Galil Mountain, Meron, 2006 (K) 
 16.07.2009 
 By: Daniel Rogov

It is not often that I bother to post about a single wine but the just released 2006 Meron of Galil Mountain most definitely earns a special post. That Galil Mountain has provided some fine wines, many at prices that represent excellent value for money is unquestioned. With Meron joining the winery's top of the line Yiron series, all that can be said is that winemaker Micha Vaadia continues to do very nicely indeed.

Best
Rogov

Galil Mountain, Meron, 2006: The term chutzpah in Hebrew is always taken as negative but in Yiddish can have quite positive meanings. It is thus in the Yiddish sense that I observe that winemaker Micha Vaadia indeed is showing chutzpah, for this is the first time I have ever encountered a blend of Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. At first thought that might seem an odd combination of the Rhone and Bordeaux but on reflection and after tasting the wine, it is most surely neither of those but a uniquely Israeli combination and one that works very well at that. This full-bodied, softly tannic blend of 78% Syrah and 11% each of Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot most assuredly represents the terroir of the Upper Galilee. An aromatic wine, with a distinctly blueberry scented nose, opens nicely in the glass to reveal a rich array of aromas and flavors, those including blackberries, cassis, cranberries and freshly snipped rosemary and thyme, those yielding on the generous finish to hints of what at one moment seems to be spearmint at another eucalyptus. Long and generous, reflecting its 16 months in French oak with a tantalizing note of white pepper. Fully enjoyable now but best from mid-2010-2015, perhaps longer. Score 92. K

P.S. I believe the wine is going for NIS 99 per bottle and at the price, excellent value for money.