Pinot Gris (Tokay d'Alsace)..... Margalit 1993 Cabernet Sauvignon.....

For New Year's Eve we were invited to Dorit brother's. Needless to say we brought the wine (as well as the Gefilte Fish made by Dorit). We were six (inc. children) but as my in-laws don't drink much wine we had only two bottles. Dinner was very nice and included:

Pinot Gris (Tokay d'Alsace)	1994	A. Mann

9/96. Bought locally July-96 for $45, which means it should cost about $15 elsewhere.
A very pleasant surprise! Profound and rich bouquet. Displays both the typical freshness of Alsatian wines like Riesling, Gewurz or Muscat, together with some other elements more akin to ones found in a real good Chardonnay. Taste is also very rich. Not totally dry but neither sweet or even sweetish. Excellent structure and balance. A really top class Alsace.
(I am sure it is my own ignorance, but I've never heard of this winemaker and the label did not even hinted a single vineyard. If anyone have tasted this wine or this producer, I'd be grateful for any info)
MARK: 16+/20.aaaaaaaaBUY MORE? Maybe.

Cabernet Sauvignon		1993	Yair Margalit

9/96. Bought at the cellar May-95 for $23.
Yair Margalit operates one of the first and most successful boutique wineries in Israel. His "cellar" is not a model for high tech nor for what one would imagine should be ideal conditions for wine storage. His wines (in my experience) vary quite a bit from year to year. They are always 'big' wines, but unfortunately not consistently good.
This is the first time I seriously taste the 1993 from the bottle. I've first tasted this wine when it was still in the barrel and could definitely recognize the special qualities. then, some 16 months ago I tasted it at the cellar just after it was bottled. Again, promising to be a great wine. We'll see...
Nice dark red color, typical of Israeli Cabernets. The nose is simply a fruit bomb, in its most jammy and concentrated form. Sweetish plums, blackcurrants etc. Whether one likes fruit bombs or not, one cannot discard the nose as trivial.
On the palate the jammy sensation persists. It is so dominant that it overshadows all the other elements to a point where the wine seems unbalanced. Too little acidity, weakish tannins and most important (to me at least) - not much 'winyness' to give proper backdrop to the fruit. These shortcomings distract somewhat from the quality of this wine.
Don't get me wrong here - This is not a bad wine, quite the opposite. But the peculiar 'unnatural' dominance of the heavyfruit creates an unbalanced impression in an otherwise excellent wine.
Will try another bottle a year from now. Time may bring out more winyness and then again it may not...
MARK: 17/20.aaaaaaaaBUY MORE? Maybe.

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Copyright 1996-2003.
Jacob "Yak" Shaya.