Influential culinary magazine Wine Spectator selected an Israeli wine (White Label 2021 produced by Flam Winery) for its annual Top 100 Wines of 2024 list.
The wine is a blend based primarily on Syrah grapes, combined with Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Most of the grapes used to produce the wine come from the Judean Hills, with some sourced from the Galilee. Flam’s wine earned a spot on the prestigious list alongside some of the world’s greatest wines.
How does one make it onto such an exclusive list? Over the course of the year, the magazine’s critics taste over 10,000 wines and rate them. Any wine scoring above 90 is eligible for inclusion in the annual list of the top 100 wines. In December, the critics carefully select, based on set criteria, the 100 most intriguing wines from among those.
These are described as deserving of special attention. Thousands of wines vie for a spot on the list, but only 100 make it each year. Flam’s wine received a score of 92.
Flam’s "White Label" features a minimalist white label with nothing written on it. The wine is not only powerful and commanding but also embodies a philosophy. "We’re essentially saying, ‘Trust us.’ The label is clean, with nothing on it, like The Beatles' White Album, designed to offer a profound sensory experience.
“The clean label doesn’t distract, allowing the focus to remain on the personal experience and the winemaker’s inner voice," said Gilad Flam, one of the winery's owners. "It’s an honor to be included on such a list, one that very few Israeli wineries have achieved so far."
The Flam family had no idea that the wine, crafted by Golan Flam — the winery’s winemaker responsible for the process from vineyard to bottle — had made the coveted list until a colleague in Italy informed them that the list had been published and their wine was on it.
"It’s thrilling to see your name next to the big names of wineries worldwide that I’ve always admired. As a wine enthusiast, I’m a subscriber to this magazine and now I’m on the list of the world’s best wines. I used to follow these lists and dream of tasting some of the wines on them my whole life,” he said.
"But the truly remarkable thing is that these lists always include wines from Burgundy, Piedmont and Napa Valley — major wine regions that the entire world looks to. Israel isn’t a recognized wine region. It’s not a given to see an Israeli wine on this list.
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“We’re not a wine superpower; we’re not Italy, France or California. Out of 100 wines from around the world, Israel managed to make it onto the list. It’s great that people can hear about Israel through something other than war-related topics,” he concluded.