Monday, October 15, 2007

Margalit Winery

The Margalit winery is my favorite Israeli winery since I started seriously drinking and storing wine - almost 10 years ago.
Unlike many medium to large Israeli wineries it has a very focused portfolio, solely of red wines. They own their vineyards which have been "trained" to rely only on mother nature - no irrigation at all. The small size and full control of the process allows a lot of effort dedicated to smallest details and ensures the highest quality. The results are consistently excellent.

Lately, I've spent a full working day helping with the manual labor at the winery during harvest. Throughly satisfying and interesting experience. This led to open one of their Cabernet Sauvignon bottles:

Margalit Cabernet Sauvignon 2001 - 92
Deep, dark color. Layers of aromas develop as the wine is opened: earth, tar, leather, black berries and rip, dark cherries along with a spicy background, mostly pepper. The tannins are still there but integrate very well with the wine. Long and tasty finish.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes I agree, Margalit produces some of the best wines in Israel.

The 2004 was an especially great year also 2001. Even 2005 isn't too bad.

The taste is to me uniquely Israeli - like the name "Margalit". There is a cheerful Sabralike character to this wine which has a sophisticated bouquet consisting of dark chocolate, berries and a lingering aftertaste that blossoms into the sky.

J.R.O. said...

I am traveling to Israel soon and would like to visit this winery, as well as write them and see if they accept volunteer help. It would be great to help out at this winery for a season, but first I need to contact them. Does anyone know their contact information? Thanks!

Sincerely,
Wine enthusiast

Yaron Zakai-Or said...

contact info for the Margalit Winery: marwine@netvision.net.il