Binyamina Yogev Cabernet Sauvignon/Zinfandel Blend 2008

Is the wine worth the money?

by Adam Neustadter

Issue of December 4, 2009/ 17 Kislev 5770

When choosing a wine to write about I like to find something unique. Sometimes that also means an expensive bottle but it doesn’t need to be (let’s let alone the question of whether or not it should be). In this case, I stumbled across this curious wine by happenstance. It was a gift from Shabbos guests, Yossie and Natan Buchsbaum, cousins of mine here in Israel for the year.

Two things on the label catch my curiosity. First are the words “Dry Rose,” a style of wine that is under-enjoyed in the U.S. Second is the grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel. I love Zinfandel so I was very curious to see what they did with this. Here is what I found.

When I open the wine (after chilling for several hours), I am both pleasantly surprised and slightly un-nerved by the aroma. The nose is surprisingly robust with a heavy concentration of pear and general tropical notes - a far cry from the stereotypical cherry and strawberry that accompany many American Zinfandel and Cabernet Roses. What un-nerves me is all the fruit coming from a wine claiming to be a dry Rose. This makes me proceed with caution. My confusion is compounded by the fact that the aroma intensifies as I allow the wine to warm up slightly.

Upon first taste, the wine has lots of flavor. Not overpowering but enough to add to the confusion. The wine seems to be more of an off-dry Rose. However, an intense amount of acidity pushes it to the dry side. In other words, irrespective of what the actual Residual Sugar is, the acidity makes it taste drier. Another interesting aspect to the wine is the body: fuller than I anticipated although no signs of oak treatment. On the palate, there is also an unexpected hint of leachy nut, and herbal hints, as well as some soft tannins along the cheeks that round out the wine. One other thing I am noticing about the wine as I write this: it goes great with Hummus and garlic crackers.

Before we address whether the wine is worth the money, we need to ask a more fundamental question. How does it pass as a dry Rose? In this case, I admit to being pleasantly surprised that Binyamina pulled it off. It’s a pretty good dry Rose.

Back to the more important and final question: When I think about what a good dry Rose goes for, the price point should be $15-$19. Below $15 is a definite keeper; at $19, you really better like the wine.

I should point out that 2008 was a Shmitta year in Israel; I don’t know if this wine will make to the U.S., however, I’m sure that you can get it online.

Adam Neustadter has taught about wine and was a sales executive for the Royal Wine Corporation for 15 years until his aliyah in 2006. He and his family live in Chashmonaim.