Golan Heights Winery Yarden Galilee Chardonnay 2021

Given that we're in Passover and Easter weekend, while picking up some wines for a little get-together, I saw this on a shelf with other kosher wines. 

Given my affinity for good Chardonnay, I was curious to try this. They also had a 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon, so that may also be of interest. 

It has a fairly pale straw/lemon color with a tinge of green out to the rim. 

There are hints of oak aging on the front nose. It's not an overly aromatically expressive wine. It offers apple and pear aromas along with some citrus pith and slightly underripe nectarine. 

It was given some texture with partial malolactic treatment, but remains pretty bright with nice acidity. Over all, it's a tasty and pleasant wine with flavors of nectarine and white peach just bordering on being ripe with some golden apple and D'Anjou pear and even a hint of persimmon. There is just a kiss of oak spice along with some nice underlying chalky minerality. 

High altitude rocky volcanic soils and a cooler climate allow this to show some nice verve and there is restraint as well in the winemaking. If you're seeking kosher wine for a seder or other celebration, this is a nice, enjoyable bottle and should easily pair well with a wide range of cuisine. 

Keplinger- The Oenovangelist Flight

 As Oenovangelist subscribers are currently offered a select allocation of Keplinger wines for a limited time, I took the opportunity to taste through them myself and wanted to share my own impressions. 

If there is a hallmark of Helen's winemaking style, it might be a toss up between texture and persistence. The wines are all beautiful with wonderful purity of fruit, focused and balanced. It is worth noting that DJ indicated all were on day 3 and none of the wines were showing any oxidation or dullness whatsoever.

2023 Zio Tony Ranch Chardonnay- Beautifully balanced wine that rather reminded me of a Corton Charlemagne I had recently, though a touch riper. It's loaded with layers of apple, Asian pear, peach and bright citrus notes with honeycomb and hints of hazelnut. It's medium bodied and has verve from balancing acidity. Though it has good acid, it also has a lengthy finish without becoming heavy or unctuous. It exhibits gorgeous ripeness along with considerable restraint. 

2022 Opalus (Grenache)- Richly textured style of Grenache, with an entry of smoked herbs and meat, brambly red and purple fruit and streaks of sage, cocoa dust and a lovely mushroom-esque umami. There are undertones of cinnamon graham and the finish is generous and long. 

2022 Fuego y Mar (Syrah)- Stunning wine! Absolutely beautiful. It enters with a delicacy rather of Pinot Noir and then builds into a voluptuousness of fruit focused on black cherry, plum, acai, blackberry and currant. There is a floral edge with slight herbal accents, but this is a fruit-focused Syrah. It maintains excellent balance and a very long finish. Really a gorgeous wine throughout, with the sweet spot between pretty and powerful. Think of the floral lift of a Cote Rotie underpinned by dense, ripe red and black fruit. 

2022 Oakville Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon- This has a pretty nose of pure cassis. It's rather rare to find that anymore in Napa Cabernet without loads of oak influence. 

Entry is spiced plum, cola and red and black currant. There are strong hints of cinnamon over strawberry/raspberry preserves and hints of vanilla. This is a sexy wine. It leans toward blueberry fruit on the finish. It has voluptuous fruit and intense perfume and flavor while maintaining verve and structure, which is impressive. It's a generous, giving wine that goes down easy. Lovely accents toward the finish of cocoa and marzipan with an overall fresh berry tart construction. Really, a beautiful Cabernet. 

Cotiere Bentrock Vineyard Pinot Noir 2021

 If memory serves, this one made the biggest impression on me at our tasting last June. Cotiere is always a must-visit when in Santa Maria, after I met proprietor/winemaker Kevin Law at World of Pinot years back. I was impressed with his wines then and remain an enthusiastic advocate of all his wines. His Chards and Pinots from greater Santa Barbara County always deliver and he also does some Bordeaux varieties with equal deftness, from NorCal. 

This has dusty aromas of bright, tart red fruit- cranberry, red cherry, currant and pomegranate. There are undercurrents of dry desert brush, chaparral and creosote. 

It's lean entry to finish, but very flavorful. Warm spices lead into high toned red fruits like those on the nose. There are accents of hot clay along with some roasted mushroom umami and almost a hickory smoke aspect. It's complex while remaining lithe, has polished moderate tannins and lively acidity that keeps the flavor expanding through the finish. 

The Bentrock Vineyard is in the Santa Rita Hills. 

Aside from Mendocino and a few selections from the larger Sonoma Coast, I think some of my favorite Pinots stateside are coming from Santa Maria, SRH and the larger Santa Barbara area. Cotiere and others are well worth seeking out.boots?