, chocolate. On the palate, waves of red and black fruit, lavender. Tannins are moderate and firm. Nicely layered with a medium body. Medium exactly, no +/-. Bright acid. So balanced. This was a pop and pour. My estimation is this is not for long term cellaring but will hold. Drink now until about 2028. 

$40, 12.9% ABV, non-mevushal

Friday night we headed over to other great family friends, with another close friend joining us. He happens to also be a big wine guy and generous, too. Guess I surround myself with these types. Who’d imagine? 

I brought a really great recent release, the Château Tour Seran, Médoc, 2021. I’ve mentioned it at least a couple times in recent months. As mevushal wines go, this is one of the better ones, and is particularly nice for a 2021 Bordeaux, which is not a great vintage. Dark ruby in the glass, dark black plum and black cherry on the nose, spice, chocolate, cassis, smoke. Full bodied and generous on the palate, with dark fruit, well-structured, with balanced acid, still chewy tannins, and good length. Drink now until 2030.

$45, 13.5% ABV, mevushal

My other friend brought the Clos Mesorah, Montsant, 2019. Like I said, he’s a generous guy. Clos Mesorah is the flagship wine of Elvi Wines, and the incredible Cohen-Aleta family. I have written about them many times, hosted father (Dr. Moises) and son (David) on many memorable occasions, and finally met their newly-minted winemaker daughter, Leah, recently. Leah graduated from the prestigious Tarragona University in Spain, and is completing her Masters in Viticulture & Wine Making from Rioja University. I still need to meet the matriarch, Anne, who I profiled as one of the “Trailblazing Women of the Kosher Wine World” back in 2021. That will likely have to wait for my long, long overdue first visit to Spain. In any case, I was so happy to see that my friend brought the never-miss Clos Mesorah. Ideally this is a bottle that will cellar for years to mature fully, but I will never turn down a young, great bottle. Deep garnet in the glass. Ripe red and black berries, some smoke, vanilla, earth, game. Full bodied, luscious, ripe red and black fruit, more vanilla and gamey meat. The oak is there but so well-tuned. Medium plus tannins, good acid. Great long finish. Alcohol has receded some since my tastings in 2023. This is a baby which will reward patience. Drink 2028-2035.

$80, 14.5% ABV, non-mevushal

My friend sent someone to grab another bottle from his neighboring home, and they returned with the Hevron Heights Winery, Judean Vineyards, Makhpelah, Cabernet-Merlot, 2018. Here is another pricey wine at about $90, but a different style from the Clos. This is a wine made for big wine lovers. Aged 24 months in oak, with big, ripe black fruit. I very much enjoyed this wine, another winner from a stellar 2018 Israeli vintage, but can’t see myself paying the sticker price. Many will greatly enjoy this and to be honest, this was softer and more elegant than I expected. This can cellar but I don’t see that it will particularly evolve. Drink now or hold to 2028.

$89, 13% ABV, non-mevushal

Shabbos morning “kiddush” festivities brought two excellent whites on a very hot morning. I reckon my white shirt allowed some unnecessary transparency following my walk in each direction. We enjoyed the Hajdu, Anderson Valley, Pinot Blanc, 2023 first, another great wine from our friend Jon Hajdu, winemaker of Covenant Wines and his eponymous (I never miss a chance to use that word) winery. Beautiful nose of floral notes, honeysuckle, peach, lemon. Aged sur lie for 5 months. Refreshing acid, soft on the palate, with nice length. Very well done.

$33, 12.5% ABV, non-mevushal

Next we had the Feudi di San Gregorio, Greco di Tufo, 2022, another welcome Italian import from our friend, Dr. Ralph Madeb at M&M Imports, who has made a major impact on the kosher wine world over the last decade. This is another winner. An expressive nose of citrus, floral, peach/apricot, and marked minerality, common in the region. Greco di Tufo is named for the village of Tufo and wines from this specific area of Sorbo Serpico, Campania in Southern Italy are noted for soil high in sulfur and tuff, lending its notable minerality. Really enjoyed this lovely wine.

$30, 12.5% ABV, non-mevushal

May this week bring good news, the return of our hostages, may Hashem bring them home safely and in good health, as well as protection of our brave brothers and sisters of the IDF. Lightness and good will ultimately prevail over darkness and evil.