Sauvignon Blanc Review
2012 Bat Shlomo Vineyards Israel
Batherine Fallis, July 2014
In this Sauvignon Blanc review, by Resident Master Sommelier, Catherine Fallis of Planet Grape, we explore a very old, but perhaps less familiar wine region – Israel – with the ’12 Bat Shlomo Vineyards…
Baron Edmond de Rothschild established the village known as Bat Shlomo, or “Salomon’s Daughter,” in honor of his mother Betty Salomon von Rothschild, just above Israel’s Dalia Valley on the southern slopes of Mount Carmel. It was settled by Jewish pioneers in 1889. The Baron brought in France’s top wine experts to school them in the art of growing grapes and making wine. Today, local high tech entrepreneur Elie Wurtman, who stumbled upon the vineyard by accident, is replanting it and creating a winery. He spent six years in Napa Valley, and is sharing techniques learned there including the use of an egg-shaped tank.
The 2012 Bat Shlomo Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc Old Vines Israel $30 is soft and powdery with notes of lemon meringue pie, peach, apricot, yellow rose, marjoram and thyme. It is medium-bodied, fresh, and softly textured, with a long, lemony finish. The wine is both Kosher and Kosher Lemehadrin for Passover, but is not Meshuval (boiled or flash-pasteurized).