Posted at 09:45h in Wine industry by David Rhodes 0 Comments
Lately, I’ve written about the Tulip Winery, the Kfar Tikvah based winery relying on Galilee & Judean Hills vineyards. It’s inspirational story, which I’ll omit here, can overshadow how good their wines are leaving a writer limited by a word count deciding whether to focus more on the story than on their wines. My most recent article about Tulip focused on their story so lets dive now headfirst into their wines.
If you wonder how a winery can grow from 100,000 to 170,000 bottles in just a few years, one way is to make better wines each vintage while keeping your prices the same as your competitors keep raising their prices. Tulip’s new winemaker David Bar-Ilan delivers his first wines to the market with Tulip’s 2012 whites though he’s overseeing the blending and readiness of former vintages recently tasting from about 300 barrels from earlier vintages to become intimately familiar with what legacy he inherited. Tulip’s wines have recently been imported in mass for the first time by Royal Wines in the USA and Kedem Europe into the UK. This additional demand may cause their prices to creep up so buying some Tulip wines now might save you some money.
2012 Tulip White Tulip (88 points) NIS 67
An interesting blend of 70% Gewurztraminer 30% and Sauvignon Blanc resulting in a dry white wine that still delivers the fruit and aromas associated with “Gewurz” of white peaches and lychee with citric and herbal notes and bracing crisp acidity from the Sauvignon Blanc. White fish such as haddock, sea bass, cod and flounder would enjoy the accompaniment of this wine as well as a Caesar salad.
2012 Tulip White Franc (90 points) NIS 79
A Blanc de Noir of Cabernet Franc (65%) blended with (35%) Sauvignon Blanc results in a pleasantly sweet semi dry wine (11 grams/l) which reminds me of lime-rickey’s of my youth with raspberry braced with notes of lime sherbet and strawberries. Makes me wonder if a Cab Franc rosé might be a nice future Tulip wine or do Tulips and Rosés not mix? Asian cuisine, spicy sushi and duck would be my ideal pairings but I can imagine a variety of pastas and other poultry dishes as well.
Note: I had an earlier chance to try Tulip’s 2012 Sauvignon Blanc before it was blended into Tulip’s two whites and I hope in future vintages they also find a way to bottle a 100% Sauvignon Blanc wine.
2011 Tulip Just Cabernet Sauvignon (88 points) NIS 67
A nice fresh and fruity 100 % Cabernet Sauvignon with only 6 months of oak helps this relatively inexpensive and young red wine deliver a mouthful of cassis and blackberries with gentle notes of smoked nuts.
2011 Tulip Just Merlot (89 points) NIS 67
A nice contrast to their Cab, with plums embraced by notes of chocolate and just a bit of spiciness and hints of vanilla with subtle tannins make this 100% Merlot very drinkable now. With a similar time in oak as the Just Cab, this series delivers varietal specific flavors that can still develop over the next few years but not designed for long term cellaring.
2010 Tulip Mostly Cabernet Franc (90 points) NIS 79
85% Cabernet Franc from the Judean Hills married with 15% Merlot delivers a Cab Franc that has a bounty of currant and raspberries with a fragrant floral aroma. Fifteen months of oak aging reinforced the fruits’ gentle tannins, a bit of spiciness and a medium body with nice acidity for a food friendly red wine that could cross color lines from roasted poultry to red meat (though bbq or charcoaled meat may overpower this nuanced wine). Fifteen months of oak aging aided in giving additional body, complexity and a little perceived sweetness to this dry wine.
2010 Tulip Mostly Shiraz (89 points) NIS 79
85% Shiraz and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon does not make for a genteel wine. Firm and fruity blackberries dominating with denser fruit yet a bit less expressive than its reserve cousin but still a very nice example of the potential why Shiraz/ Syrah has become the third most popular premium red varietal in Israel with its own loyal fan base.
2010 Tulip Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve (91 points) NIS 95 90% Cabernet Sauvignon with 5% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot oak aged for twenty months seems to be a noticeable improvement over a good but more rustic 2009 with more integrated tannins, more explicit notes of cassis, dark plums, gentle hints of leaf tobacco with a spiciness reminiscent of rosemary. Well balanced with fruit that lingers long after the finish.
A nicely marbled seasoned steak will bring this wine (and the steak) to a higher plane.
