By cork
A day of atonement is an acknowledgment of human frailty and an accounting of one’s sins towards others. Through this act of recognition and seeking of forgiveness for those transgressions, a person mends their relationship with God and achieves a higher state of nobility.
There is perhaps no more aptly named wine from Israel than the FLAM Noble. With extraordinary depth and preponderance of philosophical character, the 2010 bottling is a lush and silky but intense blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petit Verdot, 5% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc harvested from estate-held plots in the upper Galilee and Jerusalem mountains. The tannins of the wine are the star here—gripping and immensely powerful—but never overpowering because of the wine’s superb balance and structure and elongated finish. Amidst the notes of violets, blackberries and cassis that are never reticent, there is a persistence of mocha on the palate. The boldness and forwardness of dark fruit is endlessly engaging, drawing inspiration equally from the heart and mind. Stoicism is called for here, in a time of ritualistic self-evaluation, in a time of accounting for sin. And what emerges from this life-affirming seeking of atonement is a whole new kind of beauty: bold, and noble. –J.M.
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