NEWS

Zester Daily

November 20, 2009

Patrick Comiskey

"Talking Turkey About Wines"

Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel

"Zinfandel has thrived in California for 150 years; it’s the closest thing we have to a native grape variety. It has also been grown all over the state, but the place with the oldest vines is in the Dry Creek Valley, which seems to strike the perfect balance between warm day temperatures and cool nights, yielding wines of tremendous depth and purity of expression that walks the middle path with aplomb."
Producers to seek: Dashe Cellars

Wall Street Journal

“Giving Sweets A Chance”

“Another one of our favorites left us smiling for days because it was a late-harvest Zinfandel. Holy cow. Remember those? Back in our youth, late-harvest Zin was over the top in every way—too alcoholic, too sweet, too big, too muscular—and we loved it. In time, though, too many of them simply became clumsy and badly made and we moved on. We were so delighted to taste a good one, from Dashe Cellars. We called head winemaker Michael Dashe, who makes wine with his wife and co-owner, Anne, to talk about it and we could almost hear his smile. As a former assistant winemaker at Ridge, he told us that he loves Zinfandel. The Dashes make this one from vines from the Bella Winery estate, where Mr. Dashe is the consulting winemaker. The Lily Hill vineyard there makes the vines struggle, producing grapes of marvelous complexity and perfect acidity. They made 949 cases of this.”

Dashe Cellars

2007 Late Harvest Zinfandel

“So different from the monsters of our youth, far more restrained—and just 14.1% alcohol, lower than many of today's dry Chardonnays. Great fruit, fine acidity, ripe without being overly sweet, and totally winning. Dottie said she'd have this with roast duck, a surprising compliment for a late-harvest Zin. John wanted cheese.”

-Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher

October 16, 2009

Decanter Review

"Kings of Zin: Other Names to Watch"

Stephen Brook

September 2009

Decanter

"Zinfandel is an endangered species in Napa, where growers can get far higher prices for Cabernet, but it thrives in Sonoma. Dry Creek Valley is its natural home, and Dashe is a fairly new producer. Mike Dashe was assistant winemaker at Ridge in the 1990s, and his French wife studied winemaking in Bordeaux. The standard Dry Creek Zinfandel is delicious, but single-vineyard bottlings from Dry Creek and Alexander Valleys have more weight and structure."

2006 Louvau Vineyard Zinfandel

"Cherry and blueberry nose, enhanced by sweet oak. Suave and stylish, with delicious fruit, no overt tannins, and acidic bite."

4 Stars – Highly Recommended

Drink Dry Creek.com

Dashe Cellars - 2006 Louvau Ranch Zinfandel
May 5, 2009
David Vermeire & Gabe Sasso

Gabe’s Take:
Dark berry fruit notes, lavender, and vanilla are the most prominent characteristics that emerge in the nose of this Old Vines Zinfandel. Cherry and Raspberry intermingle throughout the palate along with a host of spice notes such as black pepper, clove and a touch of nutmeg. Chocolate notes emerge in the lengthy finish along with a bevy of classic Dry Creek dust, espresso, chicory notes and continued, persistent black pepper. This Zinfandel is well balanced and a good match for a host of foods. BBQ, pasta in red sauce and a corned beef sandwich are a couple that come to mind.
What strikes me most about this Zinfandel is that it’s a classic example of what comes to mind when I think of balanced, old vine, Dry Creek Zinfandel. Good structure and fine acidity make this a fine bet to improve over the next 5 or so years and drink well for several more after that. If you’re a fan of Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel, and if you’re reading this that’s a safe bet, here is a wine you’ll want to make the effort to locate.

Dave’s Take:
My dreams have come true…I got to taste my next Dashe Cellars Zinfandel. I am beginning to feel like the fish on their label for I have a monkey on my back. He keeps whispering in my ear, “Dashe Cellars…Dashe Cellars." We have been reviewing lots of Zinfandels and Dashe Cellars' selections still stand out to me.
The 2006 Louvau Vineyards Zinfandel has this floral nose that is fantastic. The bright fruit with the darker dust and spice notes along with the right acidity and alcohol levels create a perfectly balanced wine. This is a Zin that will not overpower the right foods so I highly recommend that you serve it that way, but it is still delicious on its own.
Since they are apparently lampooning me on their labels I can’t wait to see future editions. May I suggest the fish sitting in coach (next to the monkey) on the way back to Newark Airport with tears in their eyes? Or how about the fish swimming through the isles of a wine shop while the monkey is breaking bottles if they are not from Dry Creek…I can dream can’t I?

2006 Florence highlighted in Drink Dry Creek .com

I can’t get enough of this wine. It is as solid as a rock, days later developing more and more earthiness testifying to its age-ability, easily 6-7 years. So drink it now or drink it later…this is a bottle to remember and ask for. So I am now a fan of Dashe Cellars, I can’t wait to try the next one read more

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