Golan Heights Winery Yarden Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

This cuvée comes from selected vineyards on the Golan Heights, on the volcanic plateau of northern Israel. Part of the Galilee appellation, these high-altitude terroirs, among the coolest in the country, rise from 400 to 1,200 metres and enjoy wide day-night temperature swings. The volcanic soils contribute to the precision and depth of this Cabernet Sauvignon.

The grapes chosen for the Yarden range come from the estate’s best vineyards. After vinification, the wine is aged for 18 months in French oak barrels, a long spell in wood that brings depth, complexity and structure while preserving the expression of the fruit.

This wine reveals notes of blackcurrant, morello cherry, ripe plum, black fruit, damp earth, tobacco, dried herbs, sweet spices, dark chocolate, aniseed, cedar and roasted coffee. The palate is broad and concentrated, supported by balanced acidity and fine yet present tannins; the long, savoury finish extends the spicy and smoky accents.

A biblical land where vines have been grown for more than 5,000 years, Israel has enjoyed a spectacular wine renaissance since the 1980s, making it one of the most exciting discoveries in the wine world. Long confined to small-scale production of sweet wines for religious use, the country has transformed itself into a dynamic and ambitious wine scene, driven by winemakers trained at the world's leading oenology universities. Israel's vineyards spread across strikingly diverse terroirs, from the Golan Heights in the north to the Negev Desert in the south, by way of Galilee, Judea, Shomron and the coastal plain, each offering radically different climatic conditions and soils. The Golan Heights and Upper Galilee are the country's most prestigious regions, where altitude — between 400 and 1,200 metres — and basalt soils of volcanic origin provide a cool climate and ideal day-to-night temperature swings for producing deep, structured Cabernet Sauvignon, spicy Syrah and whites of remarkable freshness. It was here that Golan Heights Winery, founded in 1983 with the help of consultants from UC Davis, revolutionised the perception of Israeli wine and paved the way for a whole generation of outstanding estates. The Judean Hills, around Jerusalem, have become the country's other centre of quality, where terra rossa and limestone soils, at altitudes of 600 to 900 metres, produce concentrated, elegant reds, notably driven by estates such as Domaine du Castel and Tzora Vineyards. The coastal plain and Shomron, historic regions of Israeli viticulture, still play an important role in terms of volume, while the Negev, on the edge of the desert, is pushing back the boundaries of viticulture thanks to innovative irrigation techniques and high-altitude vineyards at Mitzpe Ramon and Arad. The climate is Mediterranean across most of the country, hot and dry in summer, but variations in altitude, latitude and proximity to the sea create a mosaic of microclimates ranging from decidedly cool in Upper Galilee to desert-like in the Negev. Bordeaux varieties — Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc — and Rhône varieties — Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Viognier — dominate plantings, alongside growing experimentation with Mediterranean varieties such as Carignan, Marselan and Petit Verdot, perfectly suited to the local climate. Israeli wines, still little known in Europe, regularly surprise in international tastings with their concentration, finesse and ageing potential, testament to a country where five millennia of winemaking tradition meet a bold, uninhibited modernity.