ASHE 10 CS ENTRE NOUS
This is a gorgeous property located right off Highway 29 in Oakville. Its vineyard architect is Dave Abreu, it's managed by Jim Barbour, and the wine is made by Philippe Melka (Lail, Gemstone, Dana). Here's the skinny on this property; over the winter and sping of 2010, we came across Kristine Ashe at several trade tastings. Everytime we sampled her wines, they were at the top of our lists. Heck, at the Oakville tasting, we felt her Cabernet was as good as many of the TRUE cult wines! If that's not an endorsement, then don't bother reading any further!The modern wine is crafted in the old way – completely by hand. The journey starts in the family's Oakville estate vineyard, where midnight harvests, hand de-stemming and barrel fermentation allows them to unlock diverse aromatics, complex flavors and a purity of fruit that cannot be achieved by mechanical methods. The elegance of this Cabernet shines through with soft, refined tannins and luminous fruit.
ROBERT PARKER'S WINE ADVOCATE 96 POINTS - "The 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate stands out for its intense, incisive minerality and pure nuance. Sweet black cherries, plums, violets and white flowers are layered together in the bright, piercing Cabernet Sauvignon. There is so much going on in the glass. Still, readers will have to be patient. Kristine Ashe and her team have done a fabulous job here. I can't wait to see how the 2010 ages. Anticipated maturity: 2018-2030."
