Let's talk little, let's talk wine
Les raisins proviennent de vignobles situés au centre et au nord des Hauteurs du Golan, dans l’aire viticole de Galilée. Installées sur un plateau volcanique parmi les plus frais d’Israël, les vignes évoluent entre 400 et 1 000 mètres d’altitude, sur des sols basaltiques, avec des hivers parfois neigeux et de fortes amplitudes thermiques favorisant une maturation lente.
La récolte est menée sur une période relativement courte et s’achève vers la mi-octobre. Le vin est élaboré selon une vinification traditionnelle, puis élevé durant 18 mois en fûts de chêne français, afin d’affiner sa structure et d’apporter profondeur et complexité à l’expression du cépage.
Ce vin dévoile des notes de mûre, cassis, myrtille, fruits rouges mûrs, violette, viande fumée, terre humide, chocolat noir, poivre noir, épices douces, graphite et bois toasté. La bouche, ample et concentrée, s’appuie sur des tanins mûrs, une fraîcheur bien intégrée et une texture veloutée ; la finale, longue et persistante, prolonge les accents fumés, épicés et minéraux.
Where are we traveling?
Golan Heights
The Golan Heights lie in north-eastern Israel, forming a basalt plateau that rises sharply above the Jordan Valley and the Sea of Galilee, on the border with Syria and Lebanon, in a landscape of windswept volcanic hills dotted with ancient archaeological remains. The vineyards spread between 400 and 1,200 metres above sea level, mainly in the Katzrin area in the centre and Odem in the north, on soils of black basalt, volcanic tuff and terra rossa, a legacy of the intense volcanic activity that shaped this plateau millions of years ago. Winegrowing here dates back to Antiquity — rock-cut wine presses from the Byzantine era bear witness to an ancient winemaking tradition — but modern viticulture only truly began in 1983, when a group of investors founded Golan Heights Winery with the help of Californian consultants from UC Davis, who saw in the altitude and climate of the plateau an exceptional and entirely untapped potential. Within a few years, this bold gamble transformed the perception of Israeli wine as a whole, moving it from a small production intended mainly for religious use to wines recognised on the international stage. The climate is high-altitude Mediterranean, markedly cooler than the rest of Israel, with harsh winters bringing snow to the heights of Mount Hermon, summers that are hot but tempered by altitude and cool winds from the peaks, and spectacular day-night temperature swings that give the grapes a freshness and aromatic complexity the Israeli coastal plains cannot offer. The Golan Heights have become Israel's most prestigious wine region thanks to their deep, structured Cabernet Sauvignon, their silky Merlot with notes of black fruit and garrigue, their spicy, wild Syrah and an increasingly convincing range of whites based on Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Viognier, championed by a handful of pioneering estates that have shown this volcanic plateau, perched between sky and desert, can rival the most renowned terroirs of the Mediterranean basin.
The little history of the country
Israël
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.