Clos de Gat, Har'El Syrah, Judean Hills

Wine Rodeo - blind tasting (at Mor & Eyal) : a good & solid Israeli Syrah

Big, open, attractive nose with ripe black fruit, very fragrant and verging on some violet florailty, and even a touch high-toned, but in an attractive way. There's also coffee-chocolate torrefaction over the fruit. Very soft and very open on the palate, with a deep dark chocolate richness, which gives way to ripe black plummy fruit and bloody gaminess. Very big in the mouth, quite muscular, and were it not for a lovely fresh lift, this is a wine you'd be …

What a lovely wine... Dark red purple color... no sign fit the 6 years. Full to medium body. Medium acidity. Soft but we'll felt tanines. Very smooth though. Mildly but profoundly aromatic, beautiful mixture of oak, spices, fruits. Wonderful on the palate too - vanilla, dark chocolate, anise, leather, licorice, blackberries, blueberries... and more. Complex, rich, round... wonderful wine... wish I had couple of more bottles.

(15/20) Very good wine. Concentrated, characterful, fruit and spices, quite mineral. 100% Syrah from the foothills of the Judean Mountains, fermented in open fermentation tanks, aged in French oak barrels (30% new) for 16 months, bottled unfined and unfiltered. Medium+ intense aromas of blackcurrant, blueberry, rhubarb, vanilla, milk chocolate, bay leaf, liquorice, black pepper, wet stone, wet earth. Dry wine, medium acidity, medium tannins, full body, medium+ flavour intensity. 14% - €19,95 @ Vivino

Second half of the bottle opened on 22 July: the bottle's just had the cork stuck back in, and then put in the fridge. Allowed it to come to somewhere between cellar temperature and room temperature before drinking. Enticing nose, with fragrant black fruit, chocolate and blast of meaty, bloody syrah. Soft and open on the attack, but there's a real spicy immediately, as it fills the mouth. It really grabs your tastebuds, tongue and cheeks and grips onto them …

Very attractive nose, with black fruit, cherry and a touch of chocolate. Very soft and open on the palate. It actually feels a touch austere on the palate - certainly more austere than you'd expect. Quite meaty, and it has a real grip in the mouth - but not a grippy tannins. Together with that touch of austerity, it makes me wonder about the level of acidification. A very elegant syrah that seems to combine French, American and NZ styles. …