Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate has a new tasting of Israeli boutique and garagiste wineries by Mark Squires (who authored the first two reviews of Israeli wine in the Wine Advocate).
While Squires’s first 
review was widely received with several wineries receiving scores of 90 or above and the rest receiving scores in the 80s, today’s tasting received lower scores. Although quite a few wines also did not receive super scores.
Some of that is a matter of taste. The Wine Advocate is notorious for liking big fruit-forward wines, as Parker has specific tastes and wines can get “Parkerized.” Mark Squires seems to have a bias against “green” wines – which are common throughout the Mediterranean, not only in Israeli wine but also in Italy’s finest.
As Daniel Rogov explains:
It is also fairly clear that Squires seems, in a mere two years since his first report, to have lost much of his enchantment with Israeli wines, continuing to focus rather heavily on what he considers the “green notes in Israel Bordeaux blends”, notes that more than he prefer not so see. Everyone is entitled to his/her tastes but it might be a good thing to realize that many Mediterranean residents rather like those green notes. Something akin to olive oil perhaps – Americans like theirs extra-virgin and on the fruity side, Mediterranean types like theirs on the distinctly spicy side.
Of course, the Wine Advocate’s first review was of Israel’s top boutique wineries, while this latest tasting was of some wineries that even Rogov hasn’t heard of and of private labels — while some of the larger wineries have been left out.
Rogov summarizes the tasting thusly (I haven’t yet gotten access to the article):
In this latest report Squires has reviewed 113 Israeli wines. And in that he has chosen to focus largely on small, boutique and garagiste wineries. A noble chore but it does give a somewhat skewed picture for among the wineries completely missing in the list of wines are any from, e.g., the Golan Heights Winery, Recanati and Dalton. How wineries such as those can be left out of such a major tasting eludes me. Nor is it known to me how those wines tasted were selected or obtained, whether they were tasted fully blind, whether they were tasted in an entirely Israeli tasting, whether they were sent by the wineries or purchased in the USA or here. I do wish I knew some of those things for some can impact on one’s conscious or unconscious stereotypes or pre-conceptions. Whatever, in Squires first tasting of Israeli wines a host of wines scored 90 points or higher. In this report only ten wines of the 113 tasted attain that honor. “Winners” in the scoring race seem to be Castel, Margalit and Clos de Gat. The big loser in this particular race certainly looks like Pelter who, despite being the rage of most local critics (including myself) and quite a few critics abroad attains not a single 90 but falls as low as 83 on one wine. Even Yatir, attaining acclaim world-wide earns not a score over 89 points. ‘Tis a puzzlement. As to the totals (a quick count on my part):24 wines received scores of between 77-8421 wines received scores of 85 or 86 points40 wines received scores of 87 or 88 points18 wines received scores of 89 points
10 wines received scores of 90 points
While it’s unclear in what way Squires tasted — in a blind tasting, non-blind, did he know there was Israeli wines, etc. — this matters. On the other hand, perhaps it’s good for the Israeli wine industry to get knocked down off its pedestal. Israel is a tiny country and geographically isolated (although a plane ride to Europe isn’t THAT far away) and it’s easy to live in our little bubble.
Israel is making some great wines. And some not-so great wines. But, there are a few who see that the Wine Advocate gives a few 90s to Israel’s top wineries — ignoring that this represents only a handful of wines — and say that Israeli wines – as a class – are the best in teh world. Well, I’m not sure. Where are the exceptional wines that age for decades and receive scores of 97, 98, 99, or 100? They aren’t there yet.
Perhaps it’ll take a few 80s or 85s or, gasp, even an 89 to get Israel to that illusive 100.
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