Deux Montilles, Bourgogne Rouge, 2009
This wine raised many objections when we of the Daniel Lifshitz Burgundy Revue group tasted it a while back. Odd, as the objections had to do with the way the wine reflected the heat of the vintage and I didn't think 2009 was another 2003; figured it was ripe and big but not a monster truck. Anyway, by now, this has improved to the point where the nose has all the charms of a young Pinot - cranberries and dusty earthiness - with subtle clarity. But the palate is not as soft and charming as the 2008 was (and boy, was that ever a great value!) and the ripe, sweet fruit and soft, yet bitter, tannins reside on separate planes that need air to integrate. After said integration, the finish as an appealing savoriness to it, and you get that sense of magnification that lesser wines have in a big vintage, but it's a notch less brilliant than the 2008, where the acidity played a sexier hand. Or maybe it's difference in styles, rather than a great gap in quality. Still, it's nice that the Montilles have managed to create a generic Bourgogne that sparks such a lengthy note on a Friday night. (June 1, 2012)
Burgundy Wine Collection, 110 NIS.
Marcel Lapierre, Morgon, 2010
Oh, I like this more than the 2009. The nose is very interesting, with hints of earth and hints of apple cider over the more conventional red fruit. The aromatics grow deeper, more savory and more complex with air and it got a lot of air as the bottle was opened for lunch and finished over the course of the evening. The palate is tasty, with fine, savory tannins. (June 2, 2012)
Burgundy Wine Collection, 130 NIS.
Domaine de La Vougeraie, Cote de Beaune, Les Pierres Blanches, 2009
Lots of rotting leaves in the typical sous de bois aromatics, then red fruits and minerals, and soft, yet savory tannins. A tasty wine, with gently sweet (but not over-ripe) fruit and touch of salinity on the finish, exciting for the lowly appellation. (June 4, 2012)
Burgundy Wine Collection, 150 NIS for your Basic Burgundy Starter Kit.
Vitteaut-Alberti, Cremant de Bourgogne, Blanc de Blancs, n.v.
With my initial enthusiasm at actually drinking a new (for me) type of bubbly out of the way, I still find of enjoyment, if not complexity or depth, here. Today, it's perhaps more about chalk and yeast with the fruit somewhat one-dimensional (although there's that vague undertow of tropical fruit on the palate that adds some interest), and the mousse is rather coarse (and disappears quickly), but it's pleasant enough even if the yeast, chalk and fruit never make a coherent whole. (June 8, 2012).
Burgundy Wine Collection, 90 NIS.
Muga, Rioja Reserva, 2005
A better showing than last time. the nose is a little over-extracted for my tastes - with black fruit, espresso and tobacco leaves - leaving little room for sophistication. The palate is one-dimensional as well, but the finish makes up for some of the previous deficiencies with its savory tannins. All in all, a tasty little wine that displays varietal typicity and more of a Rioja personality that lat time, but really no great shakes. Just a little too obvious, I guess. (June 9, 2012)
WineDepot, 180 NIS.
Heritiers du Comte Lafon, Macon-Milly-Lamartine, Clos du Four, 2010
I love the Lafon Macon "spin-off" and what interests me this time is a subtle nod at the Meursault style (pears and nuts) that I suppose was always present in these wines, but which I never really picked up on. Wonderful minerality and acidity, too. And a savory, saline finish. (June 10, 2012)
Burgundy Wine Collection, 150 NIS.
Ecker-Eckhof, Zweigelt, 2010
A very pale rose, that is like someone someone put strawberry mascara on Gruner Veltliner. I mean, it has the same spiciness that yells out "Austria" to me, but with strawberry fruit and even more minerals (sort of upturned earth but with a layer of dirt I don't find locally) than I've found in Ecker's whites. A fun quaffer, with a semi-brainy, angular appeal. (June 12, 2012)
Wine Domains Of Austria, in other words Fat Guy again, 89 NIS.
Domaine Guy Roulot, Bourgogne Blanc, 2009
Risk-Free White Burgundy! Drink Now And Don't Worry About Premox! Acid Backbone In A Warm Vintage! Meursault Typicity With Unexpected Elegance! (June 15, 2012)
Burgundy Wine Collection, 140 NIS.
Huet, Vouvray, Petillant Brut, 2005
The Chenin is very obvious beneath the bubbles, this time, in the way the Brut speaks of summer fruits. There's also a very distinct mineral vein in there and a hint of brioche. Very tasty as always. But there's something wrong with mousse and it isn't very persistent. So this bottle is more of a Vouvray than a sparkler, in a way. (June 16, 2012)
Giaconda, 150 NIS.
Jacques-Frederic Mugnier, Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru, Clos De La Marechale, 2004
A classic Nuits nose - earthy red fruit, a touch feral - yet with exotic spices that wouldn't be out of place in Vosne. The palate has soft, languid, sweet 2004 fruit. The finish is both saline and would be terrific it were more savory - but I guess 2004 tannins just don't have it in them. (June 17, 2012)
WineRoute, 250 NIS about five years ago, 400-450 NIS for recent vintages. Sigh.
William Fevre, Chablis Premier Cru, Vaillons, 2008
Lime, pebbles and sea weed. Vaillons is a very refined Chablis and although I usually prefer the wilder, kinkier Premiers (Cote de Lechet, Montee de Tonnerre), the saline finish here lends a piercing focus to the elegance. (June 21, 2012)
WineRoute, 3 for 400 NIS.
Ecker-Eckhof, Landwein, Gruner Veltliner, 2011
I took this liter to Ahuva Kadouri for a Friday Night dinner, thinking it would be nice to have a lot of wine to go 'round for a change, but we finished the extra quarter very quickly, as this has the delicious, fresh-green, saline appeal of a GruVe, even if no one would mistake it for a first growth. Also, at the same dinner, my other bottle of the producer's Zweigelt, 2010, the pale rose making a charming pairing with fish and tomato sauce based dishes. Both wines were crowd pleasers. Which is nice, considering they're off the beaten track, for Israel. (June 22, 2012).
Obviously Fat Guy again, the GV is priced at 89 NIS, same as the Zweigelt.
Hirsch, Kammerner Heiligenstein, Gruner Veltliner, 2010
As always, this bargain-basement Grand Cru (which is what I believe the Heiligenstein vineyard to be), is a must-have for lovers of minerals. That's just the starting point; after that there's a bit of canteloupe and the typical green, slightly brothy, streak of sweet peas; and, finally, a sweet roundness that comes from fruit, not residual sugar - all making this a great candidate for a white house wine. (June 30, 2012)
Fat Guy, 129 NIS.
This wine raised many objections when we of the Daniel Lifshitz Burgundy Revue group tasted it a while back. Odd, as the objections had to do with the way the wine reflected the heat of the vintage and I didn't think 2009 was another 2003; figured it was ripe and big but not a monster truck. Anyway, by now, this has improved to the point where the nose has all the charms of a young Pinot - cranberries and dusty earthiness - with subtle clarity. But the palate is not as soft and charming as the 2008 was (and boy, was that ever a great value!) and the ripe, sweet fruit and soft, yet bitter, tannins reside on separate planes that need air to integrate. After said integration, the finish as an appealing savoriness to it, and you get that sense of magnification that lesser wines have in a big vintage, but it's a notch less brilliant than the 2008, where the acidity played a sexier hand. Or maybe it's difference in styles, rather than a great gap in quality. Still, it's nice that the Montilles have managed to create a generic Bourgogne that sparks such a lengthy note on a Friday night. (June 1, 2012)
Burgundy Wine Collection, 110 NIS.
Marcel Lapierre, Morgon, 2010
Oh, I like this more than the 2009. The nose is very interesting, with hints of earth and hints of apple cider over the more conventional red fruit. The aromatics grow deeper, more savory and more complex with air and it got a lot of air as the bottle was opened for lunch and finished over the course of the evening. The palate is tasty, with fine, savory tannins. (June 2, 2012)
Burgundy Wine Collection, 130 NIS.
Domaine de La Vougeraie, Cote de Beaune, Les Pierres Blanches, 2009
Lots of rotting leaves in the typical sous de bois aromatics, then red fruits and minerals, and soft, yet savory tannins. A tasty wine, with gently sweet (but not over-ripe) fruit and touch of salinity on the finish, exciting for the lowly appellation. (June 4, 2012)
Burgundy Wine Collection, 150 NIS for your Basic Burgundy Starter Kit.
Vitteaut-Alberti, Cremant de Bourgogne, Blanc de Blancs, n.v.
With my initial enthusiasm at actually drinking a new (for me) type of bubbly out of the way, I still find of enjoyment, if not complexity or depth, here. Today, it's perhaps more about chalk and yeast with the fruit somewhat one-dimensional (although there's that vague undertow of tropical fruit on the palate that adds some interest), and the mousse is rather coarse (and disappears quickly), but it's pleasant enough even if the yeast, chalk and fruit never make a coherent whole. (June 8, 2012).
Burgundy Wine Collection, 90 NIS.
Muga, Rioja Reserva, 2005
A better showing than last time. the nose is a little over-extracted for my tastes - with black fruit, espresso and tobacco leaves - leaving little room for sophistication. The palate is one-dimensional as well, but the finish makes up for some of the previous deficiencies with its savory tannins. All in all, a tasty little wine that displays varietal typicity and more of a Rioja personality that lat time, but really no great shakes. Just a little too obvious, I guess. (June 9, 2012)
WineDepot, 180 NIS.
 |
| A wine I always love, a name I hate typing out |
I love the Lafon Macon "spin-off" and what interests me this time is a subtle nod at the Meursault style (pears and nuts) that I suppose was always present in these wines, but which I never really picked up on. Wonderful minerality and acidity, too. And a savory, saline finish. (June 10, 2012)
Burgundy Wine Collection, 150 NIS.
Ecker-Eckhof, Zweigelt, 2010
A very pale rose, that is like someone someone put strawberry mascara on Gruner Veltliner. I mean, it has the same spiciness that yells out "Austria" to me, but with strawberry fruit and even more minerals (sort of upturned earth but with a layer of dirt I don't find locally) than I've found in Ecker's whites. A fun quaffer, with a semi-brainy, angular appeal. (June 12, 2012)
Wine Domains Of Austria, in other words Fat Guy again, 89 NIS.
Domaine Guy Roulot, Bourgogne Blanc, 2009
Risk-Free White Burgundy! Drink Now And Don't Worry About Premox! Acid Backbone In A Warm Vintage! Meursault Typicity With Unexpected Elegance! (June 15, 2012)
Burgundy Wine Collection, 140 NIS.
Huet, Vouvray, Petillant Brut, 2005
The Chenin is very obvious beneath the bubbles, this time, in the way the Brut speaks of summer fruits. There's also a very distinct mineral vein in there and a hint of brioche. Very tasty as always. But there's something wrong with mousse and it isn't very persistent. So this bottle is more of a Vouvray than a sparkler, in a way. (June 16, 2012)
Giaconda, 150 NIS.
Jacques-Frederic Mugnier, Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru, Clos De La Marechale, 2004
A classic Nuits nose - earthy red fruit, a touch feral - yet with exotic spices that wouldn't be out of place in Vosne. The palate has soft, languid, sweet 2004 fruit. The finish is both saline and would be terrific it were more savory - but I guess 2004 tannins just don't have it in them. (June 17, 2012)
WineRoute, 250 NIS about five years ago, 400-450 NIS for recent vintages. Sigh.
William Fevre, Chablis Premier Cru, Vaillons, 2008
Lime, pebbles and sea weed. Vaillons is a very refined Chablis and although I usually prefer the wilder, kinkier Premiers (Cote de Lechet, Montee de Tonnerre), the saline finish here lends a piercing focus to the elegance. (June 21, 2012)
WineRoute, 3 for 400 NIS.
Ecker-Eckhof, Landwein, Gruner Veltliner, 2011
I took this liter to Ahuva Kadouri for a Friday Night dinner, thinking it would be nice to have a lot of wine to go 'round for a change, but we finished the extra quarter very quickly, as this has the delicious, fresh-green, saline appeal of a GruVe, even if no one would mistake it for a first growth. Also, at the same dinner, my other bottle of the producer's Zweigelt, 2010, the pale rose making a charming pairing with fish and tomato sauce based dishes. Both wines were crowd pleasers. Which is nice, considering they're off the beaten track, for Israel. (June 22, 2012).
Obviously Fat Guy again, the GV is priced at 89 NIS, same as the Zweigelt.
Hirsch, Kammerner Heiligenstein, Gruner Veltliner, 2010
As always, this bargain-basement Grand Cru (which is what I believe the Heiligenstein vineyard to be), is a must-have for lovers of minerals. That's just the starting point; after that there's a bit of canteloupe and the typical green, slightly brothy, streak of sweet peas; and, finally, a sweet roundness that comes from fruit, not residual sugar - all making this a great candidate for a white house wine. (June 30, 2012)
Fat Guy, 129 NIS.
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