Posted at 13:16h in Wine industry by David Rhodes 0 Comments
The Tishbi Winery recently released their newest addition to their Single Vineyard series their 2007 Tishbi Single Vineyard Old Vine Carignan. This 100% Carignan is from their 45 year old vineyards in Shefaya from which the Tishbi’s got their Hebrew name (an acronym in Hebrew) from renown Israeli poet Chaim Nacham Bialek which stands for “a resident of Shefaya in Israel”.
With only 13% alcohol, low for an Israeli red wine, its well balanced between its alcohol, its fruit and the 12 months spent in American oak barrels. As the rest of the wines in the Single Vineyard series it retails for about NIS 130 or about $36.
I recently tasted the wine before it was labeled but I’ll reserve giving a score and notes until I taste from a labeled bottle but my first taste at the winery was very encouraging.
Old vine single varietal Carignan wines are becoming more and more popular and have been advocated and most notably bottled by Carmel, Binyamina, Recanati, Vitken, Somek and Smadar as well as a component in a wide assortment of other wines. About 6,600 bottles were released and its the last wine from their 2007 series vintage to hit the market as winemaker Golan Tishbi was patiently waiting for the wine to be ready to drink and not just a prospective wine for aging by the consumer.
Old vine Caringan wines should not be confused with cheap Carignan wines that we find in markets as either entry level reds about NIS 30 or even less as kiddush wine. Those wines are bland and tepid made from high yield harvested from less expressive grapes. Old vine Carignan wines are sourced from vineyards that have much lower yields and much more concentrated fruit flavors of cherry, raspberry and strawberry as well as floral aromas of violets and rose petals and often notes of coconut and vanilla and black licorice from oak aging.
Until Recently Carignan was the most planted grape in France and Israel with Merlot surpassing Carignan in France as much of the Carignan that was used for cheap high yield wines was pulled up and in Israel over the last thirty years as an increase in “noble grapes” Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah/Shiraz became popular alternatives.
Many of the Old vine Carignans being made today are from vineyards that were abandoned high yield vineyards as their yields dropped as vines aged and “discovered” by growers years or decades later who marketed these vines to wineries who wanted to make more expensive wines from concentrated low yield harvested grapes.
