Ramot Naftaly Petit Verdot 2009

Ramot Naftaly Petit Verdot 2009.   Price: Around NIS 120

 

I have had this bottle in my wine fridge for some time now. My parents are visiting us here in Israel from the UK at the moment in order to celebrate a family simcha so I thought it was a suitable occasion to open up this very special bottle. We have drunk this wine before while we were on holiday in the Golan Heights and thoroughly enjoyed it so I thought that it is was time to review it.

Taking the bottle out of the wine fridge I noted how heavy the bottle was. They certainly use some serious glass bottles at Ramot Naftali. It weighed a ton! The wine was matured for 12 months in French oak.

I opened the wine just before we went to shul. Bringing the cork to my nose I remarked to my father that they were both in for a treat for Kiddush. The aroma was heavy with powerful ripe dark berry fruit, cooked herbs and sweet spices.

I placed the bottle carefully inside my glass cabinet and brought it out for Kiddush, after Shalom Aleichem, Eishes Chayil and the kid’s brachos, some two hours later.

I poured some wine into my wife’s glass, gave it a swirl and noted a thick luscious heavy aroma of black forest fruit cake with dark cherries and black berries, cherry liquor chocolates and liquorice confectionary.

 

 

Kiddush was particularly enjoyable this Friday night as my parents were with us, honouring our Shabbos table. The final bracha said, I poured some of my wine (from the glass which I had said Kiddush over) into my wife’s glass and then drank .

Let’s start at the end by talking about the finish. That was indeed the problem. I couldn’t actually talk as the aftertaste just seemed to go on and on without end. Eventually I had to grudgingly swallow everything in order to call out everyone’s name as I handed the glasses round.

 

OK, let’s rewind to the beginning now. You get silky smooth tannins. Not a hint of any bitterness on the gums, even on an empty stomach with no food. The second thing you notice is that this wine completely fills up the mouth like biting into a large piece of rich cake.

 

The cake analogy continues. There is dark forest fruit here but it’s not upfront. It is covered in chocolate cream and cherry Forest Gateau.  Under this layer comes what I smelled before tasting, some liquorice confectionary. Not plain liquorice but liquorice chewy sweets. This dark Forest Gateau has some sweet mixed spice mixed in. Then comes the French Brandy and some roasted almond cream and rich heavy cocoa chocolate which remains in the mouth for a long time.

Bottom Line:

This is a superb wine and becoming increasingly difficult to find. I also have a Petit Verdot 2011 in my wine fridge and intend to open this soon. Check back for an update.