Flam Winery: My Annual Visit With Tasting Notes 

 21.03.2009 

 By: Daniel Rogov

On Wednesday, 18 March), I visited the Flam winery for barrel tastings, re-tastings and advance tastings.. The winery, a distinctly family affair with Golan Flam as the winemaker continues to produce wines of elegance, some of those with a distinct combination of Tuscan and Mediterranean influences. Currently producing about 100,000 bottles annually, the top of the line series contains the Reserve wines, those followed by Superiore and Classico, the first two age-worthy and the third primarily for drinking in its youth. The winery continues to earn its place as one of the very best in Israel.]

My thanks to Golan, Gilad and Israel Flam for a fine tasting, their courtesies during my visit and their good company. Today, in my own tasting room, I re-tasted several of these and other Flam wines blind.

Best
Rogov

Flam, Classico, 2008 (Barrel Tasting): A blend of equal parts of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, oak aged in American oak for 6 months. Dark royal purple in color, opens to show light notes of toasty wood that complement appealing cherry, berry and currant fruits. Soft, round and generous with just enough complexity to catch our attention. Drink now-2011. Score 89. (Tasted 18 Mar 2009)

Flam Classico, 2007: A gently oak-aged blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, showing light hints of tobacco, chocolate and spicy cedar wood to highlight currant, blackberry and black cherry fruits. Medium- to full-bodied, with soft tannins throughout and on the long finish a hint of Mediterranean herbs. Drink now-2010. NIS 79. Score 89. (Re-tasted 18 Mar 2009)

Flam, Syrah, Reserve, 2008 (Barrel Tasting): Developing primarily in older oak, showing deep garnet in color, full-bodied, with generously mouth-coating tannins waiting to settle down. Already showing a fruit forward nose and opening to reveal plum and wild berry fruits along with notes of saddle leather and mocha. Promises elegance. Best 2011-2016. Tentative Score 91-93. (Tasted 18 Mar 2009)

Flam, Petit Verdot, 2008 (Barrel Tasting): Almost impenetrably dark garnet in color, full-bodied and firm with both intensity and concentration. Developing in 3 year old oak, still tight tannins here but with enviable balance and structure that bode well for the future. On the nose and palate currant blueberries and blackberries, those matched by a light oily note and generous acidity. Probably destined as a blending agent but if released as a varietal destined to be a beauty. Best starting in 2011. Tentative Score 91-93. (Tasted 18 Mar 2009)

Flam, Sauvignon Blanc-Chardonnay, 2008: As it is every year, an unoaked blend, this year of 80% Sauvignon Blanc and 20% Chardonnay. Crisply fresh and aromatic, showing tropical and citrus fruits along with citrus flowers and flinty minerals. Fine balance here between fruits and acidity to make the wine both lively and fascinating. Drink now or in the next year or so. NIS 70. Score 90. (Tasted 18 Mar 2009)

Flam, Superiore, 2007: Dark ruby towards garnet, medium- to full-bodied, with gently mouth-coating tannins, a blend of 72% Syrah and 28% Cabernet Sauvignon. Aromatic, with black fruits and a note of leather on the nose, opens to reveal blackberry, currant and vanilla notes. Soft, round and comfortably elegant. Drink now-2012. NIS 100. Score 91. (Tasted 18 Mar 2009)

Flam, Merlot, Reserve, 2008 (Barrel Tasting): Intensely dark garnet, opening with a generous floral and minty notes on the nose and then opening to reveal currant, wild berry and black cherry fruits all on a lightly spicy veggie note. Best from 2011. Tentative Score 91-93. (Tasted 18 Mar 2009)

Flam, Merlot, Reserve, 2007 (Barrel Tasting); A tentative blend of 92% Merlot and 4% each of Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. Dark, full-bodied and with still gripping tannins starting to settle in nicely. On the nose and palage appealing blackberry, blueberry and bittersweet chocolate. As at an earlier tasting, a hint of cherry liqueur on the finish. Best from 2011. Tentative Score 90-92. (Re-tasted 18 Mar 2009)

Flam, Merlot, Reserve, 2006: My earlier tasting notes hold firmly. Dark garnet, a full-bodied blend of 86% Merlot and 14% Petit Verdot reflecting generous but not-at-all exaggerated oak aging with still firm tannins and notes of vanilla and spices. On first attack black fruits, those opening to reveal raspberries and blueberries, those on a background of mocha and sweet-cedar. Give this one time and it will show fine balance between tannins, wood and fruits. Has the structure for aging. Approachable now but best 2010-2015. NIS 149. Score 92. (Re-tasted 18 Mar 2009)

Flam, Cabernet Sauvignon, Reserve, 2008 (Barrel Tasting): Potentially the best ever from a fine winery. Intensely dark garnet, full-bodied, with silky soft tannins, showing a rich nose of spring and citrus flowers, opening in the glass to revel in traditional Cabernet currant and blackberry fruits. Give the wine a few more moments and it unfolds to reveal notes of spiced plums and a tantalizing hint of garrigue. Best from 2012. Tentative Score 93-95. (Tasted 18 Mar 2009)

Flam, Cabernet Sauvignon, Reserve, 2006: Oak aged for about 16 months, a full-bodied, gently tannic and concentrated blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot. Dark, almost impenetrable garnet, with soft, near-sweet tannins and notes of spicy wood, opens with a mélange of black cherry, blackberry and currant notes, opens to reveal hints of red berries and brown spices. Long, broad and elegant. Approachable now but will show its elegance best from 2011-2015. Score 92. (Re-tasted 18 Mar 2009)

And just for the fun of it, to test predicted drinking windows, the Chardonnay-Sauvignon Blanc of 2004. My earliest and this tasting note follow.

Flam, Chardonnay-Sauvignon Blanc, 2004: The first white wine from Flam. Unoaked and retaining the fresh and unalloyed aromatic flavors of both varieties (70% Chardonnay, 30% Sauvignon Blanc), this crisply dry, medium-bodied wine shows delicious citrus, pear and summer fruit aromas and flavors, those with tempting overlays of melon, herbs and flowers. Harmonious and expressive. Drink now–2007. Score 90. (Tasted 11 Jan 2006)

Flam, Chardonnay-Sauvignon Blanc, 2004: Outliving its original promise but in an odd way, having taken on what both the French and Italians call a note of rancio – that is to say, hints, but not at all unpleasant hints of having been fortified and somewhat oxidized. Although no oak and no fortification were used in making this wine, it has gone to the deep golden color and buttery texture one expects of a well-oaked white, and with that subdued summer fruits, notes of sur-ripe green melon and a distinct herbal note. Fully mature but in its way still delicious. No matter what, though, not for further cellaring. Drink in the quite near future. Score 90. (Re-tasted 18 Mar 2009)