Each year since 2007, the prestigious magazine the Wine Advocate has been tasting and reviewing wines from Israel. Robert Parker, the owner of the Wine Advocate, is the leading and most influential wine critic in the world. Mark Squires, one of Parker’s wine tasting team, is a renowned wine expert and is responsible for tasting wines from Israel.
Results from the most recent tasting by the internationally respected journal were announced in the last few days, and the Yatir Forest 2012 was awarded 92 points.
The Yatir Forest has been the most stable and consistent wine to have had such high acclamation from the prestigious wine magazine, emphasized by the fact that the brand has been awarded scores of 90 points and more over the past ten years, from the vintages of 2003 to 2012.
Yatir Forest is the flagship wine of Yatir Winery, and has become one of Israel’s top wines. The wine is produced from grapes coming from vineyard plots which generate the highest quality wines in the given year, with an emphasis on its rich aromas, flavors and aging potential.
The wine was produced from 62% Cabernet Sauvignon and 38% Petit Verdot. The blend composition varies from year to year depending on the nature of each vintage in to highlighted by the unique Yatir character of each vineyard on the slopes.
The winery's vineyards are planted in the heart of the Yatir Forest, on slopes rising to a height of up to 900 meters above sea level and is located minutes away from the winery. The grape varieties planted in this region enjoy ideal conditions for the cultivation of grapes for wine.
The grapes come from several plots in the vineyards of the Yatir Forest at heights ranging from 650 to 900 meters, generating the highest quality wines each given year.
The wine was aged for 14 months in French oak barrels, of which a third are new.
Following its bottling in February 2014, the wine was then matured in the bottle for a further eighteen months. Yatir Forest 2012 will continue to age well for at least another ten years.
Tasting Notes: The wine is characterized by its deep purplish hues, its fragrance, and the rich aromas and taste that combine intensity together with elegance and freshness.