By Joel Magalnick, Editor, JTNews
This year, it felt like Passover wines finally made it. We’ve been doing our annual tasting just prior to Passover for seven years now, and we’ve always had wines that have been good — some have certainly been better than others. But this year, for the first time, we had a selection of 10 wines that were, for the most part, great. Which was wonderful for our little cadre of tasters, numbering six this year plus our host, Michael Friend — but it’s even better for you. Because now you’ve got a list of 10 (mostly) affordable vintages, all of them kosher for Passover, and most of them available for kosher catering situations.
For six years, Esther Friend of Royal Wine Corp. served as the host for our JTNews tasting. This year, as her husband Michael put it, “she has passed the screw-pull to me.”
The wines Michael brought are a testament to the diversity of regions from which Royal Wines sources its offerings. They produce wines in 14 countries, and sell in 28, he told us.
Of the 10 wines we tasted, eight were mevushal, meaning that the wines have been flash pasteurized for about two seconds to allow anyone, whether an observant Jew or not, to serve the wine at a catered meal.
Here are the wines we tasted, in order:
Whites:
Goose Bay Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand) $19.99 (Mevushal)
Carmel Chardonnay Private Collection (Israel) $14.99 (Mevushal)
Reds:
Barkan Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (Israel) $23.99 (Not Mevushal)
Ramon Cordova Rioja (Spain) $17.99 (Not Mevushal)
Bartenura Valpolicella (Italy) $15.99 (Mevushal)
Carmel Merlot Vineyard Select (Israel) $15.99 (Mevushal)
Alfasi Cabernet Sauvignon (Chile) $11.99 (Mevushal)
Herzog Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (California) $42.79 (Mevushal)
Baron Herzog Red Zinfandel Lodi (California) $12.99 (Mevushal)
Baron Herzog Jeunesse Cabernet Sauvignon (California) $12.99 (Mevushal)
Note that all prices are suggested retail, and can likely be found for lower in area stores. Your best bets for finding these wines are at the Albertson’s on Mercer Island, the QFC at University Village, and Tree of Life Books & Judaica. The Goose Bay Sauvignon Blanc is also available statewide at Sam’s Club. Your local grocer should be able to order cases of any of these vintages as well.
Our tasters were:
Scott Michelson, wine collector and board chair of JTNews
Karen Chachkes, JTNews publisher and longtime wine lover
Joel Magalnick, JTNews editor
Dana Oren, local pediatrician and wine enthusiast
David Schor, amateur wine and cider maker
Ned Porges, retired professor of wine and spirits at Washington State University
And here, finally, are the wines:
Goose Bay Sauvignon Blanc: This semi-sweet wine received a 90 rating from Wine Spectator magazine, Michael told us.
“It’s crisp, but no lingering afterglow,” Ned said, referring to how long the wine lingers on your tastebuds. Dave found it to be grassy, or with a “herbaceous quality,” though he also noticed a subtle caramel or butter flavor.
Dana and Scott both noted the lingering afterglow as well.
Carmel Chardonnay Private Collection: Given that we tasted only two white wines, it was easy to pick a favorite, and for most of us, this was it.
“Butterscotch taste and fragrance,” Dana noted, with a “lingering aftertaste.”
“Strong, heavy, robust,” noted Ned.
“I like the texture,” added Karen.
Two of our tasters, however, preferred the Goose Bay over the Carmel.
“I don’t care for it,” said Dave. “It tastes to me sort of like sherry.”
Scott found it to be lacking in both nose and flavor.
Barkan Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon: This Israeli Cabernet was quite tannic, that quality that makes wine feel a bit puckery in your mouth, we all agreed. Ned noted the “long finish” of this wine. “It just goes and goes,” he said. He found hints of cherry deep in there as well. Dave also liked the “long, interesting finish” with touches of caramel. He added that he liked the “rich flavor.”
I found it to be quite delicious, though a bit on the heavier side. The heaviness was a bit of a turnoff for Karen, who noted the tannins were a bit harsh.
Ramon Cordova Rioja: The first thing Dave noticed about this Spanish table wine was its beautiful red color. This was a favorite for him. “Clean. Violets. Floral. Silky finish,” he commented. This wine had quite a smoky nose, which lent itself to the long afterglow.
“Delightful, smooth oaky flavor,” Dana noted.
Also marking this as a favorite, Scott liked the smoothness and the aroma of this wine.
Bartenura Valpolicella: After a wine as bold and dramatic as the Rioja, this mix of four different grapes from northern Italy was a bit of a letdown. It had a nice floral nose, I thought, but I found it to be so light it was almost watery.
“Not a lot of taste,” noted Scott.
“Light, one-dimensional,” Karen added. Michael said it might be good to go with a bolder, spicier meal such as matzoh pizza, turkey or perhaps a spicy chicken.
Carmel Merlot Vineyard Select: I’m not normally a Merlot fan, but this high-end Israeli selection was far and away my favorite. It was smooth, but bold and oaky.
“There is something a little chocolaty going on,” Karen said. “Intense.”
With the exception of one, this wine got high marks all around. “Nice complex flavor, light aftertaste,” commented Scott.
Dana appreciated the “very distinct, thick, smoky, complex taste” and its “spicy fragrance.”
For Dave, however, the wine reminded him of olives and soy sauce, which he apparently found to be a turnoff.
Alfasi Cabernet Sauvignon: This Chilean wine had “fruity flavor and fragrance,” noted Dana, and a “smooth, mild afterglow.”
Dave found this to be a “strong, striking cabernet.” He said he tasted hints of cassis, blackberries and black currant. Karen thought it was “fruity and bold” with a lovely fragrance” while Michael said he was also a fan. “I love the fruitiness; I love the aroma,” he said.
Herzog Reserve Cabernet Sau-vignon: Though most of us enjoyed the Alfasi, to really see the contrast between two wines made from the same grape, we put the two next to each other. The difference was striking.
“Yummy,” noted Karen. “Creamy, velvety, metallic.” She noted that she tasted sweet cherry, grape and berries, with a slightly tannic finish.
“Rich tasting,” Scott noted, with a “nice clean aroma.”
“Excellent!” Dana simply noted.
“That’s breathtaking,” Ned said. “Such a better wine.”
There is, of course, that $30 difference in price, which shows that sometimes you do get what you pay for.
Baron Herzog Red Zinfandel: This Zin comes from old-growth vines — at least 35 years old — Michael said, and this wine, which many of us described as peppery, tasted like a mature vintage.
“It really hits you right in the back,” Ned said.
Dave suggested that it would be good to pair with a spicy tuna roll or similar sushi (though not, of course, during Passover). He gave it high marks for its spiciness as well. Though not as good to me as the Carmel Merlot, it certainly came in at number two on my list, and for $12.99 it’s a great value.
Baron Herzog Jeunesse Cabernet Sauvignon: As we usually do, we finished off with the sweet. This jeunesse, or young wine, stops the fermentation process early, giving us a lower alcohol content but much higher level of sweetness. It’s the only semi-dry, chillable red wine, Michael said, and he raved about it before bringing it to the tasting: “Anytime, any place, it goes with anything,” he said. Many of our tasters enjoyed it as well.
“It’s my number one,” Ned said. “It was just totally different.”
Dave thought it was tasty, sweet and peppery — perfect for a barbecue.
Dana said that as far as sweet kosher wines goes, it certainly beats the socks off of the traditional square bottles so many of us were weaned on for the holidays.
“I’ve moved away from the Manischewitz, but I like the currant, the sweet,” she said.
And a sweet finish it was.