Palem Winery, Jerusalem Mountains/Palem Winery
Flem, the family winery from the Jerusalem mountains, is one of the oldest boutique wineries in Israel.
It is led by the brothers Golan and Gilad Flem.
Golan is the winemaker, Gilad is the executive manager.
The Flemish are a scion of the wine family.
Their father, Israel Flem, is one of the first winemakers in the modern wine industry in Israel and worked for many years at the Carmel wineries, when they were still called "Carmel Mizrahi".
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the basis of Flem's wine making is in the old world of wine, with considerable respect for the variety and its origin and relatively little intervention to affect the final result.
The most significant move that the people of Flem have been making in recent years is switching to grapes that all come from vineyards in the Jerusalem mountains, Givat Yeshayahu and Evan Sapir.
The youngest of the current tasting wines (from the 2022-2023 vintage) are already coming from there.
The older ones, the aging ones, come from the Upper Galilee.
Gradually the winery will switch to grapes that all come from the area where it is located.
Prepare for change.
Flem Winery/Flem Winery
Upon tasting, Palm wines are revealed to be one of the safest stocks in the industry.
Wines that are made with great sense and winemaking restraint, with great respect for the fruit factor and the characteristics of the variety, and with considerable restraint.
The presence of vineyards from the Jerusalem mountains is beginning to characterize a change in the flavors of the wines.
The comparison between two wines that are not included in the review but were also tasted - "Palem, Camelia 22" versus "Palem, Camelia 23" is very striking.
The first is no longer on the market and the second will be released in April and its tasting was actually a barrel tasting.
It's not that the latter is better than the former, it's just different, distinctly.
This means that in recent years we have seen more and more Palem wines that change their character.
All the wines are of high quality, not cheap, but provide clearly worthy value for money.
As always, "Palme Classico" is the most accessible of the wines, "Palme Noble" is the highest and most expensive of them and the "White Label" wine is a kind of departure.
It has refinement and softness and refuses to behave like a typical relatively expensive Israeli red.
White lovers?
Do not skip the mineral, sharp, dry and precise "Palme Sauvignon Blanc".
for life!
Carmel Winery
At this price, there aren't many wines that will provide better value
To the full article
Flem, Rosa 2023
sharp acidity.
Rose 2023 by Flem/Flem Winery
It's impossible without a few words about astringents:
73% Syrah, 14% Cabernet Sauvignon and 13% Carignan from vineyards in Givat Yeshayahu and Ibn Sapir in the Judea region.
Fermentation and residence for several weeks in stainless steel tanks.
Salmon pink color.
On the nose red fruit and flowers.
Light-medium body.
13% alcohol by volume.
Some?
115 shekels.
Best suited for:
chicken, cheeses, sandwiches, salads, pizza, picnic.
What the reviewer says:
lovely red fruit, very present but restrained, sharp acidity, good dryness, freshness and a mineral touch.
Value for money:
3/5 (not bad).
In five words:
sharp and dry local rosé at its best.
Palm, Sauvignon Blanc 2023
Citrus and flowers.
Sauvignon Blanc 2023 by Flem/Flem Winery
It's impossible without a few words about astringency:
93% Sauvignon Blanc and 7% Chardonnay from Givat Yeshayahu on the slopes of Yehuda.
12% of the wine is aged in 225-500 liter barrels for 2-4 years.
A slightly pale golden color.
Citrus and flowers in the nose.
Medium body.
12.5% alcohol by volume.
Some?
115 shekels.
Best suited for:
fish, seafood, pasta.
The critic's comment:
the fruit is very fresh, full of charm and restrained, but the tone here seems to be dictated by the excellent, refined and sharp acidity.
Pleasant minerality, dryness, cleanliness and precision.
Value for money:
3.5/5 (good).
In six words:
Sauvignon Blanc immediately in alle volley.
Flem, Yehuda Mountains, Classico 2022
Restrained work.
Yehuda Mountains, Classico 2022 of Flem/Flem Winery
It's impossible without a few words about astringency:
38% Merlot, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Petit Verdot, 6% Syrah, 4% Carignan and 4% Malbec from selected vineyards in the Judea area.
14 days of fermentation with the skins in tanks, for each variety separately and then 10 months in European oak barrels as a blend and another six months in the bottle.
A slightly dark red color.
Red fruit and spices on the nose.
Medium body.
14% alcohol by volume.
Some?
119 shekels.
Best suited for:
minute steak, grilled, steaks.
The reviewer's comment:
This is the workhorse of the Flem Winery since time immemorial.
The wine from which the most bottles are produced is of course also the most sold and the one that everyone knows.
Unlike the Sauvignon Blanc wine reviewed above, where the acidity is the principal, here it is the fruit, round and quite abundant, which is balanced by a good acidity.
The understated woodwork keeps this wine from being flattering, but this is without a doubt the bottle with the friendliest and most accessible user interface of Flam.
As such, it is excellently made.
Value for money:
4/5 (very good).
In five words:
one of the best local reds in the "up to 120" category.
Flem, Yehuda Mountains, White Label 2022
Another dimension of character.
Yehuda Mountains, White Label 2022 by Flem/Flem Winery
It's impossible without a few words about astringency:
69% Syrah, 17% Cabernet Franc and 14% Cabernet Sauvignon.
The Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes come from the Upper Galilee.
Cabernet Franc grapes from the Ibn Sapir vineyard.
12 months aging in French oak barrels (80% of them used and 20% new).
dark red color.
Red fruit and spices on the nose.
Medium body.
14.5% alcohol by volume.
Some?
165 shekels.
Best suited for:
lamb chops, lamb casseroles, steaks.
The reviewer's comment:
"White Label" is Golan Flam's version of the "winemaker's choice" genre - wines outside the box according to the winemaker's completely personal taste.
Flem's "winemaker's choice" takes you to the Mediterranean basin, with the boat that brings plenty of seasoning and a measure of elegant velvetiness as well as a relatively thin structure.
But the significant change in vintage 22 lies in the source of the Cabernet Franc grapes, which come for the first time from the winery's new vineyard in Evan Sapir in the Jerusalem mountains and add a touch of black pepper and forest fruit and a distinctly different dimension of character than wines coming from the vineyards of the Upper Galilee.
A refined, connoisseur wine, with high alcohol percentages but relatively light, full of nuances and with an especially high gastronomic factor.
Value for money:
3.5/5 (good. Not cheap but really good).
In nine words:
understated, elegant, full of nuances and very gastronomic.
A perfect food wine.
Palm, Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2021
A very expressive fruit.
Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2021 by Flem/Flem Winery
It's impossible without a few words about astringency:
85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Syrah and 5% Petit Verdot came from the Dishon and Ben Zamra vineyards in the Upper Galilee.
Fermentation with the peels.
12 months in French oak barrels, 40% of which are new and the rest one year old.
Deep red color slightly opaque.
On the nose red and purple fruit, spices.
full body.
14.5% alcohol by volume.
Some?
185 shekels.
Best suited for:
long-aged cuts of beef on the bone.
Casserole dishes.
What the reviewer says:
full body but not massive, powerfulness combined with restraint, expressive fruit balanced by sharp acidity, multi-layered and complex.
Cabernet Sauvignon "Old World" on Emet.
Value for money:
2.5/5 (real).
In five words:
"Old World" Cabernet Sauvignon at its best.
Flem, Nobel 2020
velvety.
Nobel 2020 of Flem/Flem Winery
It's impossible without a few words about astringency:
60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Syrah and 10% Petit Verdot came from the Upper Galilee (Dishon Vineyard and Ben Zamra Vineyard) and the Judean Mountains (Meta Vineyard and Givat Yeshayahu Vineyard).
16 months aging in oak barrels (70% new and 30% one year old) and another 16 months aging in the bottle.
A total of 32 months of limitation.
Deep dark red color, inclined to opaque.
On the nose red fruit and plenty of spices.
full body.
14.5% alcohol by volume.
Some?
380 shekels.
Best suited for:
elaborate meals based on beef and lamb.
What the reviewer says:
rich fruit, very refined, well balanced, velvety, elegant, complex.
This wine is very worthy of sipping already, but many years of aging are still ahead of it.
In two years it will be more open for sure.
Under proper storage conditions it can age for ten years.
As with any expensive flagship wine, the value for money coefficient of this wine is not relevant and therefore this section has been omitted from the review.
For wine lovers who invest in expensive wines of this type for long aging, it is definitely worthy.
In eight words:
buy (if you can afford it) and store it for a long time with patience.
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