EVENTS AND NEWS

Golan Heights Winery Releases New Katzrin Wines

July 15, 2004

 

The Golan Heights Winery announces the release of Yarden Katzrin 2000 and Yarden Katzrin Chardonnay 2002, the flagship wines of the winery’s premier brand, Yarden. Both wines are expected to be available in the US market in July 2004.

Made only in exceptional years, Yarden Katzrin—a Bordeaux-style blend of 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, and 2% Cabernet Franc—was last produced in 1996. Shalom Blayer, CEO of the Golan Heights Winery, says that “Yarden Katzrin is the diamond in the crown of our wines, and expresses the culmination of what the winery can accomplish.” This gem, with a density and character that indicate long aging potential, has a total production of 1,000 cases and a suggested retail price of $85.00 per 750 ml bottle. Head winemaker Victor Schoenfeld Schoenfeld describes the wine as a rich blend of blackberries and cherries, layered with plum and oak and hints of spice, earth and tobacco.

Yarden Katzrin has only been made three times before: in 1990, 1993, and 1996. Victor Schoenfeld, head winemaker of the Golan Heights Winery, watched the progress of the 2000 season with caution. “We had an unusually hot July in the Golan in 2000, and my mood leading into the ripening season was not great,” says Schoenfeld. “Then suddenly the weather changed and we had beautifully mild and stable weather, which held out for almost three entire months, exactly long enough to pull in all of our fruit at its peak of maturity.” Schoenfeld’s luck didn’t end there: “Two days after we finished harvest, torrential rains hit the Golan,” he notes. “Nature smiled at us in 2000. As I sat tasting the new wines and looking outside at the pounding rain, all I could do was smile back.”

As a companion to Yarden Katzrin, the winery is releasing Yarden Katzrin Chardonnay 2002, which is produced in most years but was not made since 2000. Yarden Katzrin Chardonnay is 100% varietal with all the fruit coming from the Northern Golan Heights, the coolest area in Israel, from vineyards of up to 3,900 feet in elevation. This unique climate is not the only reason this wine is so rich and concentrated—Schoenfeld notes that “as our Chardonnay vineyards mature, the wines produced from them become even more potent and complex.”

The 2002 Yarden Katzrin Chardonnay is is a complex white wine, layering ripe pear, apple, and tropical fruit notes with nuances of flowers and minerals and hints of toasty oak and spice. The wine’s rich body leads into a long, satisfying finish. While excellent now, the 2002 Yarden Katzrin Chardonnay will continue to improve for a few years following the harvest and should drink well for up to a decade, if properly cellared. Total production was 2,300 cases, and suggested retail price is $30.00 per 750 ml bottle.

Besides individual bottle sales, the winery created distinctive packaging for their flagship wines. The two wines are available coupled together in a prestigious wooden box, and are also available separately in a special six-bottle case.

Yarden wines are distributed nationally through Yarden, Inc. For ordering information please contact Yarden, Inc. at (212) 605-0478.

 

Available for Download:   Golan Heights Winery Releases New Katzrin Wines ( Word-Format)

Contact

Golan Heights Winery
Yarden, Inc.
575 Madison Ave., Suite 1006
New York, NY 10022
Tel: 212-605-0478
Fax: 212-605-0479
Email: hhassin@aol.com

Visit their Website:
www.yardenwines.com

 

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