I visited Yai'r Margalit at his winery in Hadera there to do advance and barrel tastings and re-tastings of the 2004 and 2005 wines. What is eminently clear is that Ya'ir and Assaf Margalit continue to produce some of the best and most interesting wines in the country and, as with several of the other better wineries of the country, both 2004 and 2005 promise to be excellent years, 2005 perhaps being a bit more elegant but both with the potential for being cellar worthy.

What also remains eminently clear is that the Margalits realize one thing that many of the small wineries have not yet come to understand - Make 20,000 bottles of excellent wine and you won't have to sell them because people will simply come to your door almost pleading to buy them. Make 50,000 or more bottles and by heaven, you'll have to double or triple your staff, your equipment investment will increase three- to four-fold and you'll have to make a concentrated effort, no matter how good your wines, to sell them.

Following are my tasting notes from the day's visit.

Best,
Rogov

Barrel Tastings:

Margalit, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2005 (Barrel Tasting): Medium- to full-bodied, a good blend between density and complexity, this rich and generous wine offers up currant, plum and berry fruits, those matched by appealing earthy-hebal overtones. Soft tannins and a hint of spicy oak here and, on the finish a generous hint of blueberries. Best from 2009-2015. Tentative Score 91-93. (Tasted 14 Dec 2005)

Margalit, Enigma, 2005 (Barrel Tasting): On the way to becoming Margalit's flagship wine, this oak-aged blend Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot (60%, 22% and 18% respectively) shows ripe and intense medium- to full-body with cassis, violet and black cherry aromas and flavors matched by soft tannins. On the long finish look for well integrated oak and hints of chocolate. Best 2008-2014. Tentative Score 92-94. (Tasted 14 Dec 2005)

Margalit, Special Reserve, 2005 (Barrel Tasting): Full-bodied and intensely concentrated, this powerful and muscular blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon and 18% Petite Sirah needs time for its elements to come together but the balance and structure are definitely here. Dark and almost searingly tannic at this time but already revealing the plum, berry, coffee and tobacco aromas and flavors that are going to make this a forever intense and complex wine. Not destined for elegance but surely destined for excellence. Best 2009-2015. Tentative Score 91-93. (Tasted 14 Dec 2005)

Advance Tastings:

Margalit, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2004 (Advance Tasting): Dark garnet towards royal purple in color and with orange reflections, this well-balanced, medium- to full-bodied wine is showing generous currant and berry fruits, those matched nicely by spicy wood, dark chocolate and espresso coffee. Long and luxurious but needs time. Best 2008-2012, perhaps longer. Score 92. (Tasted 14 Dec 2005)

Margalit, Cabernet Franc, 2004 (Advance Tasting): Deeply fragrant, this full-bodied wine was blended with 10% of Cabernet Sauvignon. Silky smooth tannins, black and red fruits, hints of tobacco and chocolate come together on the long, mouthfilling finish with an appealing hint of freshly turned earth. Score 91. (Tasted 14 Dec 2005)

Margalit, Enigma, 2004 (Advance Tasting): The second year that Margalit has released this blended wine, this year of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% each of Cabernet Franc and Merlot, and it is clear that the wine is on the way to becoming the top wine of this boutique winery. A Bordeaux blend indeed but with the clear Margalit signature, with generous but near-sweet soft tannins and a moderate hand with the wood, and even now showing dark purple plum and currant fruits, those matched nicely by spices and a hint of red licorice that creeps in on the long finish. Margalit says it nicely when he describes the elements as "right now being just good friends but not yet married". The wine will attain its elegance and be best from 2007-2012, perhaps longer. Score 93. (Tasted 14 Dec 2005)

Margalit, Special Reserve, 2004 (Advance Tasting): A truly limited edition, of only 600 bottles (and those available only by direct sale from the winery), this now traditional full-bodied blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Petite Sirah shows excellent balance between tannins that are now integrating nicely, hints of sweet oak and generous but happily subdued blackcurrant, plum and chocolate aromas and flavors. Best from release-2012. Score 91. l (Re-tasted 14 Dec 2005)

Re-tasted in my own tasting room:

Margalit, Enigma, 2003: This was the first true Bordeaux blend released by the winery. Living fully up to its earlier promise the blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot and 12% of Cabernet Franc is now showing remarkably rich, ripe and polished, round and approachable and with a complex array of currant, plum and wild berry aromas and flavors, those well focused and long and matched by a gentle spiciness that runs through to the long finish. Drink now–2010. Score 92. (Re-tasted 14 Dec 2005)

Margalit, Cabernet Franc, 2003: My earlier tasting note hold firmly: Almost impenetrable deep purple in color, full-bodied, with excellent balance between soft, almost luxurious tannins and a tempting array of dark plum, wild berry and herbal aromas and flavors. Oak-aged, with the addition of 10% of Cabernet Sauvignon, the wine is mouthfilling and long, showing a tantalizing hint of mint on the finish. Drink now–2010. Score 90. (Re-tasted 14 Dec 2005)