"This medium to full bodied wine is showing various black and red fruit aromas, black cherries along with various spices and cloves…" Armed with 3 friends and 3 bottles, Yonatan Sternberg tastes up a storm and reveals a buyers tip.
A few days ago, after returning from a couple of weeks of army reserve duty, I wandered into the local wine shop and noticed that although I hadn't been gone for long, several 'new' wines (which I hadn't yet sampled) were gracefully resting on the wooden shelves.
After browsing around the store for what seemed to be about five minutes (and in was in more like thirty), I chose two bottles and made my way to the cash register.
On my way home, I called a friend and invited him to join me for a spontaneous wine tasting session. Of course, knowing my friend, who never comes empty handed, we ended up with three bottles to taste – and only three 'tasters'. In order to be professional, we decided to first sample the wines and write up our tasting notes before actually drinking them.
Dalton, Alma, 2006
A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (56%), Merlot (25%) and Cabernet Franc (19%), this medium to full bodied wine is showing various black and red fruit aromas, black cherries along with various spices and cloves.
Tishbi, Estate, Merlot, 2005
Produced using grapes from vineyards situated in Sde Boker and Kfar Yuval, and after resting for 12 months in French oak barrels, this Merlot offers concentrated aromas of plums and black berry fruits followed by hints of pepper and chocolate.
Unfortunately, the third bottle we opened was a little corky, hence we decided that it wouldn't be fair to take down notes and moved on to the more hedonistic part of the evening.
Tip of the week: Tiv Ta’am – not only a super market!
If you are ever in need of a good bottle of wine on short notice, and most importantly at a reasonable price, Tiv Ta’am is the place to go. Most branches carry a wide wine selection ranging from classic Italian Chianti’s to exclusive bottles of Champagne.
Center photo by: Yigal Amar
