Lauren Ashton Cellars – Deep Red Cellar

Jumping into Rosé Season

It’s pretty easy to jump into rosé season. With the release of rosé comes warmer weather, chirping birds and people clawing out of their winter holes.

For me, it also means a delivery from Lauren Ashton Cellars (LAC). I love the opportunity to write about Lauren Ashton rosé because every year it is perfection in a bottle and every year LAC kick’s off this wine with their Release The Rosé party in conjunction with a charitable cause. It’s their opportunity to give back locally and to get the community involved.

This year LAC owner/winemaker Kit, wife Riinu and the team have chosen Bellevue Lifespring as their charitable recipient. A portion of the proceeds from the release weekend sales will go to Bellevue Lifespring, a local, non-profit organization that helps children through programs that provide food, clothing, education and emergency assistance. That means food when children are hungry, clothes when children go back to school, and scholarships to help students stay on track….just to name a few.

So what’s this wine all about….

To me this wine screams Provence (style). It’s fresh, crisp, dry and highly pleasant. A well thought out blend of grenache, mourvedre, counoise and cinsault with a nose of bubblegum, strawberry and delicate floral. The palate is a combination of juicy watermelon, raspberry and strawberry. Pink grapefruit and a hint of minerality hit on the back while bright acid along with composed tannins bring the wine into balance. A vibrant expression of summer in a bottle.

If jumping into rosé season is your thing (and it should be), you can do so at Lauren Ashton’s Release the Rosé party. Bring your friends, enjoy some wine and help a great cause April 13, noon – 8pm & April 14, noon – 5pm. If you’re not in Washington, don’t fret. You may miss the party but the wine is still releasing to you too!

Release the Rosé Party, Lauren Ashton Tasting Room: 14545 148th Avenue NE, Suite 211 Woodinville, WA 98072, Phone: 425-445-7171

website: http://www.laurentashtoncellars.com

A Delivery From Washington Wine Country

I received a couple bottles of wine from Lauren Ashton Cellars that will be released exclusively to their wine club on October 14, 2018. Consistency reigns with Kit Singh’s winemaking skills as both of these wines are a delight to drink. If your mouth starts watering while reading this post, you have a few more days to sign up for their wine club and receive exclusive bottles.

2016 ASHTON TROY COLUMBIA VALLEY CUVÉE DU SOLEIL

The Cuvée Du Soleil is a blend of 45% Sauvignon Blanc and 55% Semillon. To me, the Semillon is the show off in this duo. The nose has aromas of honeydew and peaches with whipped butter and beeswax. On the palate, all the aromas are present with the addition of lemon, matcha, slate, saline and just a suggestion of jalapeño. The flavors on the palate are pleasantly carried by the whipped butter and beeswax.

2014 LAUREN ASHTON UPLAND VINEYARDS CABERNET SAUVIGNON

The nose on this Cabernet Sauvignon is out of this world! It is so good I wish I could re-bottle it as linen and room spray. The aromas consisted of blackberry, boysenberry and prominent black olive, with an intriguing essence of rose petals and patchouli which mingles perfectly with all the aromas and brings everything together. Once I finally pulled my nose away from the glass, the palate tasted like blackberry and boysenberry jam with just a hint of black olive. Graphite, present specifically on the front palate, gave way to cocoa that melted away when swallowed. The finish is long (14.7% abv) and the wine balanced. This Cabernet Sauvignon is a truly beautiful wine.

Ready to join the wine club? Click here.

Ashton Troy Wines

Ashton Troy Wines is a fun off-shoot of Lauren Ashton Cellars (LAC). Fun because the wine is inspired by, Ashton (whose middle name is Troy), the 8 year old son of LAC winemaker Kit Singh and wife Riinu Rammal. Ashton wanted his own label so Kit and Riinu ran with the idea. Ashton Troy wines are created and marketed exclusively for restaurants with intentions to draw in a new fan base. Distribution is currently in Washington with plans to expand across the United States. If you hang out in Woodinville, you may see these wines make rare appearances at the Lauren Ashton Cellars tasting studio. One white and four reds make up the labels profile. The wines are purposefully bold to pair with restaurant fare. I had the opportunity to taste two of these wines and true to the Lauren Ashton reputation, they were a pleasure to drink.

Ashton Troy Bisou 2014, Columbia Valley

Grapes picked from Stillwater Creek, Upland, Quitessence, Les Collines and Dineen Vineyards located throughout the Columbia Valley AVA in Washington. A blend of 64% Merlot, 27% Cabernet Sauvignon and 9% Petit Verdot with 50% of the berries left whole and uncrushed for an initial partial fermentation. The wine was drained and pressed then fermented in French oak, undergoing malolactic fermentation before being racked and returned to the barrel to age for 28 months. The wine was then blended and bottled. Bisou was a luscious mouthful of boysenberry, plum, black cherry and black currants tailed by red pepper and masculine notes of earth and meat. Full bodied with a whole lot of character. This wine was lovely to drink on it’s own but would pair well with meat dishes.

Ashton Troy Cabernet Sauvignon 2014, Columbia Valley

Grapes harvested from Quintessence, Ambassador, Dineen, Sagemoor and Upland Vineyards in the Columbia Valley. A single varietal wine undergoing it’s makeover the same way Bisou did with bottling occurring after ageing 28 months in French oak. This wine is a powerhouse with emboldened flavors of juicy cherry, ripe plum, black currant and candied crab apple preserves integrated with baking spices. Sweet tobacco, vanilla, violet and mint are pleasing subtletys that sneak in as the wine sits on the palate before ending in a gratifying, drawn out finish. It drank very well and shows potential for even more rounding out in another 6-12 months. Restaurants (and their guests) will have the opportunity to see this wine improve with age.

Rosé All The Way

I love this time of year. Rosé is being released and I get to be on the receiving end of it, thanks to Lauren Ashton Cellars! The release of Lauren Ashton Cellars (LAC) rosé comes with a bit more anticipation though. You see, every year owners Kit and Riinu along with the Lauren Ashton team get together and select a beneficiary to receive a portion of the proceeds from the rosé sales during their release event. This year, “Release the Rosé” is taking place on April 21-22 in the LAC tasting studio (love the usage of “studio” – so much more chic than “room”) and proceeds are going to Northshore Schools Foundation. Northshore Schools Foundation is a non-profit charity that enriches the educational experience for students, supports teachers and makes a meaningful contribution to public education and the community by raising funds, building partnerships and filling educational gaps in line with District priorities. I think we can all agree that any organization with a desire to contribute to the positive growth of children is a great thing.

Reflecting winemaker Kit’s approach of making French style wine, the 2017 rosé is a blend of 50% Grenache, 30% Mourvedre, and 20% Counnoise. On the nose, this rosé is a delightful fusion of strawberry, watermelon and pink grapefruit mingling with zesty orange and white flowers. The palate brings out more of the same and is enhanced by pleasing, bright licorice flavors.

LAC rosé sold out of the previous vintage quickly so much anticipation has surrounded this new release. In the past, the release weekend has sold over 400 bottles of LAC rosé and hopes are to surpass that this year. If you would like to purchase a bottle…or case of this beautiful rosé all while helping a great cause, click here .

Lauren Ashton Cellars – Cuvée Arlette 2014

There’s no surprise I’m a fan of Lauren Ashton Cellars (LAC). I have sung their praises in the past. LAC is known for making wine of exceptional quality showcasing the true character of Washington terrior.

This Sunday, February 11, 2018, LAC will be releasing their 2014 Cuvée Arlette to wine club members (i.e. if not a wine club member, now would be a great time to join). I was privileged to receive a bottle for review and good heavens, does it hold up to their exceptional reputation.

Cuvée Arlette is a blend of 57.5% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc, 17% Malbec and 0.5% Petit Verdot. As I look at the wine, it is a beautiful rich burgundy color, like what I think of when I picture a fabulous holiday dress made entirely of velvet. It’s clear, bright with medium-high intensity and evident it is a full-bodied wine.

The nose rushes with many of the aromas coming forward at once. There’s plum, black raspberry, and blueberry in a shoving match with chocolate and dried savory herbs. The palate is similar with red plum, black raspberry, black currant and blueberry on the front palate sharing space with a subtle violet flavor. The fruits work toward the mid-palate with cedar taking over and a red pepper spice rounding out the back palate. The acidity is medium with a broader tannin structure that is pleasing alongside the flavors. The finish lingers allowing for contemplation of this elegant wine. The Cuvée Arlette is drinking outstanding right now but shows great aging potential.

If you’d like to join the LAC wine club, click here. If you’d like to purchase at least two bottles of Cuvée Arlette (it’s just good practice, one to enjoy now and one to hold on to), it will be available for sale after February 11, so mark your calendar, come back to this post and click here to order.

Release the Rosé!

Lauren Ashton Cellars has become wildly popular for their Rosé. They’ve been sold out of the previous vintage for months and much anticipation has surrounded the release of their 2016 vintage which is set to release April 22-23 at their tasting studio in Woodinville, Washington.

Winemaker and owner Kit Singh along with his wife and co-owner Riinu Rammal are part of a growing number of wineries who love giving back and decided since the release of their Rosé was so popular they would include the community and incorporate a charitable element to their Rosé release event, “Release the Rosé.” A portion of the proceeds from the sales during the Rosé release weekend will be donated to the Susan G. Komen Puget Sound chapter. I love when this sort of out pouring of generosity happens in the wine industry.

So about this Rosé….

Wow, is it beautiful! It’s a blend of Grenache, Mourvèdre and Counnoise from Columbia Valley. The wine is bright, fresh and well balanced with flavors of strawberry, raspberry, watermelon, ripe white peach with a delicate floral note. Last night, I paired it with pork carnitas from pinch of yum and the flavors played off of each other delightfully!

If you find yourself in the Woodinville area during their “Release the Rosé” event, I highly recommend picking up some fantastic wine and supporting this great cause, it’s a win-wine (see what I did there)!

Here’s the Deets:

Release the Rosé – April 22-23, 2017 located at Lauren Ashton Cellars tasting room in Woodinville’s Hollywood District at 14545 148th Avenue NE, Suite 211, Woodinville WA 98072.

*Guests can pre-order the 2016 Rosé here.