2017 Yarden Golan Height Viognier

Is Israel a wine country? Certainly, and for a long time. Thousands of ancient wine presses have been found. The oldest is estimated to be over 6500 years old. So yes, Israel is actually a very old wine country. But on the other hand, it has only been since 1880 that investment has been made again in viticulture, thanks to Baron Edmond de Rothschild (Lafite). So if you look at it that way, Israel might just be one of the New Winelands. Although Israel originally has a warm climate, the vineyards of this winery are still classified as 'cool climate' due to the high location. This, in combination with the volcanic subsoil, makes their wines among the best in the world. The most famous wine guide on Israeli wines, Rogov, gives Golan Heights Winery 5 stars and writes: “From the moment they produced their first wines in 1984, there is no doubt that Golan Heights Winery has placed Israel on the world wine list. They are the quality leader in the country. The chief winemaker, Victor Schoenfeld, knows well what he is doing. He was educated in California, France and Australia and combines old and new world style”. The Yarden wines are the figurehead of the winery. Here the most beautiful grapes from the best vineyards come together. The name refers to the Jordan River (Yarden in Hebrew), which separates the Golan Heights from Galilee.

This Yarden Viognier is incomparable with the French Viognier. The plateau and the special terroir give this aromatic dry white wine a very pleasant freshness that is sometimes missing in the southern French versions. Of the Viognier grapes, 1/3 was aged in stainless steel and the rest in new French oak. It originates from Odem Vineyard, 4000 feet above sea level. The wine is relatively full bodied for a Viognier - not ethereal here, light white. It is also quite aromatic and can improve with some years of bottle aging. The fragrance has aromas of nuts, fresh peaches, apricots and flowers. You can hardly wait to take a sip of Yarden Viognier. Rich and full of flavour. Nuances of yellow fruit and spices, but also fresh stone fruit. A sublime wine.