Domaine du Castel

Domaine du Castel
Moshav Ramat Raziel
Haute Judee
Israel 90974
Phone: 972-2-5342249
http://www.castel.co.il

Contact: Eli Ben Zaken
Email: [email protected]

We planted our vineyards with high quality in mind. The vineyards are at an average altitude of 700m. Most of them are on slopes facing north and some in deep valleys facing northwest where the hours of sunshine are shorter. As our hills are the first facing the Mediterranean Sea we enjoy an excellent summer breeze even on the hottest days and in winter above average precipitation (usually 700mm). Most winters we get some snow but rarely heavy falls.

Prof. Amos Hadas, soil scientist and viticulturist, places our vineyards, microclimate wise much further north than their actual location.

The soil is terra rossa, clay and limestone with lots of stones and benefits from good drainage, especially as all the vineyards are on sloping ground. It is an ideal "wine country" soil, very similar to some of the best vineyards in the world.

In the summer, our average daily temperatures are much lower than usual for our latitude and the prevailing winds are northwesterly. The nights are damp and cool and the days are very dry (35% average relative humidity), which is excellent for mold prevention. The temperature difference between day and night averages at 10 degrees centigrade and can be as much as 16 degrees centigrade during the months of ripening. This is especially suitable to achieve good acidity and phenolic maturity.

Winemaker: Ariel Ben Zaken

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