Bruichladdich Carmel "Kosher" Cask 1989 is no more kosher than any other sherry matured malt

You can still obtain  this bottle marketed under the title "Bruichladdich Scotch Islay Single Malt Carmel Kosher Wine Finish 1989"

However it turns out that this whisky is no more kosher than any other Single Malt matured in yayin stam (non Jewish) ex-sherry casks!
 

 

 

 

The question I needed answered was whether the wine which was previously in the Carmel wine barrels was yayin mevushal (boiled) or not. If the wine was lo-mevushal then as soon as a gentile touches the barrel, the barrel would take on the same kashrus status as any non-Jewish ex-wine barrel. However, if the wine which was previously in those barrels was mevushal then the barrel and any remnants of wine in the barrel remain kosher.

I wrote to Carmel Wines and asked them whether the wine which was previously in the barrels they sold to Bruichladdich was mevushal or not. They passed my query onto Adam Montefiore, the famous Carmel Wines spokesman. Within a day I received a very detailed email from him where he told me that he was personally involved in the sale of the Carmel Mizrachi wine casks to Bruichladdich. He said that he can state that those barrels previously contained wine which was lo-mevushal! In other words, as soon as they arrived at the Distillery the casks took on the same status as non-Jewish wine. That is, it became yayin stam. So, although they were mareketed as "Kosher Whisky" they actually had the same kashrut status of any other non kosher sherry cask matured whisky.

He wrote on the 03/07/2012:

"...Bruichladdich purchased barrels from Carmel which were used for maturing Carmel’s Single Vineyard and Eizorit / Appellation wines at the Zichron Ya’acov Cellars. None of the wines aged in these barrels were Yayin Mevushal but all were 100% kosher. 

The barrels were shipped after being sealed by Carmel’s Mashgiach. However after arrival in Scotland Carmel has no knowledge of how they were looked after. In other words Carmel claims responsibility only to the gates of the winery!... By the way, the label on the actual bottles and the gift boxes do NOT refer anywhere to Kosher Wine Finish. This would be misleading. They instead refer to additional cask enhancement in wine casks from Carmel Winery, Israel.

Of course, these were not Carmel products. Carmel only produces or distributes kosher products. However for those who wanted a whisky with a taste of Israel, these came as close as any. For the whisky lover, they were also magnificent whiskies (in particular the 1989.)I wish to reiterate, that these whiskies did not have a hechsher.

Regards, Adam "

I wish to personally thank Adam for taking the trouble in writing to me with a very detailed reply which fully answers my query.

Tobermory and Ledaig comparison Review

Tobermory and Ledaig from the Isle of Mull



Oban Harbour



This is the first of what I hope will be a series of blog posts on peaty whiskies.

Last August, as promised, we took a holiday with my parents in the Western Highlands, renting out a chalet just south of Oban in order to tour and visit the Whisky distilleries in the area.



Our Log Chalet.





Oban Distillery is in the heart of the town.



Scottish Honey

The first day I took my family up to Fort William for some tourist shopping. We got some delicious Scottish blossom and heather honeys which we thoroughly enjoyed during the Rosh Hashana to Succos season. The honey was packed with complex flavours of wax, flowers and fruity sweetness and greatly increased the simcha of our Yom Tov seudos (Festival meals). What a chutzpa to call that jar of brown syrupy sugar you find in the supermarket by the same name?

We bought three bottles of Heather honey and only one Blossom, just for comparison. The reason? Well, the Heather honey’s brown enticing colour sold it for us. The Blossom honey looked dull in comparison which fooled us into thinking that it would have less taste. In fact, just the opposite was true. The blossom honey had more character and flavour than the Heather honey. It had a stronger creamier honey taste with a more subtle sweetness. Simply yummy! You would have thought that I should have known better from all the years of telling people not to judge a whisky by its colour but only by its taste?

While my wife and daughter were clothes shopping I popped into The Whisky Shop opposite to look around. I was intrigued by a quarter cask sitting in the middle of the shop with the label Ledaig Cask Strength printed on the side.

The shopkeeper informed me that Ledaig (pronounced “Lechaig”) was a virtually unheard of peaty whisky from the Isle of Mull and they were promoting it in their shops. They were selling small 20cl medicine bottles of the stuff for £8.00. I decided to give it a try.



Medicine Bottle

We opened the bottle that evening after dinner and we all thoroughly enjoyed it.

The next day we got up at 5:00am to take the ferry to Islay to visit Laphroaig, Lagavulin, Ardbeg, Bruichladdich and Caol Ila.  Because my parents did not wish to get up so early they decided to take a more leisurely trip to the Isle of Mull.

Whilst there, they visited the Tobermory distillery and came away with a bottle of cask strength Tobermory.

Later that evening back in the beautiful log chalet, after dinner, we all sat down to compare these two Isle of Mull malts.

Both these Mull malts shared a vegetable salty character. However, that’s where the comparison ended. They are two very different whiskies.

Because they were both cask strength we added a lot of water to our glasses. The water from the tap in the chalet was an amazing brown colour. The owner assured us that it was perfectly safe to drink and was naturally brown because of the peat in the ground. The water was actually delicious and made a great cup of tea. It was however a bit disconcerting washing with this brown water in the morning.

Tobermory is light, delicate and herbal with a malty barley grainy base. It reminded me of fresh rain water and green vegetable juice.  We all tried to identify the vegetables. We came up with fresh spinach, fennel, parsley and water cress.  The finish is quite short, dry and briny.

In total contrast, Ledaig is full bodied, oily, big, smoky and peaty assort on the tongue. Smell and taste of seaweed, spinach, minerals, flinty with a long sweet toffee peaty finish. The more you drink it the more complex it gets. It has layer after layer of contradictory sweet and dry flavours making this a very interesting drink indeed. Definitely not for the beginner, that’s for sure.

My daughter and I both preferred the Ledaig despite the fact that my daughter is not usually too keen on peaty whiskies. Perhaps it was because the Ledaig had that delicious sweet finish whereas the Tobermory remained dry throughout. My parents on the other hand found Ledaig too heavy and overpowering for them. They preferred the lighter more subtle taste of Tobermory.

A fascinating comparison of what we thought were two malt whiskies form Isle of Mull. What we didn’t know at the time was that in fact they are the same whisky. There is only one distillery on the island and that is Tobermory. The distillery produces a peated version and a non peated version. The unpeated version they market as Tobermory and the peated version is, you guessed it, Ledaig!

This was the first experience I had had of trying an unpeated and peated version of the same single malt and what an experience it was too! Maybe it was the magic of sitting in a cosy log chalet in the middle of the Western Highlands but it was a very special occasion and one I will not forget in a hurry.

Dalton Oak Aged Range

Dalton Petite Sirah 2010   NIS 55.

Dalton Fume Blanc 2011    NIS 45.

As mentioned in my last slighty weird post, I am reviewing two medium priced wines today from Dalton winery. I have already reviewed their top of the range “Reserve” line and praised highly their Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc all of which were excellent.  The “Reserve” range are all around NIS 100 to NIS 120 price range. Let’s see how their “Oak Aged” Series for around NIS 40 to NIS 60 fair.

The Dalton Label

I have mentioned in the past how much I like the Dalton’s label design. Obviously a wine label has two functions. Its primary function is to inform you as to what the contents are but the label must also be able to entice you into picking up the bottle and buying it.

The understated minimalist design succeeds in both these areas lending the wine an aura of confidence.

I'd rather trust a man who doesn't shout what he's found,
There's no need to sell if you're homeward bound.
If I choose a side,
He won't take me for a ride.

(Genesis, “The Chamber of 32 doors”, 1974)

Teudat Hechshir

Machon LeKashrus, HaRav Mordechai Unger, New Square, NY.

OU (Orthdox Union) America

Local Rabbinut Merom HaGalil

Haschgachas Yoreh Deiah, Rav Shlomo Machpud

There are a few blends in this Oak Aged range but I decided upon a Petite Sirah 2010 for Friday Night and a Fume Blanc 2011 for Shabbos lunch.

Pitite Sirah 2010

Petite Sirah is a grape which is known outside of America and Israel as Durif. It is a modern red grape produced by cross breeding Syrah and Peloursin grapes. In theory, it produces a full bodied heavy tannins plummy wine. They enjoy maturation in oak casks and produce spicy vanilla notes over time.

I won’t bother typing out the label description as you can read it from the label in the photograph above. For such a modestly priced wine, Dalton certainly make a lot of fanciful claims!

I like the sound of "American Oak barrels which results in a taste of lavender, leather and old world complexity". However I think they've gone too far when they start talking about “old world complexity”. What on earth does that mean?

I placed the wines directly in the wine cooler and kept them there until we needed them on Shabbos. Interestingly, as the temperature in Israel has gone up, so has the temperature in my wine cooler. Constantly set to 14 degrees Celsius, it has been showing between 15 and 16 degrees indicating that it cannot reach its assigned temperature. This is a bit worrying as we haven’t reached the really high values yet of 30 degrees plus.

Friday night we came back from shul and opened the bottle of red. After everyone was assembled and Shalom Aleichem, Eishes Chayil and the kid's brachos in front of the Shabbos candles, we were ready for Kiddush. The bottle was standing for about 15 minutes and had problably gone up about two degrees in temperature by the time I came to pour it.

Getting to the Shabbos table I poured the wine.  Its almost totally black colour with hints of purple was very striking. The Nose was very very promising. Swirling the wine around in the glass brought an assortment of very solid attractive aromas of heavy plum juice, warm berries, vanilla fudge, oak spices and a hint of smoke.

After Kiddush, we sat to drink the wine. Ummmmh, glorious. As my two sons were home from yeshiva, we had the full complement of six family members at the table so there was only enough for one glass each. This was no where near enough to really sample this complicated wine. Medium to heavy body with rich matured plums and berries yet certainly not syrupy. Definite taste of creamy vanilla ice cream as it goes down and a long lasting finish.

The strange thing is that all these flavours seemed to come along, one after the other, not in layers. Was the wine lacking complexity? I can’t say as I drank half the glass down for kiddush in two gulps (as is the halachah) and then didn’t have sufficient wine left over in my glass to properly judge it. I wasn't the only one. Requests for more were met with dissapointment as we extracted the last drops of this wine from the bottle. We shall certainly be purchasing this Petite Sirah again (beli neder) but this time, we are going to buy two bottles so that we can try it with the challa and hors d'oeuvres to further enjoy its many tastes. I'd also be interested in knowing if any other Israeli winery produces a Petite Sirah. I think I like this grape.

Dalton Fume Blanc 2011

I was looking forward to this one. I like smoky whiskies and remember how delighted I was with the Dalton Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon which was full of sweet cigar smoke.

Fume Blanc is actually what they call Sauvignon Blanc in California. According to Wikipedia, the name Fume Blanc was simply a marketing ploy to try and shift some cases of Sauvignon Blanc when it went out of fashion. Why Dalton decided to use the American name for this grape rather than the name which everyone knows this grape by in Israel, I’m really aren’t sure.

Typical characteristics of this grape are tropical fruit flavours, tartness and refreshing. The label adds to this description” a rich smoky character”. Intriguing indeed!

We opened the bottle at 14 degrees Celsius straight out of the wine cooler, opened and poured it immediately.  Veshomru Kiddush said, we tasted the wine. This Shabbos we had guests who I know like their wine and whisky so I was hoping they would be impressed with this one.

Oh Deary me! I noticed something funny from the start. Even after the wine had settled in the glasses there were still bubbles rising to the top as if this was a sparkling wine. There was a slight smell of bitter lemon and yeasty dough. Tasting the wine, it was barely drinkable. Dry, fizzy and furry on the tongue. Yuk!

Now we have had a similar experience before with a bottle of Bravdo Chardonnay. I don’t know if this fizziness occurred after it was bottled, that is, the wine has spoiled or, the wine was ruined during manufacturing process by for instance, adding too much yeast. Whatever it is, I’m not willing to buy another bottle to try out.

 Slightly embarrassed, I quickly asked everyone to wash for HaMoetzi and we began our seuda (my daughter’s delicious challa with a Tuna salad, Egg and onion salad and homemade chumos salad) with a bottle of Glen Grant Single Malt, followed by Ardbeg with two teaspoons of water. After the excellent whisky we forgot all about the Fume Blanc!

In conclusion, one fantastic success beyond all expectations followed by one complete and utter disaster. Sounds rather like Arsenal’s game results for this season doesn’t it.

"Right!", said Fred

http://raphaelnouril.com/judaica.aspx

Every Shabbos I have a chat with a an American friend of mine; (let’s call him Fred for convenience sake), who sits to my right in Shul. The conversation begins with discussing the parsha but almost always finishes with talking about the wines and whiskies we have experienced over Shabbos.

Fred complained more than once that he thinks the wines I choose to drink and review are too expensive for the majority of wine lovers who might read my blog yet he has never explicitly commented on anything I have written on my blog which leaves me wondering if he actually reads it at all.

Perhaps he started reading it and thinking it awful, stopped reading but is too polite to tell me, (unlike another “friend”, let’s call him Bob; who I used to enjoy discussing various single malts with, one Shabbos morning told me outright not to keep talking about my blog as he had no intention of reading it. He said it in such a blunt fashion that it left me quite startled.

Because of this unpleasant experience with Bob, it would be embarrassing to ask Fred out right if he does read my blog for fear of receiving the same reply. So, if you are reading this Fred, hope you enjoy the mention and the following review on Dalton wines even if you don’t let me know that you’ve read it. Oh, and if you aren’t reading this because you don’t like my writing style or content then thanks for not telling me. I appreciate it.

Anyway, even if you are reading this or not, this next review is for you Fred. You are always going on about Dalton’s medium price range of wines and urging me to try them so being that I am tight for money at the moment, (having just purchased flight tickets to Scotland so that I can fulfill a wish of mine to do a grand tour of Islay distilleries), I decided that this was the perfect time to follow your advice and give the Daltons a try.

Why the wine from the Shomron region is so special

Just found this video about the Shomron region.

There is some wonderfull footage of Shiloh and the Biblical Park there. Great stuff !!!

The video begins with the prophetic words of Amos 9:13-15 which left me stunned. As they say in England. I was totally gob smacked!

Thinking about it, this blog itself and my wine reviews are witnesses to the words of Amos coming true in our time:

"Behold days are coming. – the word of Hashem – when the bountiful seasons of plowing and reaping will overlap. When the treader of grapes will meet the one who carries the seed; the mountains will drip juice and the hills will melt. When I will return the captivity of My people Israel and they will rebuild their former cities, and they will settle, and they will plant vineyards and drink from their wine; they will cultivate gardens and eat from their fruits. I will place them on their land and they will never again be removed from their land that I have given them, said Hashem, your G-d. "

Coincidently, (that is if you believe in coincidences), these pesukim form this week’s Haftatorah for Acherei Mos.

The Wines of Shiloh

Shiloh Cabernet Sauvignon Shor 2007   NIS 85

Shiloh Chardonnay 2010                          NIS 80

Shiloh Rose 2007                                       NIS 75

In my last blog I mentioned that I took my parents to the Shiloh Biblical Park a few months ago before our appointment at Gvaot Winery and whilst there, saw some wines being sold in the café from Shiloh Winery.



The Shiloh Winemaker, Amichai Luria

This Chol HaMoed Pesach I really wanted to visit the Shiloh winery so was in contact with the wine maker, Amichai, at Shilo  who told me that he would be happy to receive us in the afternoon even though the winery was officially closed. In the end it didn’t work out but I did get to go back to the Biblical Park with my family and took the opportunity to buy some more wines there.

View from the top of Shiloh



The Park had put on special Chol HaMoed activities and we all had a smashing time there. If you haven’t been to Shiloh yet, please go. Even observant Jews, unless they are very well versed in Tanach, know little of the time when the Mishkan was situated in Shiloh. I very much enjoyed their presentation showing what life was like in Shiloh during Pesach and it made me realise how little I knew of the period. Archaeological digs are continuing at a fierce pace, uncovering new thing from Pre First Temple period all the time. Exciting times indeed.

So, despite having not visited the winery yet I thought I must tell you about these wines:

I bought three wines. A Cabernet Sauvignon, A Chardonnay and a Rose.

Shilo Ranges



The Wine shelf in the Shilo Cafe
(Note. Actual prices were cheaper than labeled here)



As far as I can tell, Shiloh produces two main ranges plus a few blends and non-reds, not categorised within a particular range name. I’ve seen their quality Shor range in shops in Yerushalayim. Then they have what they call their “Secret Reserve” range. The Café was selling a Cabernet Sauvignon Secret  Reserve priced from NIS 135 to NIS 235. Those who are familier to this blog will know that I have a general rule not to review wines over NIS 120 as I consider this outside the average wine lover’s price range. I have been known to make an exception but try and stick to this rule as much as possible. The other reason why I did not purchase the Secret Reserve was that they were all from the 2008 Shmitta year which I don’t buy unless I know exactly how they have been looked after and in what circumstances they were produced.

The Website

They have an informative website in Hebrew, English and Spanish.

http://www.shilohwinery.com/

I noticed a quite few English mistakes here and there but its valiant effort.

I loved the wonderful idea of adding links to most of their wines which open a PDF file containing a large photo of the bottle plus a flat version of the back label in English. If only all wineries would do this. I’ve taken snapshots of some of these PDFs and included them in my review as the bottles I bought were in Hebrew.

Hechshirim – Kashrus Certification

Unlike their next door neighbour, Gvaot, who are content with just the local Binyamin region hechshir, Shilo Winery boasts Local Rabbanut Supervision as well as American OK and Badatz Chatam Sofer Bnei Brak.

I was particularly impressed with their statement on their website regarding Terumah and Ma’aser and they deserve high praise indeed:

“Shiloh winery allocates First Tithe to a family of Levites with a long-standing tradition. On every third and sixth year, the winery allocates unmarked bottles for Tithing for the Poor, with the help of Social Services and reliable charity collectors.”


Now on to the wine reviews:

Shiloh Cabernet Sauvignon Shor 2007.

The front label has an unpretentious elegance about it which tells us exactly what this is. A no nonsense, not overly expensive really descent bottle of wine. I liked the little touches on the bottle which connect the product to the Shiloh region. Very tasteful design and certainly not OTT unlike some other wineries in the same region.

The label informs us that this Cabernet Sauvignon has been matured in oak casks for 15 months.

We took this bottle out of the wine cooler, set for 14C and opened it without delay upon returning from Shul Friday night.( I was in a particularly good mood as the Shaliach Tzibur had not davaned Carlibach for a change and instead stuck to a traditional Kabolas Shabbos). We noticed straight away a lovely fresh spicy aroma emanating from the top of the bottle.

We waited around 10 minutes for my middle son to come home after chatting with his mates outside shul where upon we commenced with the traditional Shalom Aleichem, Aishes Chayil and the kid’s brochos. Now it was time for Kiddush. Smiling faces and very hungry we all made our way to the dining room table.

I poured the wine noting a dark clean blackcurrant red berry colour (more reminiscent of a Merlot) and that lovely fresh spicy aroma again. Kiddush was said slowly and regally and at last it was time to taste this Cabernet Sauvignon.  This is a medium bodied, full flavour wine packed full of mixed forest berries plucked straight after a heavy rainfall. Underneath this though was an exhilarating taste of fresh leaves like myrtle or some other strongly aromatic plant and beneath that, a base of sweet hazelnut. This wine has incredibly silky smooth tannins which reminded me very much of the elegant style of its neighbour, Gvaot, only slightly lighter in body.

Without a doubt, this Shiloh is perfect for Kiddush. However you must also try it with food so if you have more than 4 or 5 at your table, be ready to open a second bottle to enjoy with your meal.

This particular Friday night, our hors d'oevre consisted of a Tuna salad with apples, spring onions, celery, lemon juice and mayonnaise. (I suppose you could call it a Waldolf salad where the walnuts are replaced by tuna). This was consumed with homemade wholemeal flour challa with sultanas baked with a glaze of eggs and sprinkled with garenim (sun flower seeds, shells removed obviously). Some wines with a heavier body would have drowned out the taste of the food. Not so with this wine. The Shiloh seemed to enhance the taste of everything, lifting the food to a higher level.

I confess that If this would have been a blind tasting then I would have said that this wine was a Cabernet / Merlot blend as I thought that I detected at least some influence of Merlot grapes. However there is no mention of any other grape on the back label so I have to conclude that I am wrong.

If I had to make one incy wincy criticism then it would be the aftertaste. Don’t get me wrong, the aftertaste was there but it could/should have been longer. Considering all those multiple layers of taste and aromas in this wine I’m surprised at the modest finale. Having said this, everyone at the table gave the big thumbs up for this one.

Since writing this review, we have downed a further three bottles of this stuff. What more proof do you need? Highly recommended!

Shiloh Chardonnay 2010

Although in general I really love the label designs of these Shiloh’s, I must admit to being a bit puzzled by the drawing of a silhouette of a fisherman with his rod in the water. Now, what’s that all about? Is it to tell us that the wine maker wants us to drink this with fish? That’s the only thing I can think of unless it’s some kind of inside joke?

Indeed, the back label does actually recommend this with grilled fish.

The back label further informs us that this wine is made from 100% Chardonnay grapes. Before coming across this Shloh, I had not found a 100% pure Chardonnay from the Shomrom Binyamin region which I would recommend. (The excellent Gvaot white which I reviewed previously doesn’t count as this was a blend of Chardonnay and (red) Cabernet Sauvignon).

We removed this Chardonnay from the wine cooler set at 14C and opened it just before Kiddush for Shabbos lunch.

The colour was a bright, almost luminous, yellow lemony green.

I poured the wine and my nostrils were met by a fresh tangy smell of green apples, pineapple and fresh oak.

Kiddush completed, I took a large mouth full and my taste buds were pleasured by an explosion of lemons, green apples, pineapples and kiwi. First the lemon and apples and then the kiwi, in that order. There was some creamy banana there as well. Underneath all this was a definite mineral water and mountain pebbles taste. Then came the lovely smooth, buttery, light fresh oak taste with more lemons, green apples and kiwi. A simply deliciously refreshing aftertaste and without a doubt, the best Chardonnay by far that I have tasted from this region. Yasher Koach Shiloh wines for a superb job!

A word of advice. Please do not drink this wine at too cold a temperature despite the label advising to serve it chilled. I am convinced that had we drunk this straight from the fridge then we would have missed out on all those exquisite layers of taste and texture. 14C to 16C is problably about right.

Last point. I've looked for this Chardonnay in all my usual places in and around Yerushalayim but have not found it anywhere. I managed to get another bottle only because I revisited Shiloh last week. If you happen to see it, don't pass it by.



Beautiful bottle, shame about the taste



Shiloh Rose 2007

I loved the bottle and label design on this one. Very unusual and artistic. It’s a shame that the wine was such a disappointment. Perhaps the Rose 2007 is already past it’s drinking date. Interestingly, the Rose was not listed on their website. Perhaps an experiment gone wrong?

We opened the bottle during the meal and were not impressed by the strong aroma of perfume. This was not the perfume of flowers but of an artificial chemical smell of Flower toilet air freshener. The colour was also somewhat artificial. It was a Rose colour but there was something wrong about it. Taste was bland with a slightly dry aftertaste. For comparison, we immediately opened a bottle of Teperberg 1870’s  “Efrat” White Zinfandel straight from the fridge costing a third of the price. Beautiful perfume of fresh flowers and fruit with a touch of peach. Deliciously refreshing taste with zero aftertaste but for NIS 25 a bottle, you don’t expect much from this. One thing’s for sure, it was immensely tastier than the Shiloh Rose.

Conclusions

Let’s ignore the Rose shall we and just consider the other two wines. Shiloh Winery does not produce the finest wines in Israel although they are up there with the best.  Having said that, due to their general seriousness when it comes to all the halachos (Jewish Law) of wine making, their excellent prices, their very attractive labels and most importantly of all, the fresh exciting taste and high quality of their wine, all combine to make Shiloh my current favourite winery.

A visit to Gvaot Winery, Shilo



Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to visit the Gvaot winery in Shilo with my parents. The winery is tiny and visitors are by appointment only.

http://www.gvaot-winery.com/

Before I tell you about the winery, I’d like to write a few words about the area of Shilo. It was far easier to get there than I’d thought. The Number 60 road is wide and fast and very well signposted. I used WAZE GPS on my Samsung Galaxy S Android phone there and back and it served me well. Once past the concrete security wall and Army checkpoint, we were driving through open beautiful winter Mountain scenery and it was quite stunning.

As we had a few hours to burn before our appointment at the winery we decided to drive into Shilo and eat lunch at the Biblical Archaeological Park there. The entrance to the park is up a hill on your left as you turn into Shilo.



Outside the cafe in the Shilo Bibical Park



Everyone there was very friendly. We ate lunch in the café and then walked up to the Makom HaMishkan, the place where the mishkan (The House of Hashem) stood in Shilo before being moved to Yerushalayim.



Makom HaMikdash, Shilo



Possible ruins of a mikvah?









While we were there, there were large groups of archaeologists working all over the area, uncovering mosaic floors, buildings and other artefacts.  I’d recommend the place as a day out for all the family.



They are uncovering new things by the hour



What made the place even more interesting was the fact that the café was selling the entire range of wines from the local “Shilo” winery.

Not knowing anything about the Shilo winery whatsoever, I purchased three bottles to review later. I cannot resist telling you now that with the exception of the Rose which was overpriced and unimpressive, the Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay were simply excellent and very well priced. Beli neder, I’ll write a full review about them soon. However, this review is about Gvaot so here goes.

Just across the road to the Shilo Park’s car park was a a small hill with a ruined construction upon it. At first I thought it was some kind of lookout post or mini fortress left over from one of the wars, either Israeli or Jordanian. However, when my Dad and I walked over to take a closer look we realised that the ruined building was a lot older than that. There was no sign or plaque anywhere to indicate what it was but I am convinced that this was a Shul, a Beit Knesset.



View from the entrance with the Aron Kodesh at the far end?



Standing by the Aron Kodesh of the shul? The gap is directly facing towards Yerushalayim.



At one end there is an indent in the wall. When I used my Samsung Galaxy S “Jerusalem” app which tells you in which direction Yerushalayim is, it pointed directly at this gap! The entrance to the structure was exactly opposite where we presumed the Aron Kodesh would have been which is consistent with the design of Shuls even today.



View from the entrance.



From the exit of Shilo, we drove straight across the road and turned right up a tiny road with vineyards running all the way on our left. Actually when we phoned up to make the appointment, the guy (who turned out to be Shivi, the actual head winemaker) advised us that to turn right into Shilo, turn round and drive out again as the left turn on the main road was a bit dangerous. Good advice!

As mentioned earlier, it is a tiny place with no reception centre but a tasting room at the back of a shed.

We were welcomed by the winemaker, Doctor Shivi Drori who made time for us at the end of his busy working day.



Pitty I hadn't arranged the bottles so that you could see the labels!



We Spoke to Shivi for about an hour. His cute 8 or 9 year old daughter kept popping in and out the tasting room every now and again, “stealing” crackers from the table.

Let me tell you, the guy is a real Mench.  He is confident in his professional ability yet very modest in his achievements. When I asked him for his opinion on certain wineries and wines he was very diplomatic when it came to wines he does not like.

Shivi wears a kipa srugah. I asked to see his warehouse to take a photo of the casks but he politely refused! The warehouse, he told me, is kept locked unless the Mashgiach from Shilo is present. He didn’t doubt how “frum” I was, he explained, its just that he was very strict when it comes to Kashrus issues. I told him that I was very impressed and “Kol HaKavod” to him. Here is someone who obviously takes his kashrus standards very seriously.

Interestingly and one of the questions which I should have asked him but didn’t, was his lack of “biggy” hechsherim like OU, OK, Badatz Eder Chareidis, Yerushalayim etc, compared to other wineries.



The all Hebrew label of the Gvaot Chardonnay-Cabernet Sauvignon



All Gvaot wines bare the Hechshir from the Local Rabbanut, Binyamin - Rav Elchanan Ben-Nun, Rav of Shilo

However, on the wines whose label is also in English (obviously meant for export) the bottle has the additional hechshir  from Machon L'Kashrus, HaRav Mordechai Ungar, New Square NY, U.S.A.



The English/Hebrew label of the Vineyard's Dance blend



I would guess that he would have answered in his characteristically modest manner that he doesn’t go in for the Certifications game. He has one good reliable Israeli hechshir from the local Rabbanut for local buyers and one good reliable one for American buyers. Why would he need any others?

I mentioned to my parents that Gvaot were above average in terms of price but all his wines which I had tasted so far had been outstanding. Shivi smiled and thanked me for the compliment. Yes, he had no budget ranges and his objective was to produce the best wines in Israel with no compromise. He aims for “a full taste and silky smooth tannin finish”.

I mentioned to him that I’d recently reviewed some Bashan wines and asked him what he thought of Organic wines. He wasn’t in favour. Shivi told us that in his opinion, you couldn’t make a descent wine using organic methods. It was a fad. He also had not been impressed with any of the wines from Bashan. I agreed.

Tannin Taste

I am grateful to Shivi on correcting me on something very basic. I said that I really loved his wines because they were all suitable for Kiddush as they had no tannins taste! He shook his head. No, I was not right. They do have lots of tannins taste but it’s called soft or “silky tannins”! That horrible rough taste dry taste on the gums which I was describing was called “rough tannins”. He didn’t wish to get all technical on me but basically, all red wines need a certain amount of tannins in order to give them body and help them mature. Wines with rough tannins are only suitable for drinking with a meal. Rougher still and they are only suitable for cooking. Even rougher and you could use them to unblock your drains! The wines with soft silky tannins are suitable for Kiddush although Shivi recommended all his wines be drunk with food for maximum enjoyment.

Shivi spoke to me about Non Filled filtering. He would never use it. It definitely removes some of the flavour he told me. What does it matter if the wine is not 100% as clear as mineral water? I agreed again. Besides, pulp fruit juice is all the rage at the moment. The more bits in the drink, the better!

Gvaot Labels

I mentioned to Shivi that although I loved his wines I did not like his labels. He laughed at my remark and said that they had dafka decided to change the label’s design for next year. I asked him if he had any examples but he didn’t have to hand. He didn’t ask me what it was that I didn’t like about his labels so I didn’t volunteer my thoughts.

Wine Tasting

Shivi Drori and the Gvaot ranges

Gvaot have three ranges. There most exclusive is Masada, followed by Gofna Reserve and its cheapest range called Herodion. I say cheap but that’s only relative to the others.

Now to the tachles.

We started off with a white wine:

Gvaot Gofna Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon blend 2009 NIS 100

OK, I’ll say now that we were so impressed with this unusual blend of white and red grape that we bought two bottles for Shabbos.

Shivi explained that he removed the red peel from the Cabernet Sauvignon and used a special pressing technique to insure a clear colour, leaving just the white fruit.  He then married this to the Chardonnay grape to produce a unique wine which he hopes will appeal to those who prefer the milder, more berry fruit taste of reds rather than the more tropical fruit flavour of chardonnays and Sauvignon Blancs.

The wine has an enticing pale gold colour, slightly darker than a typical chardonnay. Light oak notes come through with a touch of cloves. The colour hints at the wine being heavier than your standard white but this blend is actually only a tad denser than one would think. I’d say it has a good body to it.

Aroma is of banana, pears, passion fruit and strawberries with soft tannin (obviously from the red grape) coming through on the palate.

Taste is a delicious blend of bananas, passion fruit without the sharpness, strawberries and oak wood. Aftertaste is long and satisfying showing complex layers typical of the best Chardonnays.

Gvaot also produce a Chardonnay-Gewürztraminer blend which I haven’t had the privilege of tasting as yet. My only question (which I should have asked Shivi but didn’t) is why don’t they make a straight single Chardonnay? What are they afraid of?

Gvaot Herodion “Vinyards Dance” Blend 2009          NIS 100

This is an intricate blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc.

Colour is of a rich royal Bordeaux red. Aroma is of ripe gorgeous red berries, freshly dried spices like the intoxicating and heady smell you get whilst walking through Machaneh Yehuda market.

The blend is slightly more than medium in weight but not heavy. Taste is packed full of rich smooth and complex layers consisting of ripe juicy berries, strawberries, ripe plums (not prunes!), spices and walnuts. It is simply delightful and one of the best red blends I have tasted. We also bought two bottles of this wine for Shabbos. I must say that I enjoyed it even more at the Shabbos table than I did at the winery. The perfect wine for Kiddush! My whole family went crazy over this one and we finished the bottle in no time. I cannot praise this blend highly enough.

Gvaot Herodian Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 NIS 100

This one I have already reviewed here:

http://rebmordechaireviews.blogspot.com/2011/06/gvaot-herodion-cabernet-sauvignon-2009.html

Gvaot Gofna Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2009 NIS 170

90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot and 5% Merlot grape.

Short notes: Ruby red and charismatic taste of black berries, cherries and strawberries and gooseberries.

Slightly earthy aroma and full bodied without being heavy. Elegant, very smooth silky tannins with plenty of walnut and vanilla wood notes in there.

Overall impression was one of the most balanced and complex wines I’ve ever tasted. Being that this wine was well beyond my budget, you won’t be seeing a full review of this one any time soon.

Gvaot Herodian Merlot 2009 NIS 110

Colour: Magnificent “Ribena” blackberries colour with a natural earthy appearance.

Aroma is of plump juicy forest berries in damp wood with freshly crushed black pepper.

OK, saying smooth or silky tannins yet again is becoming annoying so I’ll say that this Merlot has velvety tannins! Firm body with lush blackcurrants and ripe plums in oak wood. Delicious!

Gvaot (unlabelled) Cabernet Sauvignon 2010      Price Unknown

I thought that the Merlot would be the last bottle of the session but there was going to be a surprise. Shivi asked me to name a wine I had been particularly impressed with recently. I spoke about the Tulip Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 which had a wood matured medium bodied taste well beyond its years. He laughed. Right he said! I’ll accept the challenge! “Let’s open our Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 which we haven’t even labelled yet and you can tell me how it compares”, he said.

Nose was rich and fruity with lots of berries and currents and spices. Tasting was delicious. Big deep ripe berries in a wooden bowel taste with cloves and other spices. My mother also liked it but my Dad said that it was too spicy for his taste.

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Shilo and especially Gvaot and it was a pleasure meeting Shivi Drori. His wines are superb but it comes at a price. However, there are plenty of other wineries with extravagant prices whose wines are awful so I’d say that in this case, you really do get what you pay for. I don’t think there is anything in Gvaot’s range which is not outstanding. Some are even better!





I really want, B’ezras Hashem, to return to Shilo soon in order to buy some more Shilo and Gvaot wines, time and money permitting, to try some others in their range. Shilo is certainly blessed with not just one but two excellent wineries.