92 Points - WineMag
Varietal: 100% Merlot
Appellation: Galilee, Israel
Winemakers Notes: The 2016 Yarden Merlot displays an aromatic mix of cherry, raspberry and blackberry fruit notes, with nuances of orange blossom, spice and cocoa. Full-bodied yet elegantly drinkable, this Merlot presents a lingering and tasty finish. Though enjoyable upon release, the 2016 Yarden Merlot will develop in the bottle in the coming years, and remain in excellent drinking condition for up to a decade from harvest.
The Vintage: The early, wet winter preceding the 2016 harvest was followed by a warmish spring. While it looked like we were heading for an early vintage, the cool months of June and July led to the harvest starting about one week later than normal. The remainder of the season continued on the cool side. A wonderful feature of this growing period was a distinct lack of extreme weather, either hot or cold. The result was beautiful ripening, with harvest finishing exactly on time at the end of October. All in all, this was a great season with great wines. The 2016 Yarden Merlot was produced from fruit harvested from vineyards in the central and northern Golan Heights, and one vineyard in the Upper Galilee.