The 2006 YATIR FOREST, aged for 16 months in French oak, is a little different in style than normal. Typically Cabernet Sauvignon dominated, the blend this year drops the Cabernet Sauvignon percentage dramatically to 50%, and substitutes 38% Petit Verdot, along with 12% Merlot. Winemaker Eran Goldwasser indicated that he was impressed with the Petit Verdot quality in this year. Not surprisingly, with the Petit Verdot component, it has a certain herbal note on the finish and it broods a bit more than the 2004 reviewed this issue, being a little less sweet, a little more austere. It has fine mid-palate depth and is beautifully structured, though, even if it takes a little longer to appreciate. The next day it is give-a-little, take-a-little. I appreciated the more harmonious demeanor of the wine, as it showed beautifully on the palate, while still retaining some intensity and proving it can age for a considerable time in the cellar. I liked the structure and balance more and more. The nose, however, had become stinky to a fault. As this seemed to blow off, I’m going to stick with my original impression, given the beautiful structure and depth on this wine and its ability otherwise to show brilliantly on Day 2, but this will be something to watch as time goes on. On the whole, I think this is a very fine performance with some considerable upside. In this report, two of the finest Israeli Bordeaux blends—this and Castel’s Grand Vin—are featured, and they have dramatically different styles, this being dense, focused and a little brooding; the Castel more elegant and silky. They are both very fine—pick ‘em. There were 27,040 bottles produced. Drink now-2020. Yatir is and has been for some time Carmel’s wholly-owned boutique in the Judean Hills. A hop, skip and a jump from the Negev, it has interesting terroir and has had exceptional results. It has become one of Israel’s better known and higher quality wineries. The first vintage released was the 2001. The question has always been whether ownership by giant Carmel, Israel’s dominant winery, would make the boutique aspect a thinly veiled guise for just another arm of Carmel’s operations. The good news there at the moment is that Carmel’s own quality levels have been rising. Releases like the Kayoumi and Appellation series provide a lot of bang for the buck. So, perhaps this will be a moot point. The Yatir Forest bottling is the top of the line proprietary blend here. From the rich and sexy 2003, which to my mind was the first real success here, to the graceful and elegant 2005, this bottling has changed in style at times, but it continues to provide high quality wines. The 2006 is the latest release, once again different stylistically, this time with a significant Petit Verdot component. Some library wines are included in this issue as historical reference points. Production has steadily risen on this top of the line bottling, hitting a still-reasonable 27,000 bottles in 2006. I am advised that production will be around 25,000 bottles for the 2007, and that will be roughly where production levels will be kept for this bottling. I did not have pricing as yet for the 2006 as of this writing. The price indicated is based on the last vintage received.Importer: Royal Wine Corp, Bayonne, N.J.; tel: (718) 534-0118.