Pacifica Washington Meritage

Pacifica Evans Collection Washington Meritage 2010: Just in time for Passover comes this kosher Bordeaux blend of 44% cabernet sauvignon, 39% merlot, 13% malbec, and 4% petit verdot, grown in the Pacific Northwest but processed by rabbis down at Herzog Wine Cellars in Oxnard, arguably the world’s epicenter of quality kosher wine.

With spice and plum fruit on the nose and a silky, even mouthfeel, this wine offers youthful pleasure but packs an older sort of wisdom as well, as if the spiritually trained hands had imparted some ancient knowledge into the bottle. Altogether, vintner Phil Jones — who also produces other kosher Goose Bay wines from New Zealand — is showing that wine for the Holy Days needn’t be sweet and syrupy.

See spencerhillwine.com and pacificawines.com.