The 2024 vintage is safely in the cellar

In numbers: 102 tons from eight grape varieties, harvested across 19 plots in nine different vineyards in the Upper Galilee. All the fermented wine is already resting in barrels and amphorae.

It was a challenging year that demanded mental and operational flexibility, collaboration, mutual support, and determination – a great deal of determination.

The winemaker plans, the viticulturist tries, and nature surprises.

It sounds better in Yiddish, I know.

Setting the harvest date – the attempt to predict the precise moment at which the grapes have ripened to the desired level – is one of the most consequential decisions affecting the character of the wine, which is precisely what makes it so important.

Nearly a generation ago, when we first began using Excel systematically, the weather was predictable enough. A winemaker could record two sampling dates, measure sugar accumulation, and forecast the harvest date with reasonable accuracy. Today, climate change – manifesting among other things in summer heatwaves of unpredictable timing – has turned harvest forecasting into more of a gamble than a considered scientific process. This year, the unpredictable factors of war were also added into the equation: unmanned aerial vehicles, drones, rockets and missiles, military closure of areas, and fear. These dictated harvest dates as much as grape ripeness did. And yet, there is a conclusion to be drawn: the Lahat Lavan leans toward the riper side, the Lahat Adom toward the lighter side, and the rest of the wines are more or less as planned.

New – Coming Soon: Rosé 2024

The first Lahat Lavan was made in 2012; Lahat Adom joined it in 2014. Since then, Laichter and Leibu, Roussanne and Syrah have all been added, forming two trilogies – one white, one red – each telling a complete story about growing grapes from Mediterranean varieties identified with the Rhône Valley, in the Upper Galilee. Now a rosé joins them – a connecting link between the two trilogies.

The Lahat rosé is composed of the winery's red varieties – Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre, with a small portion of Roussanne. This is a rosé I decided should be, first and foremost, a wine. That philosophy guided the production process: I selected the finest grapes, invested considerable thought and experience into optimizing the growing and winemaking, and the vinification closely mirrors that of the white wines – skin contact (extended), fermentation and aging in large barrels (500 liters).

The new rosé is designed for drinking alongside food and is intended to age well – at least as well as the white wines. At the time of writing, the wine is aging in barrel on the lees (sur lees), ahead of an expected bottling in June 2025.

Closing Thoughts and a Few Notes

The 2024 vintage brought with it many thoughts and emotions, which found expression in reflections I published mainly on Facebook. For those who are interested, this is my page (Hebrew).

The 2023 red wines will be bottled in January. Until then, I'll mention one final time the reds from the wonderful 2022 vintage – wines about which I wrote: "these are among the most balanced and complex wines ever produced under the Lahat red wine label." Today, nearly a year on, the wines have opened up and it can be said with confidence that they are living up to the high expectations I had for them.

Published: November 2024