The 2010 Assaf Cabernet Sauvignon Silver, has 14.8% alcohol, maybe because of the summer heat in Galilee, Israel; cost under $22, and scored 15+ points on the Dionysian scale of 20.
It’s 100% Cab with no blending grapes. It has black cherry and earth flavors with a medium weight.
Except for the high alcohol, the Assaf wine is fine with food. Assaf and Oren Kedem are excellent winemakers and you should seek out some wines from Israel.
At seven years old, it is peaking but will hold nicely for another five years. I’ve found that high alcohol table wines do not age into very pleasant complexities. Drink them young.
Nearly every wine I’ve had from Israel is pleasant and well made, but the recent ones are letting the alcohol get too high; this prevents them from aging into good food wines. In Vino Veritas.
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