Shvo
Vineyards, Upper Galilee
Part 1 of a series on the wines of Israel
Gaby Sadan
Gaby Sedan has owned this small vineyard
in the Upper Galilee since 2007. Previously he’d been winemaker at
Golan Heights, and then the founding winemaker at the associated
Galil Mountain Winery. His first vintage here was 2009, a small
vintage, with 2010 and 2011 growing in volume, although because of
the low yields (30 hl/ha), there’s not a lot of wine.
The Shvo vineyard is almost 10 hectares, and
currently around 8 of these are in production. The varieties grown
include Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Syrah, Grenache, Barbera and
Mourvèdre. He works sustainably with no herbicides, and uses
compost. Altitude here is around 800 metres, which moderates the
temperature.
The
Grenache and Mourvèdre are grown as bush vines, and when I visited
they were looking quite beautiful. The wines are made in a
functional and non-glamorous facility that Gaby has rented in the
village of Gush Halav (aka Jish), which is an Arab/Christian
village.
Gaby
is a talented, visionary winemaker, and a hipster cool dude to boot.
I love his wines and I really like what he's doing with his
vineyards.
THE
WINES
Shvo Vineyards Rosé 2011 Upper
Galilee, Israel 95% Barbera, 5% Grenache. Really nice wine-like rosé that
reminds winemaker Gaby Sedan of pink Champagne in character. It's
directly pressed with indigenous yeast fermentation at a relatively
high temperature (18-20 C). 9 months sur lie in tank. Lovely citrus
and mineral characters. Fresh and fine with just a hint of cherry
fruit. Crisp, taut and quite serious. 90/100
Shvo Sauvignon Blanc 2011 Upper
Galilee, Israel hand harvested, whole-cluster pressed, natural acidity. The wine
is settled overnight, so the juice isn’t too clean. Two thirds is
fermented in old 400 litre barrels, the rest in tanks. Wild yeast
ferment. Very fine, mellow, textured and yet fresh, with a creamy
edge to the pear, peach and citrus fruit. Fresh and expressive but
not showy with richness and depth. ‘I’m a big mid-palate
person,’ says Gaby, ‘I don’t like wines that are hollow even
if they are aromatic’. 91/100
Shvo Chenin Blanc 2010 Upper Galilee,
Israel
Gaby Sadan’s vineyard is amazing, and if this is what he can do in
the very hot 2010 vintage, I’m looking forward to seeing his
2011s. It shows real Chenin personality, with a hint of mineral
reduction and flavours of apples, pears, spice and herbs. There’s
a bit of acidic bite, too. 93/100
Shvo Red 2010 Upper Galilee, Israel This is not a GSM, but a BGSM – a Barbera, Grenache, Syrah,
Mourvèdre blend. It’s sweetly aromatic, fine and spicy with
supple, elegant berry fruits, and some floral cherry notes. For a
ripe year, it’s lovely and quite fresh. 92/100
