ISRAEL
2019 GOLD: 4 SILVER: 6 BRONZE: 7 COMMENDED: 13
2018 GOLD: 0 SILVER: 0 BRONZE: 0 COMMENDED: 0
This category came out of nowhere. We’ve had very few, if any, Israeli wines in the Sommelier Wine Awards down the years, so to get a good chunk of them all at once was a real surprise.
A nice one, too. If the whites were seen as being a bit on the ‘generic’ side – pleasant enough rather than exciting – there was real enthusiasm for the reds. Yes, they were mostly going for that ‘expensive Bordeaux style’ with plenty of plush Cabernet fruit and firm tannins, but they pulled it off pretty well for the most part, with the best wines having a bit of lift to go with the fruit ripeness.
Special congratulations are due to Barkan Wine Cellars, who, in a wide-ranging entry, accounted for three of the four Gold-Listed wines, two of them under £8.
FROM THE TASTING TEAMS
‘We found everything from light, floral and aromatic wines, to one that was aged in oak, like Burgundy. What people need to get used to is pricing – sometimes people expect a new region to almost be free.’ Marco Marcuzzo, Aster Restaurant
‘A whole new experience for me, and really interesting. I’d definitely consider some of the reds, maybe to sell by the glass. It’s nice to have something interesting to talk about.’ Sue Jones, The Harrow at Little Bedwyn
‘I was a bit disappointed with [the white] flight. They felt overly influenced by commercial yeast, with not a lot of personality in the wines.’ Joshua Castle, Noble Rot
‘There was lots of oak, lots of extraction and good, ripe tannins. They’re massive wines, with lots of barrel. The ones that had freshness and balance shone through, and those were mostly in the middle price points.’ Jade Koch, team leader
‘They could be expensive, but it’s nice to have some new wine regions on a wine list, and many of my customers buy wine that’s made where they’re from.’ Chiara Sieni, Bottles Group
‘At the top end, straight away you’re thinking about food matches, like game, while you could go with lamb in the mid-range, and a few would work very well with a barbecue, too.’ Michael Moore, The London Cookhouse