Red fruit flavors turn cloying and woody in the midpalate. Smoky finish. Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. Drink now. 700 cases made, 300 cases imported.??–KM??Region: Israel Select to Add

The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve is all Cabernet, sourced from Ein-Seter, a high altitude vineyard (690 meters) planted in 1997 in the Upper Galilee and aged for 20 months in a mixture of French (70%) and American (30%) oak. This is probably Alexander’s best regular reserve, showing good structure, some intensity on the finish and probably the most depth of the regular reserves reviewed this issue. Although it does thin fairly fast and lacks the mid-palate concentration of the “Alexander the Great” bottling reviewed this issue, it is impressive for its character and structure and will be just fine for many considering the price spike on the Alexander the Great level. It is a bit on the earthy side. If you’re looking for simple, sweet fruit, this isn’t going to be your style. To its credit, the winery aimed for more. Drink now-2017. Note that the 2007s are current – they were just submitted by the winery. Some of them received extended oak aging, which may partly account for their late submission.Importer: Royal Wine Corp., Bayonne, N.J.; tel: (718) 534-0118

A ripe, extracted style, with aromas and flavors of dark plum, spiced cherry, blackberry and pepper. Anise and dark chocolate fill the finish, which features plenty of grip. Kosher. Drink now through 2016. 50 cases imported.??–KM??Region: Israel / Galilee Select to Add