Winery - Ash Hollow
* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This Cab/ Merlot blend is a class act. Estate-grown fruit is aged in a mix of French and American barrels, 90% neutral. Such restraint is rewarded; the wine tastes like fruit rather than wood, and its gentle layering of berries, plums, cherries and herb is lightly accented with chocolate and cracker.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, all estate grown. Winemaker Steve Clifton handles the high (over 15%) alcohol well, and the wine feels full and balanced, but not fat or tiring. The fruit is a pleasant mix of raspberry, cherry and currant; with bright acids and firm tannins to back it up.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Light fruit showing simple cherry, strawberry and watermelon flavors. The young fruit carries a hint of fresh herb. Balanced and well made.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
The vineyard was wiped clean in the freeze of ’04, but this fragrant, chocolatey wine suggests that it holds real potential if it can be adequately protected. Crisp cranberry and strawberry fruits are underscored with smooth, chocolatey oak flavors. The style is Walla Walla all the way; broadly accessible, smooth and seamless.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
It’s scented with a pretty mix of sandalwood, toasted cracker and blackberry jam, and the flavors follow into tart berry and black cherry. There’s noticeable acid and some interesting grace notes, suggestive of flint and gun metal. The flavors linger pleasantly in the back of the throat. This is not a fleshy merlot by any means, but it is polished and evocative, and I like the suggestions of rock and iron ore that it has captured with the black cherry fruit.
Tags:
Ash Hollow Merlot - 2004
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
From a new Walla Walla winery comes this ripe, peachy blend of sauvignon blanc and pinot gris. The young vines delivered full, lush, forward fruit flavors, and there is some toasted cracker in the back end. A good sipping wine for easy, near term enjoyment.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This is a full and flavorful blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris. The Gris carries a bit of oiliness and balances out the grassier Sauvignon. I like the wine’s weight and detail, and its flavors of mixed grain, light herb, citrus and acid. Somehow it strikes me as a good sushi wine, one that could even handle a bit of vinegar.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This is 100% varietal, and quite dry, clean and fresh, with tangy green apple/lemon fruit. It shows a bit of a Friuli influence (cold fermentation in stainless steel), but without the lush textures. Winemaker Steve Clifton has a very nice touch, cajoling out light cut grass and herb scents, while maintaining firm acids.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This Bordeaux-based wine (40% Cab Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 20% Cab Franc) is a supple, muscular red, one that retains its elegance and aromatic perfume, but works in some darker notes and moderate amounts of toast and tar. There’s good balance, length and mouthfeel, with fruits trending from red on into black. The finish tails off into some lightly grainy/grassy flavors, losing its concentration.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
From Minick Vineyard fruit, this is quite similar to the winery’s Sauvignon Blanc, but with a tilt toward pear rather than apple flavors. A high flying, high acid wine, it’s lightly annotated with spice and citrus skin. Clean and straightforward.
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