Is the wine worth the money: Shokek 2007 merlot

Is the wine worth the money?

Issue of March 5, 2010/ 20 Adar 5770

by Adam Neustadter

Every so often I am handed a sample of wine from an aspiring wine maker, which is how I came upon the tiny, budding boutique winery, Shokek. The winery is located south of Hebron and gets their grapes from the Arad Forest, which is the same source Yatir winery uses. With their merlot, they are trying to make a name for themselves.

They succeed.

Upon opening this wine, the nose is rather powerful. There is a surprising amount of fruit with subtle hints of oak. As time takes its toll, the eucalyptus comes out. This is often associated with French oak aging which this wine went through for about 10 months.

When I first taste it, the wine has a lot of tannin, heat, and acidity. After that fades inthe mouth, a very herbaceous flavor is detected with only subtle fruit. Not your typical merlot.

As time does its job, I taste the wine again. After a while (about an hour), the acidity and heat fade away. The taste becomes more complex. I get a hint of citrus, with a buttery/velvety texture (a result of malolactic fermentation) as well hints of chocolate. This merlot is not full-bodied, yet it has a complexity to it that surpasses its texture. It almost borders on a cabernet style without the fruit profile. This is not your typical merlot, however, it’s a real good spin on one.

If it hasn’t been too obvious, I like this wine. I found the biggest factor for this wine was letting it breathe. It needs at least an hour. However here is the problem with this wine: only 600 bottles have been made! Another problem is price. If the wine ever makes it to the U.S., I want to say it will go for around $35.00-40.00. You’re probably better off buying it online from here, DecantingIsrael.com, and having it shipped.

Adam Neustadter is a partner in decantingisrael.com, has taught about wine and was a sales executive for Royal Wine Corporation for 15 years until his aliyah in 2006. He and his family live in Chashmonaim.