Michael Mallon

8.9

A very good wine with special characteristics due to its aging process (six months in clay amphorae instead of oak.) Red fruit, clay, fresh herbs, and flint, flint, flint. Decanting a must - necessary to bring out the tobacco and menthol notes. Drinks well above its price point. — 8 years ago

"Odedi"

9.4

Amphorae Wines Makura Red Blend 2006, Israel

For my 900th review, we have here a wonderful wine from Israel.

Dark ruby in color with a light purple rim.

Awesome nose of blackberries, blueberries, figs, cherries, plums, strawberries, red currants, black pepper and vanilla.

Full-bodied with medium acidity, smooth and elegant.

Dry and fruity on the palate with cherries, currants, vanilla, blackberries, blueberries, chocolates, earth, dirt and peppercorn.

Long finish with firm, round and smooth tannins and black pepper.

An Awesome wine, well-balanced and nice to sip on all by itself, with a great mouthfeel.

A wonderful, 10 year old, blend of Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Aged in French Oak barrels for 28 months.

15.6% alcohol by volume. — 8 years ago

Roel van der Burg

Sommelier at Restaurant Entrepot

9.2

Like no other! Old Zibibbo vines planted on volcanic soil of the Pantelleria island (located between Sicily and Africa). Aromatic, lenght and grip. Skin macerated for three months in amphorae. By the way: Bini also farms capers the organic way. @Saturne — 8 years ago

with Piet, Alessandro and 2 others

L.J. Hollins

9.5

Feels as if it should only be consumed in a place of worship. Amphorae-aging and terra-cotta bottling leave a closed finish that when juxtaposed to the rambling, sunny, beach-side, exuberance of the juice itself suggest completion instead of limitation. — 9 years ago

with Emanuel

David Schimizzi

9.5

Amazing wine. Very different style (12-months of maceration in amphorae before 5-yr barrel aging). Well worth trying at least once, and for some repeatedly!! — 9 years ago

Fabien Lainé

Blogger VinDeling.com

9.0

A well done wine with maybe a bit of little grip wild finish, a nice discovery, a pure and fresh wine - Karasì, is a tribute to the 6100 year wine tradition of Armenia and to its Areni Noir grape, which has created the authentic spirit of this wine. Its name is a reference to its long aging in traditional large, clay, amphorae (karasì being the Armenian translation “from amphora”). — 10 years ago

Tala Drzewiecki

Wine blogger Winelandia.com

8.9

Lovely trip to AmByth this weekend. All of their 2012 wines are already so expressive (and still fermenting in amphorae). Can't wait to try these wines when they are ready! I'll be pouring their 2010 Syrah and 2011 Red Table Blend this Friday at K&L in Redwood City. — 11 years ago

Jonathan Wall

8.9

Never had the Mondeuse grape... Or an Amphorae aged wine ( that I know of). For that, it was a cool experience. Thanks for the delectable advice to let it sit a day or two... As the first try tasted sour like baby spit up. This was tough to overcome... But the end of day two it started to behave. — 8 years ago

"Odedi"

9.5

Brown / orange in color.

Sweet on the nose with cherries, green pepper, oak, vanilla, blackberries, blueberries, cherries and Mediterranean spices.

Full bodied, smooth, buttery and creamy with nice legs.

Sweet on the palate with cherries, black currants, wood, sherry, vanilla and earth with a long sweet finish.

What a great Vintage Port from Israel this is. Balanced, smooth and enjoyable. A great dessert wine that is not too sweet, but just right.

A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Shiraz.
Aged for 48 months in oak barrels.

17.5% alcohol by volume. — 8 years ago

Ryan Mayes

9.2

Really digging this. Evidently they age the wine in 2/3 new and once used oak and 1/3 clay Amphorae with clay quarried from their own vineyard. Rich, creamy nose. Blueberry, etc. — 8 years ago

Justin Timsit, MS

Wine Director, The Rittenhouse

9.4

Really fascinating primitivo. Clay amphorae aging, showing some oxidation that gives the fruit a really intriguing character. Really enjoyed this. — 8 years ago

Alon Yitzhaki

8.9

Good tanins & acidity.. rioja! — 9 years ago

Laissez Fare

9.0

Els Jelipins 2009 (a very kind gift from, and shared with, @J_A_A). Made by Gloria and Berta Garriga in the hills Penedès. Based around the Sumoll grape, with a slightly different blend each year (depending on which rows of vineyards they decide to take fruit from). The fruit is hand-picked over a number of sessions — always early in the morning and in small cases. It ferments with the natural yeasts, without temperature control, fining, or filtration and only a touch of sulfur added right before bottling. Open-top barrel fermentation and some wax-lined oval amphorae are used, along with lengthy aging in big barrels. Each bottle is painted by hand – the design is different each year, but always includes the symbolic heart.
This has to be one of the most distinctive, intriguing and confounding red wines I've ever tasted. The first thing you notice is the cloudy ruby color. A mysterious scent leads to strong flavors of green herbs (almost medicinal) on the palate: is it tarragon or dill, or both? Elderflower perhaps? Maybe fresh olive too. Underlying this is an ever-changing red fruit core (cranberry, tart cherry), with the odd streak of wet rocks and a zippy freshness. Totally raw and wild. Impossible to pin down and paradoxical.
Ultimately, this wine was indomitable. We paired it with a full-flavored Iranian stew (ghormeh-sabzi), then with vegetarian Indian curry. The wine went remarkably well with both, though I wouldn't say it 'paired' well. You could always taste the distinct flavors of the wine, and it didn't interfere with the food, but they didn't really enhance each other either. Essentially, even robust food flavors could not tame this cloudy, 'little-looking' red wine.
After all of this, I will not say that I am gagging to try this wine again, as I'm not really sure I love the flavor profile overall … but it did grow on me over the four days we had it open. And the wine was possibly even better on Day 4 than it was on Day 1. I would definitely be happy to try it again, though, as there is no doubt it would challenge palates, ideologies and spark conversation. This is a 'real' wine, with no pretense and oodles of individuality. — 9 years ago

"Odedi"

9.3

Delicious!

Deep ruby in color with a burgundy/ brick rim. What a gorgeous color.

Fruity on the nose with blackberries, black currants, cherries, sweet strawberries, oak, licorice, vanilla, leather, earth, spices, alcohol, pencil lead and lots of peppercorn. Very complex and inviting.

Full-bodied and elegant with medium acidity and long, beautiful legs.

Spicy on the palate with blackberries, currants, cherries, licorice, herb, toasted oak, vanilla, dirt, bell pepper, spices and peppercorn.

Long finish with firm, yet elegant, tannins and black pepper.

This is a great blend from one of the top wineries in Israel, in my opinion.

Complex and intriguing, well balanced, with great acidity, that makes it interesting. A Great mouth feel with spiciness and oomph.
I had this vintage a year ago, and it dramatically improved. Needs at least 90 minutes to open up, so please take your time.

A blend of mostly Cabernet Sauvignon, with some Syrah and Merlot. Aged for 24 months in French oak barrels (all different sizes).

Thank you, Aaron, for sharing this delicious wine with me.

15.7% alcohol by volume. — 8 years ago

Dorit Handrus

9.1

Anyone got any amphorae lying around?...@Pedro Ribeiro perhaps? — 8 years ago

with Jason and Jesse

Gadi Karpel

9.1

91/100
Vintage 2006 — 8 years ago

Craig Haarmeyer

9.1

Helped bottle this today. Pretty nice: head trained mountain fruit fermented in amphorae, much skin contact. Pretty. — 9 years ago

Caitlin Hettinga

9.6

Fermented and aged in terra cotta amphorae. Delicate, interesting & delicious — 9 years ago

Henrik S Wilberg

8.9

Morei vineyard, macerated in amphorae. — 9 years ago

Deborah Heath

9.6

Vino Tomac Amfora 2008. Skin contact, fermented in amphorae/qvevri imported to Croatia from Georgia. Chardonnay + native grape field blend. Sultry, spicy, seductively oxidative. — 10 years ago