Keeping It Kosher!
April 4, 2011
I had the chance last night to taste a couple of extremely impressive Kosher wines, and I thought it was worth sharing. But first, a little background info…
My wife works for Underwood Jewelers here in Jacksonville, and this is the second time I have attended a company Kosher BBQ hosted by Moshe and Joel Klein. My fingers are crossed that this is going to be a permanent fixture on the Underwood’s event calendar!
Moshe and Joel run the Julius Klein Group, and are honestly some of the most genuine and down-to-earth people I have met in my life, (bearing in mind that they run one of the largest diamond company’s in the world)!
They somehow managed to get 180lbs of Kosher meat on the plane down from New York, as well as a few cases of Kosher wine. Hasidic Jews clearly know how to party!
My experience with Kosher wine is very limited, but I am always happy to expand my taste buds! What follows is some brief tasting notes on a couple of wines I had the opportunity to taste yesterday.
The Chateau Royaumont Lalande De Pomerol 2003 was the first wine I tasted. A Right-Bank Bordeaux from Pomerol.
Drinking great right now, the 2003 vintage for Bordeaux was a hot-one (as in temperature), but the wine didn’t drink as fruit-forward and aggressive as some ‘03’s I’ve tasted.
Soft and supple, with black fruit, clove, smoke (or maybe that was just the BBQ), tobacco, and a little bell pepper. A very smooth and lasting finish. The Royaumont just screamed for steak (which was fortunate)!
The second wine was the Galil Mountain Winery, Cab, Merlot, Syrah blend from Israel’s Upper Galilee.
A lot more fruit, but not as much “funk” as I was expecting. Concentrated in taste and texture, lots of black cherry, plum, ripe blueberry, with chocolate, vanilla and well-balanced oak. The Syrah added a nice touch of pepper. The best Kosher Israeli wine I have tasted thus far.
I checked the price online, and it comes in around the mid $20’s. If you see it around, I suggest you grab a bottle! It will totally change your idea of Kosher wine!
