Lueria wines from the Upper Galilee, new Israeli wines in the UK

Feb 09, 14 Lueria wines from the Upper Galilee, new Israeli wines in the UK

I’ve tried a few Israeli wines in the past and have always found them interesting and even a bit provocative, so my curiosity was piqued when Lueria wines offered to send me a few samples to try.

The Lueria vineyards have been supplying grapes to some of the best producers in Israel for years but it was only in 2006 that they decided to start producing their own wine. The vineyard are located “…at the foothills of Mount Meron in Upper Galilee, where the climate, slope of the land and unusual terrior of black basalt, white chalk and red rosa soil, lead to late-maturing fruit that is incredibly rich in flavour and aroma…” as it says on the press release.

Lueria VIneyards

Lueria VIneyards from the website

Lueria sent me 3 different premium wines, a 100% cabernet sauvignon(Lueria 2011), the Lueria Terrace 2011 –  70% cabernet sauvignon, 30% cabernet franc and the Lueria Rosso – an Italian variety blend of 80% sangiovese and 20% barbera.

I popped open the 2011 Rosso first, a medium bodied wine with savoury flavours and black cherry aromas, this wine had very good acidity and was an agreeable wine to have either by itself or with some cheese, perhaps. I found the wine very easy going and a good Saturday night drink for sitting in the lounge.

The 2011 Terrace cabernet sauvigon/cabernet franc was full bodied with rich red fruit flavours and very smooth. I quite liked this wine with the steak I was having for dinner that evening. However, it was almost too well defined, sleek and smooth would be how I best describe it, which is not a bad thing in my book. I just wish it would have had a bit more character to it.

The 2011 cabernet sauvignon was another rich and full wine, with plenty of toasty oak notes on the nose and loads of black fruit on the palate with a long finish. It’s a well made wine and you can taste that a lot of time and effort has gone into the wine but again it’s almost too smooth.

I think these wines will be very appealing to an international audience as they are smooth, rich and very agreeable on the palate. My only quibble is the price. Retailing for between £19.99 and £24.99, I’m not sure if the general British public would be willing to pay those prices for Israeli wine. One note, all the wines are kosher which might have an impact on the retail prices of the wines.

 

 

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