92 Points, Gold Medal, "Exceptional" - World Wine Championships
Today's Heist returns to a perennial favorite producer of ours, Hagafen Cellars in Napa Valley. While Hagafen produces wonderful wines that are perfect at any time of year, a little known fact is that all of their wines also happen to be Kosher.
The 2007 Hagafen Estate Napa Valley Merlot is deep ruby in color. The nose shows plenty of fruit with plum, blackberry, and raspberry, along with notes of baking spice. The palate is bright and racy, with blackberry, mint and leather flavors combining in this medium bodied wine. This wine has Merlot’s typical dark fruit profile with plenty of refreshing acidity. It is extremely versatile, pairing well with your favorite dishes. Stock up today and enjoy this one through the Summer months! And don’t worry, if you have some left over, this one to age for several years with ease. Hagafen Cellars (along with a handful of producers around the world) shows that Kosher wine can hold their own with the finest wines of the world.
Vintage: 2007
Varietal: Merlot
Appellation: Napa Valley
Harvest Date: September 5th, 2007
Sugar: 23.8° Brix at harvest
Acid: 6.5g/L
PH: 3.69
Alcohol: 13.2%
95 Points
Aromas of wild berries, black fig and ripe dark fruits are intertwined with hints of fresh mountain herbs, mineral, leather, savory spices, and cigar box. On the palate, the rich fruit flavors of dark cherry, ripe plum, blackberry, red currants and cassis are layered with notes of wild sage, dark chocolate truffle, cinnamon, clove, and a kiss of oak.
94 Points
Opens up with an aromatic burst of black cherry jam, wild huckleberry, and a hint of crushed espresso bean. On the palate, the fruit is lush and primary, but it's the secondary notes—toasted nutmeg, dark chocolate truffle, and the signature 'Dry Creek Dust'—that provide a long, savory finish.