Freddy R. Troya

9.5

The Cave – Red Blend – 2020
Galilee, Israel 🇮🇱

Overview
A powerful Bordeaux-inspired blend composed of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, and 9% Petit Verdot, sourced from high-elevation vineyards in the Upper Galilee. Aged 24 months in French oak inside the historic Carmel Mountain cave, a naturally cool, humidity-stable cellar that shapes the wine’s depth and structure. Mevushal / Kosher for Passover.

Aromas & Flavors
Dark mulberries, black plum, and blackberry compote meet cedar, mahogany wood, espresso, and subtle graphite. The Petit Verdot adds an herbal-floral edge, giving the wine both muscle and nuance.

Mouthfeel
Full-bodied with firm, assertive tannins and a deep, wood-toned intensity. Concentrated, layered, and long, with an oaky spine that lingers on the finish.

Food Pairings
Braised lamb shoulder, smoky short ribs, aged Gouda, slow-roasted brisket, or charred portobello mushrooms.

Verdict
One of Israel’s most characterful red blends, bold, structured, and cellar-worthy. The interplay of fruit density, mineral tension, and pronounced oak makes this a standout Mevushal wine for those who appreciate power and polish. Cheers!

Did You Know?
The Cave winery ages its wines in a 250-year-old man-carved cave in Carmel Mountain, originally quarried in the 18th century and repurposed in the 19th century as a brandy cellar. Its natural insulation provides ideal conditions for long élevage, giving these wines their signature depth and aging potential. — 7 months ago

Joshua Fisher

9.4

the wine is identified.. can you identify the man? — 7 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.6

Man, this is really when these wine should be consumed... the unfortunate truth is that my willpower to hold these wines for 10 years post vintage is just about zero. Lucky for me I kind of forgot about some of these, enabling me to experience them at full maturity. This wine was built to kick ass. And that is exactly what it is doing tonight. Black fruit, tar, hedonistic black fruit from start to finish. Tannin that is resolving and integrating nicely. Wine is balanced amazingly well from front to back. The last one of these I opened was with @Shay A and doing well....but I think it has really come into prime! This one only took about 15 minutes of air to start expressing its maturity. I think the last bottle took about an hour. I would say this wine is just about as top of the Heap as it can get. DRINK NOW! — 8 years ago

Joe Lucca

9.3

Popped and poured for a quick toast to our man @Frank ‘s birthday. Love this Bordeaux blend with a new world slant. Drinking nicely. — 9 years ago

with Frank and ADAM

Sean Herriott

9.2

Yummy! California ripeness meets Burgundian minerality :-) — 9 years ago

.:;2):’kicndnebxhjd

9.5

The owner of my restaurant is just.. the man. gave me a glass of this and I'll be selling a lot more of these lol. This was exactly what I needed: a true Amarone. It's brown sugar meets juicy plums, figs, dried cherries. Plus toss in a the cinnamon, paprika, and allspice blend and you've got this beauty. It's really alive and holds its own. I think it has a few years left in it but it was definitely something special. The texture and aroma was not syrupy at all but had a pretty full body. This wine specifically just integrates well with anything meat. — 9 years ago

Matthew Cohen

9.7

Needs 90 minutes. Before then it’s really weird. Goes from a 7.0 to a 9.7 in 2 hours. Yes. It’s true.

Nose graphite explosion. Blackberry flower. Cherry flower.

Palate is silky blackberry. Man. That Forte elegance. Gorgeous shimmering mountain stream infused with blackberries.

As this opens more nose is gorgeous blackberry flower. Palate is Pete t blackberry flower. Hint of graphite.

Wow. So close to melo and anfiteatro.

This needs to be glass decanted. You get new weirdness from the beginning with each pour.

Internal@aromatics are wow! Blackberry liquor. Lilacs. Expansive. Delicious. Liquid silk made from flowers.

Finish is the most gorgeous elegant blackberry liquor. Hint of savoriness. Wow wow wow. Wine.

With more air intense lilacs and violets.

Fass selections. — 3 years ago

Tree Kilpatrick

9.1

Dark color. Like plums and blood. Nose is juice box and cherries in the sun. Flavor is extracted. Blueberries and black licorice. Herbaceous. Chewy. Plenty of zing for the zang. Kind of a açaí thing in it (meaning mountain blueberries meets bittersweet chocolate). Finish is clean and nicely tart. It’s muy fantastico Spanish red. — 6 years ago

Matt Perlman

9.1

Happy 4th! Signed by the man himself, Ben Smith, during a wonderful visit to the winery in Seattle some years ago. The wine has years to develop but ready to drink—gorgeous cherry, vanilla, cedar, figs, menthol and unsweetened cocoa — 7 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.6

I would love to serve this blind in a group of like year cabs from Napa that fetch 200+ per bottle. This wine is massive. Posted one year ago and mentioned this one didn't seem to be ready to go yet. Well, this one is CLOSER but still took a 2 day slow ox. Nose is black and blue fruit, gingerbread, licorice. The entry is similar to the nose with a crushed, gravelly note. Peppery finish. Man this one is SINGING at the 2 day mark. One left! — 8 years ago

Chris England

9.6

2️⃣0️⃣1️⃣3️⃣

🗞 Mayens got it wrong 🤣, Area51, Meteorite 💥, Boston 🏃‍♂️😢
🎵 Get Lucky, Roar, Mirrors
🎥 Frozen, Gravity, Man of Steel
🗣 Sell me this pen
🌍 7.1B

Intense £150 top year top Cakebread - 97-98 in time 👍

🍷 Opaque deep ruby

👃 Violet candy-floss, cedar, blackcurrant, blueberry & thick mocha w/ soft oak vanilla smoke

👄 Full bodied chewy ripe blackcurrant/berry w/ cocoa cream velvet dollops, caramel & palmaviolet

🎯 Long purple teeth gloopy teeth stain w/ mocha blackcurrant oomph wow 😍 — 8 years ago

Mike R

9.5

First off I am of simple mindedness / but focused - i try to drink three wines a night (white, then bord and then the BBB cabs) when I drink like my good friends in the WNH but sometimes it is only me and misses - now that is good on one way as I have more to delight my palette but upsetting in another way as I enjoy sharing the experience of wine with friends and family so much more

That said tonight I am trying to see if I start early enough and pair correctly with the food if we can experience the right tastes in a wine story setting

My story goes like this - once upon a time their was a man and wife who on a Friday night set a goal to enjoy the correct wines with their delicious homemade meal - the night has a delightful and surprising chard to start and after that we get down to business

What is business - a MAG of Robert Foley Howell MTN Cab - on the surface it is massive - in size and in color and in taste - but then the deep thoughts of this wine develops an inside story - the wine has such structure and complexity - the taste is lingering almost a full minute later - the experience is marvelous - the wine is inspiring me like the inspiration from a great movie - "Spartans! Ready your breakfast and eat hearty… For tonight, we dine in hell!”

Damn glad it is Friday - glad the herd exist and thank you my friends - glad I have this bad boy of a wine to enjoy - thinking about how I need to do this every night but wait then I would be spoiled - oh wait Rhonda said I already am - but I am not I tell you - I am just lustful for all the great wine I can drink

I finish by saying we will be smiling all night long (and drinking for a while since this is a MAG) — 9 years ago

Tree Kilpatrick

9.1

Hipster label. Elegant I guess. Very dark. Obsucro. Smells like mochas (coffee meets chocolate) sweet sweat, red berries and anise. Flavors of meats, soil, mountain huckleberries, and elderberry syrup. This is lovely, complex, dense stuff. Affordable too. Maybe Santa Lucia Highlands should focus on Syrah over Pinot Noir. — 5 years ago

Andy Hall

9.5

Last pull for Thanksgiving and man it did not disappoint. Hit all the notes I look for in a cab: big black fruit, balance, structure and layers of depth. — 6 years ago

Tobin Trevarthen

8.9

A nice pale yellow Chardonnay. No Malo. Crisp stainless steel meets used oak, yielded a very nice profile. — 7 years ago

Spike Duncan

9.0

A lovely, sweet taste! — 7 years ago

Bryce Wiatrak

9.1

Pretty good! Broad, vibrant acidity meets gratifying cranberry, raspberry flavor. Wilted sweet herbs. Lovely. — 8 years ago

Andrew Willingham

9.3

Man, what a treat this was. Thank you Ryan and team for sharing and pouring. My favorite wine of the night- pretty raspberry/ruby color. This wine is integrated and smooth. Acid, oak, fruit all work together to produce a complex, interesting, and highly drinkable wine. Only available for this vintage in magnum, grab some if you can! — 8 years ago

Alicia

9.7

I'm so happy I have another 4 or 5 bottles of this wine my cellar. Stupid good. Balanced, blackberries, pencil shavings, currents. It's going to hold for the long haul. Ted Edwards is the man! — 9 years ago

Jason Chang

Proprietor NINE SUNS Winery, HOUYI Vineyard

9.7

From the man who brought the delectable world Big Santa (@Martin G Rivard ), I'd like to introduce and thank @Lawrence Rozenberg (IG: winezmything). He forced me (at gunpoint) to infanticide this baby Outpost he graciously sent and man it's good. I don't normally rate young wine this high! Big structure but smooth and approachable. Rare combination. — 9 years ago

with Wai and Flora