Giaconda's pushing a red wine and that would be front-page news in our local wine puddle, except they've already been selling some German and New Zealand reds. Whatever else it might be, a modern, Spanish red that gets quite a nod from Robert Parker, or one of his assistants anyway, is quite a twist in this boutique importer's story.
For personal reasons, I always drink wine on December 28th, so I attended the unveiling of the new steed in the stable.
The wine is more modern than otherwise, let's put it that way. The nose quite obviously says warm climate but you have to look hard for signs of Spain or Temperanillo. The palate's balance would be a good indication of Ribera if you know what to look for, though in a blind tasting I might have guessed Southern Rhone. Anyway, this could be a local hit. The nose is even now very user-friendly; though ripe, it stops short of syrupy and has an interesting spicy aspect. Aromatically, I think it's what a lot of local wineries shoot for, though they'd never reach the same level of concentration while retaining the balance of the palate, with its ripe acidity and savoury, fine tannins supporting and balancing the jammy, fruit on the long finish. I'm not surprised about the high Wine Advocate score (94), though personally I'm less enamored of the style. Without the fine, ingrained balance, there's a certain hi-tech feel that would be more upfront. So in the end, the big question for me is how much personality it would pick up with some cellar age, which it certainly seems capable of (though again, I feel less confident about the WA prediction of post 2030).
Selling for 160 NIS for club members, it is certainly worth laying down for 5-10 years. And I wouldn't touch it for at least two or three.
For personal reasons, I always drink wine on December 28th, so I attended the unveiling of the new steed in the stable.
The wine is more modern than otherwise, let's put it that way. The nose quite obviously says warm climate but you have to look hard for signs of Spain or Temperanillo. The palate's balance would be a good indication of Ribera if you know what to look for, though in a blind tasting I might have guessed Southern Rhone. Anyway, this could be a local hit. The nose is even now very user-friendly; though ripe, it stops short of syrupy and has an interesting spicy aspect. Aromatically, I think it's what a lot of local wineries shoot for, though they'd never reach the same level of concentration while retaining the balance of the palate, with its ripe acidity and savoury, fine tannins supporting and balancing the jammy, fruit on the long finish. I'm not surprised about the high Wine Advocate score (94), though personally I'm less enamored of the style. Without the fine, ingrained balance, there's a certain hi-tech feel that would be more upfront. So in the end, the big question for me is how much personality it would pick up with some cellar age, which it certainly seems capable of (though again, I feel less confident about the WA prediction of post 2030).
Selling for 160 NIS for club members, it is certainly worth laying down for 5-10 years. And I wouldn't touch it for at least two or three.
Comments
I was at the testing too. Well, I liked the wine and one bottle is in my house now. It is Hi-Tech wine for sure and I do like the nose feeling. And yes it is a well balanced wine and in the price of 160 NIS it is kinda leave all the Israeli wines at the same price or above behind.
At the begin of the taste I couldn't say it is Temperanillo, just couldn't identify it. But I like it alot, so balanced and tempting. If anyone wants to buy it , now is the right time. The wine is going into a sleep mode or standbye I guess in the next year.