Posted at 17:15h in Wine industry, Wineries by 0 Comments
It’s quite possible that Domaine du Castel makes THE best wine from Israel. Unquestionably, they make some of the best wine in the world. I first encountered the wines of Castel only last year, when I was asked to write a story on them for ISRAEL21c, which you can read here. While there, I tasted an immense array of wines and I have to admit that my best wine experience ever was tasting their Grand Vin at that tasting and at a press event with Eli Ben-Zaken a few months later.
It was with great excitement that I returned to Ramat Raziel, in the Jerusalem Hills, earlier this month. While I didn’t get the chance to talk to Eli this time, as I was with some people who were not familiar with Castel, it was a great opportunity to show off the great world-class wines from Israel. My fear, however, is that they will be viewed as a lesser-quality due to the “kosher” status that they acquired since 2003 (having no affect on the wine, if anything they have only gotten better with time).
Domaine du Castel’s Grand Vin and “C” is listed within Huge Johnson’s list of best 200 wines around the world. The winery is listed in Bettane & Desseauve’s list of the world’s greatest wines – one of the few wines not made in France that are included.
While at Castel, I tasted the 2006 barrel blend of the Grand Vin. I am excited to see what will develop from this wine. I also had the 2005 Grand Vin and “C” Chardonnay Blend, which were excellent even though they weren’t served under ideal conditions (as they had not intended on serving them, and this was a last minute addition since I was with industry people not familiar with the winery).
Domaine du Castel sits on a gorgeous estate, without the unnecessary frills at Chateau Golan, where everyone is focused on the wine. The winemaker Ariel Ben-Zaken, son of Eli, was trained in France, and Eli is well traveled in Europe and lived in Western Europe in his youth. Yet this family-owned winery is making uniquely Israeli wines!
