Winery - Quilceda Creek
* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Quilceda’s second wine is gorgeous, supple and sweet with lovely Cabernet cassis and smooth hints of licorice and chocolate. Though not as concentrated as the Cabernet, it is immediately delicious, and would put to shame most wines in its price category.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
After “fiddling around,” as he puts it, with blends in his ’96 and ’97 cabs, winemaker Alex Golitzin decided to go with straight Cabernet in ’98, an exceptional vintage for Washington State. This is a tight, focused effort, with powerful black fruits augmented with herbs and spices and a hint of mineral. Young, tart and tannic, it will continue to improve as it knits together over the years. Editors’ Choice.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Quilceda makes big, muscular Cabernets, but the power is tightly controlled and never out of whack. Firm cherry fruit is edged with mixed spices from barrel aging. Still young and hard, this is a tannic wine that clearly has the stuffing and structure to age indefinitely, but if drunk now will require many hours of breathing time. Editors’ Choice.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
The 2006 flagship Cabernet from Quilceda Creek is a massive wine that has just begun to emerge from its slumber. When first released the wine seemed to have entered a dumb phase, but six months later it responds to decanting and shows its muscle. Fruit flavors of black, brandied cherries, cassis and bourbon-soaked plums are wrapped in generous, layered oak. The wine is dusty, smoky, laced with streaks of licorice and brightened with sharp acids. It continues to expand further in the glass, adding flesh and spice to its frame, with a cedar/cigar box finish.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Amazing density; the aromas billow up from the glass and weave together sinuously, taking you on a magic carpet ride before the wine even hits your mouth. This wine has the power of a monster California Cab while retaining the subtlety of a first-growth Bordeaux. It is just a massive blast of dark fruit, incredible viscosity, silky textures and soft herbs, pepper and spice. The oak—all new, all French—is unobtrusive and perfectly integrated.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This extremely limited-production Merlot (about 250 cases) is Alex and Paul Golitzin’s “other” great red. It’s all Klipsun Vineyard fruit, 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet, and its soft, chocolatey tannins envelope the taste buds in a sensual, textured landscape comprised of luscious cherry fruit and laced with hints of anise and roasted coffee. Big and extracted, yet more approachable than the Cabernet.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Still young, chewy and textural, this stands as a classic Washington 2005 red—lusciously laden with mixed red and black berries, generous and deep; dense and jammy. The mixed berries, red licorice, cherries, layers of butterscotch, toffee and caramel are beautifully integrated and linger seductively into the finish. It has some initial alcoholic heat, but the flavors compensate and go on and on. This is a wine that must be cellared another five or more years before it even begins to pull itself together. If you must pop the cork before then, decant it for at least six hours and more if possible before drinking.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Rich and chocolaty, this dense and detailed wine is loaded with brambly fruit, ripe cherry and baking chocolate. It’s dotted with fine-grained, coffee-streaked tannins, and finishes with highlights of butterscotch and malted milk candies. As with all the 2005 Quilceda’s, this is still young and tight. It is dominated by the barrel flavors that only slowly meld into the massive fruit with extensive breathing time (36 hours after being opened the wine was still improving).
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Fragrant and inviting with sweet aromas of raspberries and ripe cherries. Not a hint of anything vegetal or off in any way; this is the finest declassified wine I’ve ever tasted. “If it’s not a 95 right out of the barrel,” says Alex Golitzun, “it’s declassified.” The blend is 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 10% Cab Franc. Medium-light in the mouth, with pretty cinnamon and baking spices, and a clean, crisp palate impression. Reasonably concentrated, it finishes lightly smoky and thoroughly delicious.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Lovely color and aromatics, this supremely powerful yet graceful wine sends up a mix of plum, berry, dust, mint and menthol. It’s spicy and young, and surprisingly light on its feet. The concentration here is different from a top-tier Napa Cabernet; the fruit has a pleasing elegance. The acids are firm but unobtrusive, the tannins are ripe, smooth but substantial, giving the wine some weight and power. As good as anything this superb producer has ever done.
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