A new wine store opened up in Beit Shemesh and I decided to take a visit. Most of the wines were standard, but one pleasant surprise was finding the 2016 Vitkin Gewürztraminer Collector’s Edition. Outside of the Rose and the Red Israeli Journey, Vitkin has been hard to find in any of the wine stores that I frequent regularly (I live in Beit Shemesh and work in Hertzlia) . So this was a treat.
The wine itself is grown in calcareous soil – part clay part sand – and IMHO the quality soil comes through in the final product. It clocks in at 13.5% alcohol.
On the nose grapefruit, melon and lemon and maybe ginger. In the mouth some tart red grapefruit, tropical fruit, and a little honeydew at the end followed by pith. Really nice acid holding it together too. The label says that the wine should further develop and with the acid core I tend to believe they are right. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if in time, as the acid slightly recedes, it developed into a rich plush wine. Would be interesting to see if presents slightly sweeter as it ages – which would also be very nice with there likely being enough acid to keep it balanced – or it stays as a true dry gewurtz just with more depth of flavor.
This might be my favorite current dry gewurtz! I will be stocking up to both enjoy now and see how it develops – rare for an Israeli gewurtz indeed!
Bottom Line:
- Price: NIS 75
- For Aging: Perhaps. Label says it can develop further – we shall see…
- Would I Buy Again: Yes
- QPR Rating: Average
- Taste/Depth/Quality: Very Good
- Overall Rating (1-5): 3.5-4 (depending on its to be seen ability to age)