HaKerem: The Israeli Wine Blog

I know, I know, I had some not-so-nice things to say about Carmel. But they often get an unfair shake and some of their top wines are very good and even better than other Israeli wines that have a better reputation.

Last Saturday night, my wife, in-laws, and some friends, went out to a fancy restaurant in Jerusalem. While I don’t normally order wine in restaurants due to the high markup and my oh-so-limited budget, this time my in-laws offered to buy a bottle. I had initially selected the 2005 Petit Castel from Domaine du Castel, but when the hostess presented the 2006 Petit Castel – which is rumored to be a significantly step down, as the other 2006s – I felt that I had no choice but to reject the bottle (It was, of course, not opened, so someone else could accept it). In its place, partly because it’s a good wine and partly because, well, my father-in-law enjoys Syrah (which is a great wine in Israel), I decided to replace it with the 2004 Carmel Single Vineyard Kerem Kayumi Syrah. While I am disappointed with Carmel’s lower series (and which they could be more like Golan or Galil Mountain or Teperberg 1870), their higher-end wines – and particularly the single vineyard and especially from the Kayumi vineyard – are truly excellent.

The 2004 Carmel Kerem Kayumi Syrah, which received a respectable 88 and nice tasting notes from the Wine Advocate, was an excellent Syrah – it opened up wonderfully, and was quite enjoyed by all (including, I must add, my 15-year-old brother-in-law…. No comment on that one). In addition, the Kerem Kayumi is a good value at about 100NIS (about $25) retail (and under 200NIS at most restaurants).