2018 Gabrielle Ashley Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley CA
This wine is a blend of 95 Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Cabernet Franc. I found it in the powerbuy section of the West Lebanon Liquor outlet, along with a number of other wines. What caught my eye was that it was from Alexander Valley, one of my favorite wine growing regions in the world.
Precision Wine Co has a number of labels under their umbrella, and seems to focus on small lots of bottlings. I get the feeling from reading the website that the winemaker has relationships with growers and other wineries that allow him to purchase grapes from selected plots.
It opens with notes of cherry, blueberries, plums, and oak in the nose. The palate tastes of plum, cherry, and black raspberries with medium tannins.... after 30 minutes of the bottle being open the tannins smooth out, with the nose and palate gaining more complexity to include blackberries along with notes of mixed berry pie.
At only 2 years of age this wine should be decanted for 45 minutes prior to enjoying, and try chilling it for 20 minutes or so to experience a different flavor profile. At this time the wine needs food with a bit of fat in it to balance the tannins, perhaps a nicely marbled steak, a meat lasagna, an oven roasted chicken dinner, prime rib, or a good brisket cooked perfectly.
Available at a bunch of the NH Liquor outlets for $12.99 per bottle, this is a great value for a well made wine from one of the premier wine growing regions in California. I liked it enough to buy 8 bottles with the thought that it will improve over the next 18 months or so....
Let me know what you think,
Cheers!
Ed
No comments:
Post a Comment