Dense, somewhat murky dark red. Bouquet has very round, broad cabernet fruit with melded tannins. Silky, smooth. Has a European quality to it. Somewhat muted aromas disappoint just a bit. A very good mature WA wine. Could only ask for more aromatics.
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Decanted 90 minutes prior to tasting. Surprising amount of fruit on the nose. Wine has appearance of an older wine with some brown at the rim. First impression was somewhat tart and astringent. Fruit was muted and fading. Followed over next two hours and the tartness faded and the fruit came back. Interesting wine but definitely past it's peak.
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Sight: This wine is hazy, with no evidence of gas. The wine does show particles. Color is ruby at the core and fades to garnet 1/4” from the meniscus. Medium concentration of color. Legs are thick and move slowly down the glass.
Nose: This wine does not smell flawed. Strong intensity. Aromas are black cherries and mint, with a trace of cherry cough syrup on the edges. No trace of minerals. Very light smell of oak, mostly in a hint of wood smoke. I pick up some heat on the nose. Not sure where to place this wine.
Palate: This wine is medium bodied. The fruit is subdued, but I can’t tell if its bound up or simply faded. Given that I expect this wine to be over 10 years old, I will go with faded. Still, I did not pick up much secondary notes either. What I was left with was primarily a medium size dose of oak.
Structure: This wine is dry. Acid is medium-plus. Alcohol is medium-plus. Tannins are medium-plus and not well integrated. Finish is medium. Complexity is low.
Conclusion: Although the fruit is very subdued and the wine appears unfiltered, I will guess this wine is new world; no earthy or mineral notes. From the acid and alcohol indicators, this appears to be from a slightly cool vintage. Unknown quality producer.
Final Conclusion: This is an “OK” bottle of wine. It’s obvious that it’s an older vintage, but I couldn’t get much out of it. The flavors were subdued, the nose was difficult, the finish wasn’t too long or complex. All in all, I wasn’t very impressed.
My Ranking: 7th out of 8 bottles Group Ranking: 6th out of 8 bottles
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Ephemeral, since it's our last bottle! Delicious, high acids, fruit and even tannins left. It does NOT seem like a 12 year old wine! Perfect with amatriciana pasta. Strong, yet feminine. Tasted too good to analyze. Smooth, very easy drinking. Sad it's the last bottle. Nice work Quilceda!
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Seattle Tasting Group does Quilceda Creek (Seattle, WA): Hot on the nose and a little minty. The palate shows some olive and big, red fruit. For me this doesn't balance out as well as the 1998, although it is coming around. I wouldn't be disappointed to order this as a bargain wine in a restaurant, but the $30 retail pricetag is steep for what thsi delivers.
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I got absolutely nothing from this wine - neither on the nose or the palate. I popped and poured at cellar temp. On smelling nothing, I decanted, shook, swirled, incanted, etc. Nothing over the next 4 hours. After 24 hours open in the decanter, still nothing, so down the drain it went. Very disappointing! Perhaps heat damaged???
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Dinner with Tracy at Bistro Laurent in Paso Robles. The nose was not the highlight of the wine. It showed chalk, chocolate, and medicinal mint. The palate, however, was terrific. It was lush and clean with tastes of chalk, chocolate, and brooding blackberry. Overall it was well balanced and long with terrific structure. Call it 85 for the nose and 93 for the palate.
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Opened and decanted 30 minutes prior to serving in Spiegelau Authentis Rotwein glasses. Ruby/garnet color in the glass. Nose of plum, mocha, cedar and tobacco. Oaky flavors of cherry, licorice, plum and white pepper. Still a very tannic wine that softens over time in the glass. B+. Drink 2005 through 2010.
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Dark opaque blackish ruby, nose of dense currant, charred oak, sweet fruit, B4, T4, A4, silky pure fruit, toasty oak, well structured, good balance though a bit oaky, could be a killer w/time, day 2, aromas of deep currant spicy charred oak, very lush on the palate, currant, sweet plum toast, nice balance
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2/14/2016 - aChave wrote: 90 Points
Dense, somewhat murky dark red. Bouquet has very round, broad cabernet fruit with melded tannins. Silky, smooth. Has a European quality to it. Somewhat muted aromas disappoint just a bit. A very good mature WA wine. Could only ask for more aromatics.
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4/4/2014 - Jnispel wrote: 87 Points
Decanted 90 minutes prior to tasting. Surprising amount of fruit on the nose. Wine has appearance of an older wine with some brown at the rim. First impression was somewhat tart and astringent. Fruit was muted and fading. Followed over next two hours and the tartness faded and the fruit came back. Interesting wine but definitely past it's peak.
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9/11/2013 - f22nickell wrote: 88 Points
Seattle Wine Group - Sep 2013 Tasting - Theme: Aged WA Bordeaux Blends (Amaroso Room - Wine Storage Bellevue): Setting: Bottle “A” in the blind tasting. Notes were taken before I knew the wine identity.
Sight: This wine is hazy, with no evidence of gas. The wine does show particles. Color is ruby at the core and fades to garnet 1/4” from the meniscus. Medium concentration of color. Legs are thick and move slowly down the glass.
Nose: This wine does not smell flawed. Strong intensity. Aromas are black cherries and mint, with a trace of cherry cough syrup on the edges. No trace of minerals. Very light smell of oak, mostly in a hint of wood smoke. I pick up some heat on the nose. Not sure where to place this wine.
Palate: This wine is medium bodied. The fruit is subdued, but I can’t tell if its bound up or simply faded. Given that I expect this wine to be over 10 years old, I will go with faded. Still, I did not pick up much secondary notes either. What I was left with was primarily a medium size dose of oak.
Structure: This wine is dry. Acid is medium-plus. Alcohol is medium-plus. Tannins are medium-plus and not well integrated. Finish is medium. Complexity is low.
Conclusion: Although the fruit is very subdued and the wine appears unfiltered, I will guess this wine is new world; no earthy or mineral notes. From the acid and alcohol indicators, this appears to be from a slightly cool vintage. Unknown quality producer.
Final Conclusion: This is an “OK” bottle of wine. It’s obvious that it’s an older vintage, but I couldn’t get much out of it. The flavors were subdued, the nose was difficult, the finish wasn’t too long or complex. All in all, I wasn’t very impressed.
My Ranking: 7th out of 8 bottles
Group Ranking: 6th out of 8 bottles
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11/13/2011 - GA wrote: 92 Points
11/11 Perfect window - well balanced - velvet cream mouth feel - drink now. 92 pts.
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5/17/2011 - garthbernstein wrote: 95 Points
Ephemeral, since it's our last bottle! Delicious, high acids, fruit and even tannins left. It does NOT seem like a 12 year old wine! Perfect with amatriciana pasta. Strong, yet feminine. Tasted too good to analyze. Smooth, very easy drinking. Sad it's the last bottle. Nice work Quilceda!
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6/14/2009 - Jack wrote: 88 Points
Decent fruit with tannin that still give good grip. A pretty big dose of acid on the finish.
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10/27/2008 - winegr wrote: 88 Points
87-88. Not good at first, much better with air. The last glass was the best.
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11/19/2005 - Eric wrote: 86 Points
Seattle Tasting Group does Quilceda Creek (Seattle, WA): Hot on the nose and a little minty. The palate shows some olive and big, red fruit. For me this doesn't balance out as well as the 1998, although it is coming around. I wouldn't be disappointed to order this as a bargain wine in a restaurant, but the $30 retail pricetag is steep for what thsi delivers.
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11/19/2005 - JeffGMorris wrote: 79 Points
STG Quilceda Creek tasting at Eric Levine's house. Dark ruby. Earth, spice and a charred character. A little sour on the finish. 50+10+8+5+6 =79
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11/13/2005 - KevinP wrote:
I got absolutely nothing from this wine - neither on the nose or the palate. I popped and poured at cellar temp. On smelling nothing, I decanted, shook, swirled, incanted, etc. Nothing over the next 4 hours. After 24 hours open in the decanter, still nothing, so down the drain it went. Very disappointing! Perhaps heat damaged???
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9/15/2004 - Jason wrote: 90 Points
Dinner with Tracy at Bistro Laurent in Paso Robles. The nose was not the highlight of the wine. It showed chalk, chocolate, and medicinal mint. The palate, however, was terrific. It was lush and clean with tastes of chalk, chocolate, and brooding blackberry. Overall it was well balanced and long with terrific structure. Call it 85 for the nose and 93 for the palate.
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3/29/2003 - wineismylife wrote:
Opened and decanted 30 minutes prior to serving in Spiegelau Authentis Rotwein glasses. Ruby/garnet color in the glass. Nose of plum, mocha, cedar and tobacco. Oaky flavors of cherry, licorice, plum and white pepper. Still a very tannic wine that softens over time in the glass. B+. Drink 2005 through 2010.
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9/2/2002 - Easter Everywhere wrote: 87 Points
Dark opaque blackish ruby, nose of dense currant, charred oak, sweet fruit, B4, T4, A4, silky pure fruit, toasty oak, well structured, good balance though a bit oaky, could be a killer w/time, day 2, aromas of deep currant spicy charred oak, very lush on the palate, currant, sweet plum toast, nice balance
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