Segal's Merlot Special Reserve 2009 750ml

Winery: Segal's

Varietal: Merlot

With its dark blue colored fruits and high juice content, Merlot varietal grapes have long been a favorite of wine producers around the globe, with it being found in vineyards across Europe, the Americas and elsewhere in the New World. One of the distinguishing features of Merlot grapes is the fact that they have a relatively low tannin content and an exceptionally soft and fleshy character, meaning they are capable of producing incredibly rounded and mellow wines. This mellowness is balanced with plenty of flavor, however, and has made Merlot grapes the varietal of choice for softening other, more astringent and tannin-heavy wines, often resulting in truly exceptional produce. Merlot is regarded as one of the key 'Bordeaux' varietals for precisely this reason; when combined with the drier Cabernet Sauvignon, it is capable of blending beautifully to produce some of the finest wines available in the world.

Country: Israel

Israel has long been a country associated with wines, with plenty of historical evidence pointing out the significance of wines in biblical times and most likely even before then. Of course, when the country was under Islamic rule, many of the vineyards were destroyed and wine production ceased completely, but today Israel enjoys a thriving wine industry and is frequently recognized as a producer of fine wines which have a growing global audience, helped by the fact that most wines of the country are made with kosher certification. Israel enjoys a Mediterranean climate, and has plenty of mineral rich soil on which to grow vines. There are several micro climates across the country, formed by the geographical features of the land, and wineries have had a long and successful relationship with the imported French grape varietals which flourish there.