As I was walking down the street one steamy afternoon in Tel Aviv, I walked by Wines & More at 208 Ben Yehuda (part of Israel’s largest chain of wine shops oddly enough owned by Christian Arabs). I frequently poke into wine shops and restaurants to see what’s on the shelves and wine lists,respectfully, to have a better grasp on the market place to uncover what’s new, popular and rare that reading press reports, attending tastings, wineries and festivals may have left uncovered. And I like talking with wine shop managers and customers as well to get their impressions on what’s going on in the industry.
WInes & More at 208 Ben Yehuda, Tel Aviv
On this stop, shop manager David Bitton was a bit busy getting ready for a sorta block party later that evening at the shop so he couldn’t talk much but he invited me to stop by for their 5 hour free tasting of Israeli wines, imported beers and vodkas. As he mentioned some mutual acquaintances were attending, I thought free wines (or wholesale or BYOB) was typically how this wine writer spends a Thursday night and I might extend my social circle a bit and I anyways I often jokingly tell people “I live in Tel Aviv but sleep in Ra’anana” so I have to try to live up to it less my veracity on other issues be challenged. So I got at the festive tasting about 8PM and a DJ was “spinning” danceable classics outside where half the pouring stations were set up on retired oak barrels. 
amiable Wines & More store manager David Bitton
It was a steamy Tel Aviv early summer evening so it didn’t take much for me to keep to protocol and try the chilled Israeli white wines available first (though the beers and iced vodka was beckoning me or was it just the pretty young Israeli lasses…must have been the beer and vodka since the wine had equally charming young ladies pouring). The whites were all wines I had tasted before but its good (and sometimes intoxicating) to try wines more than once (if no news wines are available) and truth be told I mostly had come for fun. 
Danielle offers up some of the More of WInes & More
Israeli whites being poured were the 2012 Binyamina Sauvignon Blanc Reserve, 2012 Carmel Appellation Chardonnay, the 2012 Mony Gewurztraminer, 2012 White Tulip and 2012 Tabor Roussanne. I’m posting scores with a disclaimer I’ve used before that I think wine scores, for me, capture a moment in time. People, including me, are not perfectly calibrated machine and these were far from perfect circumstances in the heat and loud music (and when scoring I prefer as few people around while I’m sitting down relaxed). Yet, scores are for the reader to help make buying decisions more than anything else and if my scores from one tasting may contradict the scores from a previous tasting, wine is organic and changes over time as I am and the circumstances of a tasting may alter the results favorably or unfavorably for some wines. So, here I go.
My favorite white wine this evening was a wine I’ve had I think three times before the 2012 Tabor Roussanne (91 points) NIS 59 or 2/100. With 14% alcohol, that can be a lot for an unoaked white wine yet this wine comes across as very balanced with grassy and herbal notes on the nose reminiscent of a White Bordeaux yet it was resplendent with ample citric notes of lemon custard, lime zest and golden delicious apples, Asian pears and even some tropical hints of mango. The more I have this wine and the more familiar I become with it the more I enjoy it as I seem to pick up some other nuance I hadn’t noticed before. To me that’s one sign of a good or great wine is its layers of complexity are worth revisiting and not done justice to the few minutes some wines are allotted for tasting in many wine competitions where judges often have to tasted 50 or more wines in a day. Binyamina also recently released a 2012 Roussanne and I hope I will see (rather taste) some other examples especially from boutique wineries.
The 2012 White Tulip (88 points) NIS 79 is a blend of 70% Sauvignon Blanc 30% Gewurztraminer with a crisp acidic finish with peach, lychee and on this occasion red grapefruit and apricot shining through. Modest alcohol for a dry Israeli white makes this wine an easy drinking wine good for food pairing or drinking on its own.
Another dry white was the 2012 Carmel Appellation Chardonnay(87 points) NIS 65. An unoaked Chardonnay it had typical green apple notes with hints of minerality and a bit of citric lime. This is Carmel’s highest series Chardonnay and its nice that they let the fruit go unoaked and its a nice example of how more and more Israeli Chardonnays are being made more fruity and less buttery vanilla oak bombs.
Charming Tair pours a selection of Carmel Wines one steamy summer evening
The last dry white I sampled that evening was the 2012 Binyamina Sauvignon Blanc Reserve (86 points) NIS 65. I hope I get to try this wine again under more ideal situations. It wasn’t a flawed wine and it hit some varietal notes of herbs and citric fruit yet it wasn’t as expressive as I had hoped or had experienced from previous vintages and I hope another tasting might be more revealing. Even though it was chilled, I think the aromas were perhaps more nuanced and lost to the heat of the night and chaos of the nearby frolicking. Such is a tasting on Ben Yehuda on a Thursday night in Tel Aviv.
The only semi-dry white of the evening was a 2012 Mony Gewurztraminer (88 points) NIS 59 (2/100). Ripe peach and dried apricots, some guava and lychee with notes of honey and smoked almonds make this a wine I want to try the next time I have red curry or some sushi with wasabi.
There were several reds to try as well including a few special ones. Amphorae are wines I often enjoy revisiting as its winemaker Dr. Arkadi Papakan advises for several other wineries so its interesting look for a motif between his wines and those of wineries under his sphere of influence. Reds were a difficult challenge as a writer or just for fun. The evening screamed for a chilled or iced beverage and it would have been perhaps more prudent if the reds were served a little cooler (they would have warmed quickly anyways in the glass) but few if anyone does that in Israel though when not in a climate controlled room many of our long summer evenings seemingly warrant it or at least that’s my experience but I guess the general public might shriek at being served a briefly chilled red (say 20 minutes before serving).
Anyway, I found the 2009 Amphorae Rhyton (90 points) NIS 89 rich and luscious with layers of black, red and even blue fruit. Cassis, plums, red raspberries and hints of blueberries. Light notes of black peppercorn, tobacco leaves and cloves. Two years on oak barrels hadn’t diminished the wine’s brilliance and has contributed to a satiating body that’s pleasing from start to finish.
Another red that showed well was a nice surprise. With the Tabor Winery having new wines coming out from vast new vineyards coming on line I’m starting to see not only new varietals like the Roussanne but new blends. Case in point on this particular evening was the 2009 Tabor Adama Merlot/Petit Verdot (89 points) NIS 80 or 2/150 which was aged 12 months in French and American oak. Dark plums,creamy black raspberry sorbet and blackberries married well and I really want to revisit this wine after some decanting.
Wines & More also offers a good selection of Tabor Wines
The tasting party attracted a nice local crowd, many of whom I expect to recognize at other events and look forward to their company as there’s So Much Wine and So Little Time and as Good Wine Makes for Better Friends, Good Friends also Make for Better Wines.
David Rhodes can be reached at [email protected] or dialing 052-702-WINE (9463) in Israel.
David Rhodes’ WIne Score Key
97-100 A+ 5 * Best of the Best, or One of the Best in Recent Memory (- 0.5% of wines)
The kind of wine that opening creates a special occasion.
93-96 A 4 1/2 * Extraordinary, Great Example of What Israel does Right (-1%) A Wine Worth Remembering & Drinking Again and Again
The kind of wine that’s great for special occasions.
89-92 A- 4 * Very Good, Highly Recommended: Interesting and Expressive (-3-5%) This is the kind of wine that doesn’t just complement a meal or an evening but
can elevate it.
85-88 B+ 3 1/2 * Good, Recommended as a wine that shows some merit (-5-10%) A good guest brings a B+ or above wine unless a host doesn’t appreciate
wine & you know no one else at the meal does either or just bring cake.
81-84 B 3 * Fair, Not Recommended to Elevate a Meal or an Evening (50%+) Typically I won’t publish these scores, there’s too many better wines to focus or that merit more attention & praise but MOST wines in Israel that sell 4 or 5/NIS 100
fall into this category (or below) with a few if any exceptions reaching B+.
80 or less 2 1/2 * or less Not Recommended, Published or Worth Commenting About
