2021 Recanati Winery Chardonnay, Upper Galilee, Israel 🇮🇱

Some Chardonnays are built around brightness.
Others are built around comfort.

The 2021 Recanati Winery Chardonnay feels like the kind of bottle that leans into the second lane — generous, softly oaked, and easy to settle into, but still balanced enough to keep the table engaged. Delicate tropical fruit aromas with caramel and hazelnut, leading into a full-bodied, harmonious palate with a long, smooth finish. It is refreshing and elegant, combining classic Chardonnay character with oak fragrance and a buttery texture, plus flavors of tropical fruits and white grapefruit.

The fruit comes from the Galilee on calcareous basalt soils at 600–850 meters elevation, and the wine is made with gentle inert pressing, low-temperature fermentation, and 8 months of combined aging sur lies in large French oak barrels and stainless-steel tanks. That explains why the wine sounds both rounded and fresh — there is enough oak and lees contact to build texture, but also enough stainless and altitude to keep the fruit clear.

What It Feels Like

Think roast chicken, creamy pasta, and a white that feels generous from the first sip without tipping into heaviness.

What makes this wine work is the balance between richer Chardonnay notes and brighter fruit. The tropical fruit, grapefruit, caramel, hazelnut, and buttery texture point toward breadth, but the winery’s own emphasis on freshness and purity of fruit helps keep it from feeling too broad. This is the kind of white that can please people who like a little oak and softness, while still feeling polished. 

In the Glass

Aromatics
Tropical fruit, citrus, stone fruit, caramel, hazelnut, and delicate oak fragrance.

Palate
Full-bodied and harmonious, with tropical fruit, white grapefruit, buttery texture, and a gently creamy feel.

Texture
Rounded and softly rich, with lees aging and oak bringing body and polish. 

Finish
Long, smooth, and lightly nutty, with fruit and oak carrying through the close.

Why We Love This Bottle

A Chardonnay With Real Ease
The wine’s recurring note set — tropical fruit, caramel, hazelnut, buttery texture, and smooth finish — makes it feel immediately approachable in a very satisfying way.

Upper Galilee Gives It Freshness
The winery highlights the high-elevation Galilee vineyards and calcareous basalt soils, which help explain why the wine can carry richness without losing its line.

A Very Good Food White
Public pairing guidance around this wine points toward rich fish, poultry, vegetarian dishes, while retailer notes also suggest fish dishes, pastas, and light appetizers. That fits the wine’s broader, textural shape very well.

Pair It With

• Rich fish like salmon
• Roast chicken
• Pasta in cream sauces
• Vegetarian dishes
• Light appetizers

Technical Notes

Producer: Recanati Winery
Wine: Chardonnay
Vintage: 2021
Region: Upper Galilee / Galilee, Israel
Grape: Chardonnay.

Soils: Calcareous basalt.

Elevation: 600–850 meters above sea level.

Winemaking: Gentle inert pressing, low-temperature fermentation, and 8 months of combined aging sur lies in large French oak barrels and stainless-steel tanks.

Body: Medium-Full
Structure: Rounded texture · soft oak influence · tropical fruit core · smooth finish

Flavor Profile
Tropical Fruit · White Grapefruit · Caramel · Hazelnut · Citrus · Stone Fruit

Drink Window
Now–2026