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.
Sunday night at Tel Aviv Yosef David’s Downtown restaurant, the Barkan Winery launched its newest vintages from its Assemblage series of wines. CEO Shmuel Boxer as well as winemakers Ed Salzburg and Irit Boxer-Shank were on hand to usher in the introduction of the first white wine to the Assemblage series and the three newest incarnations of the three reds that have been yearly mainstays since the series was first introduced with the 2008 vintage.
The 2012 Barkan Assemblage White NIS 70 (90 points) is a blend of 54% Chardonnay, 32% Viognier and 14% Sauvignon Blanc It becomes the winery’s de facto premium white wine with the winery’s two highest series, Superiore and Altitude series currently only featuring red wines. With its Chardonnay and Viognier components being aged sur lees for six months after first being fermented in oak barrels. It resulted in a full bodied creamy white with notes of apricot, white peach, green apple, lime and white pepper with for a white a robust 14% alcohol. A smokey oak induced bitter finish doesn’t lend itself to casual quaffing but after tasting it with grilled fish and vegetables, the Assemblage White seems an ideal wine for food pairing. Either way, on its own or with dinner, this is the full bodied complex kind of white that would do well to decant for at least 1/2 hour before consuming.
The reds are also blends, hence the Assemblage title for the series. The 2010 Barkan Assemblage Tzafit NIS 80 (91 points) was surprisingly the star of the series since in previous vintages I had preferred its kin. As a blend of 51% Marselan, 33% Caladoc, 11% Pinotage and 5% Carignan, it’s a unique combination of rare grapes in Israel that seems to get better each vintage as the vines mature and the winemakers gain experience with the blend. Featuring a floral bouquet of dried rose petals and a hint of coconut, it offered a wide range of flavors including black raspberry, dark plum, dark cherry, licorice,espresso beans, dark chocolate and black tea. It was aged in both French and American oak barrels for 12 months with 14% alcohol. Since Marselan and Caladoc are both crosses with Grenache, it begs the question why we aren’t seeing (and tasting) more Grenache being planted and fermented in Israel.
The 2010 Barkan Assemblage Eitan NIS 80 (88 points) is a blend of 35% Shiraz, 35% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon. Previous vintages have been my favorite in the series. Cassis, blueberries, black pepper, tobacco leaves and leather permeate though the wine seems less complex and expressive as previous releases. Also aged 12 months in French and American barrels it has less body than the Tzafit with a modest 13.5% alcohol.
Maybe it was the order we tasted the wines but the 2010 Barkan Assemblage Reichan NIS 80 (86 points), a blend of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot and 12% Shiraz was a bit underwhelming. Aged 12 months in only French barrels, maybe it could have even seen less oak since the fruit was seemingly subdued. 2010 was a difficult vintage in Israel and this wine seems to have suffered the most out of the series. The wine had red and black fruit notes but individual flavors didn’t shine through as much as I would hope. With 13.5% alcohol and evident acidity its a food friendly red yet there seems to be better choices at this price level within the Assemblage series or elsewhere.
As CEO Boxer noted that other new grapes were coming online such as the whites Roussanne or Muscat de Canelli and the red Tannat, it should be interesting if they too become part of blends or stand on their own. Either way, its nice to witness Israeli wineries stretching their wings with new grapes and blends. We will surely benefit from their attempts with a more interesting landscape of wines to soak in.
