BY:  Yonatan Sternberg

Founded in 2000 and situated in Israel’s Hefer Valley, the newly built Recanati winery is drawing grapes from some of the region’s finest vineyards. Until recently wine maker Lewis Pasco was in charge of Recanati’s production. Today Chief winemaker, Gil Shatsberg (formerly of Israel’s Amphorae and Carmel wineries), along with talented wine maker Ido Levinson, is at the helm.

A couple of moths ago, the Recanati Winery launched three new varietal red wines - Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Shiraz, all are from the 2008 harvest. It was interesting to sample these reds; particularly due to the fact that these were the first wines produced by Recanati's new team (Shatsberg & Levinson). All three wines were under their direct supervision from the harvest period through the bottling stage. Recanati's CEO, Mr. Noam Ya'acobi mentioned that "these wines represent a new era in the style of Recanati wines, producing wines that are not as alcoholic and powerful but rather more elegant and subtle". Out of the three, my favorite was the Recanati, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2008: medium to full bodied, the wine offers generous aromas of red & black berry fruits, plums, pepper, and thyme all leading to pleasant finish. The Shiraz was also very enjoyable and went well with a dish of spaghetti and lamb ragout. The wines are sold at around the NIS 55-59 mark, and I must say that at that price, they offer pretty good value for money.

Last week Recanati released two new wines as part of the winery's 'Special Reserve' series. The Special Reserve red blend is considered as the winery's flagship vino, with the 2005 winning several awards both in Israel and abroad. The Special Reserve Red 2006 consists of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon from the winery's vineyards in Kerem Ben Zimra and 18% Merlot from Kibbutz Manara. The wine is full bodied with rather firm tannins offering black berry fruit aromas, plums and cherries along with dark chocolate and fresh herbs all leading to a long and pleasant finish. If you decide to drink this wine in the near future, in my opinion, try decanting for an hour or so, or pour to a glass and allow the wine to aerate and develop.

This year, for the first time, Recanati also added a white blend to the series, the Special Reserve White 2008. A blend of Viognier, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, deep straw towards gold in color, the wine is showing generous aromas of apricots, white peaches and grapefruit followed by hints of spices and oak.

L'chaim!

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