Cabernet Sauvignon

This is the second wine of Domaine Castel.  It is a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot.  Purple in color.  The nose has cassis, plums, chocolate and slight black olives.  Nice texture.  On the palate, sour black cherries, some black raspberries over char and earth.  Medium tannins.  This needs a couple of years to sort itself out and then should be good for a decade.  A nice choice for roasted meats, fowl and veggies.  

Impressive showing for this wine.  Inky purple in color.  The nose has cassis and slight olives.  Great texture.  On the palate, black raspberries, black cherries.  Sweet tannins.  Nice finish.  This is young and could improve a bit with a few years in the cellar.  It will drink well for at least a decade after that.  It will go well with brisket, burgers or roasted meats and fowl.  

This is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot.  Inky purple in color.  The nose has cassis, cherries, slight chocolate, char and spice.  On the palate, this is soft, accessible and easy drinking.  Layers of black cherries, cassis and char.  Light tannins.  Medium finish.  This probably should be consumed over the next five years.  It will go great with burgers, ribs or pasta.  

This is the best Israeli wine I have had.  It is a blend  of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, and 6% Petite Verdot.  Purple in color with a thin ruby line at the rim.  The nose is very nice with spice, black raspberries and tobacco.  With air, some milk chocolate comes out.  On the palate this has a lovely texture.  Medium tannins.  Black raspberry fruits, cherries with a forest floor base.  Great balance.  Long finish.  This seems just a touch young but is drinking very well.  Probably about five to seven years from peak and should be good for another ten to twenty a

This is a second wine of Chateau Musar.   It is a blend of Cinsault (50%), Grenache (35%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (15%). Purple in color, ruby at the rim with some browning.  Dusty with black cherries on the nose.  The palate has a nice texture.  Black cherry fruit with a dry earthiness.  Tannic.  This has a nice complexity that indicates there is some upside to this wine.  It should improve a bit and be good for the next seven to ten years.  It should go well with stews or burgers or even pastas.  

The Yatir Forest is on the edge of the Negev desert in southern Israel.  I have had this wine before and thought it was labelled Negev but this 2012 vintage is labelled Judean Hills.  I am not sure where the boundaries of the wine regions are.  According to the label, this is 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Petite Verdot, and 9% Tannat.  Inky purple in color.  The nose has cassis, plums, char and baking spices.  On the palate, this is more boysenberry with black cherries over a gravelly char.  Slight tannins.  Nice finish.  This took some time to open and then kept opening all evening.  It seem

Purple in color, shimmering bright.  The nose has some volatile acidity along with cassis and a slight earthiness.  Nice texture.  Slightly tart and slightly bitter cherry fruit.  A bit of chocolate on the finish.  This is a solid, easy quaffing wine.  It is probably best drunk in the next few years.  it should  work well with medium bodied foods like pizza, pasta or burgers.  

Chateau Musar is one of the great wineries of the world.  Add to that the idea of making wine in Lebanon and its even more remarkable.  This wine is outstanding.

Castel is probably the consistently best top winery in Israel.  Although modern Israel wine is a very young industry, so this is always changing.  Castel has a proven track record.  The Grand Vin is the best wine that they make.  This is quite young and just not giving up much right now.  After a couple of hours of air, it had improved but its best days are at least five years in the future.  Inky purple in color.  The nose has nice baking spices along with some cherries.  On the palate, firm tannins.  Black cherries.  Monolithic at present.  It is tasty but needs time develop a complexity

This is the top bottling from this winery.  This is a gorgeous Napa Cab that should get even better with about five to seven years of cellaring.  Purple in color, deep ruby at the rim.  Opaque and bright.  The nose is classic with cassis, spice and char and slight touch of fresh cut lumber (that should fade quickly).  On the palate, this is deep and complex.  Firm tannins at the moment.  Nice juicy acidity/fruit - black raspberries over a bit of char.  Long finish.  This is delicious and really demands ones attention.  If opening before 2027, give it a good decant.  This will work with gril