Fabulous wine. Decanted for 2-1/2 hours and it kept getting better as we drank it over the next 1-1'2 hours with steak. Total package, complex fruit opening that developed further making for a great mid-palate followed by a long dry finish. Completely balanced, dense but not over extracted. Much better than the previous bottle we drank with friends (again with steak) a few months ago but only decanted for a little over an hour. Koodoos to the winemaker.
Purpule. Dark plums and sweet spices on the nose. Add crème de cassis on the palate. Subtle and complex. Don’t swirl, just let it slowly unfold. Dense with promise. Will be fun to follow.
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3rd wine of the night after a Quintessa and a Bella Oaks. No significant drop off here. Very fragrant nose and full mouthfeel of dark fruits with a long sustained finish. This wine easily hangs with the some of the best Napa has to offer.
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Black cherry, olive, concrete aromas. Tastes of plum, crème de cassis. Fine-grained tannins, Fruit, acids and tannins are well integrated for such a young wine. Excellent wine and looking forward to holding our remaining bottles a bit to see what it becomes.
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Part of a good wine weekend while relaxing at home. Friday night was MM VHR vs FM's Sleeping Lady (both 2019). Saturday, we decided to test out a 2018 Quilceda Creek versus a 2018 M. Etain.
For Saturday, I opened both wines, double decanted back into the bottle and let it slow ox for ~5 hours. My fiance and I both agreed we liked the QC more. Higher toned, red fruited, just all the tannins working in harmony, rich, smooth, but not hedonistic. It's experiences like this which makes me come back to QC time and time again and glad I am building a cellar with them in it.
The M Etain was a different beast. Still very enjoyable, this came off much more dark fruited, more cloying, hard to read. I felt like this once is built for many more years, and I will lay my hands off my other bottle for awhile. You get the classic Rutherford nose, along with cloves, tar, tobacco leaf. I wish we saved some of this for another day so I could see how it continued to evolve overnight. Well made wine.
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We did a 2018 comparison of Kontos, Eagle Harbor Raptor, QC CVR, and no surprises that this Cab won the day. Velvety tannin, richness, and depth. Smooth blackberry and cocoa powder. Lovely stuff.
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Really gorgeous wine. Quilceda, yet again, shows why it is widely regarded as one of the best in WA. Impeccable balance, nice finish, dark fruits. I believe this is 100% new French oak and it shows, though the wine caries it well.
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30 min of air. Enjoyed with smoked BBQ. Fantastic now, better in 5+. Full bodied, long finish. Vibrant black cherry, leather, and dusty soil. Give it some time.
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Quite good. Surprisingly so from the start. Quite balanced and approachable. Subtle not in your face dark fruits. And interesting mid palate hint of wintergreen. Not sure how time will make this any better.
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Decanted for three hours. A mesmerizing, opaque core that is very noir. So full and luscious, and yet quite transparent. Unctuous, yet this remains so controlled. Blackberries, cinnamon stick, vanilla bean, cherries jubilee, ground rock, blonde coffee and dried flowers. Layer upon layer of cottony, vanilla tannins, and this bright, magnetic Cabernet is continuously engaging. A tour de force. A mere baby, Quilceda has been a true cellar maven. The elegance prevails, as this lovely beast is just starting to tame. Drink 2026 -.
The score of 94 is for drinking now. I'm sure I'd score it higher after five years of aging.
Some Quilceda Creek wines are absolute beasts if you open them young. In 2020, I opened one of my 2014 Palengats. It was a 'Spinal Tap' wine, everything was dialed up to "11". Huge fruit, big tannin, big oak, high alcohol. I had to sip it slowly as if I were drinking Scotch!
This 2018 flagship Cabernet isn't like that at all. It's definitely not wimpy. There's good fruit. You'll feel some heat from the alcohol, but not much. It melds into the overall experience so cleanly. Is there some oak? Sure, but the treatment is so fine and gentle.
Why should you be patient with this wine? You get the very clean and elegant fruit, but it gets taken away from you after awhile by the clean, refined structure. The way the wine grew in the glass for me, hinted at what's to come. With increasing time after opening, the fruit got darker and more savory. Rutherford style dust developed on the finish. For those who also love Bordeaux, an iron/iodine like minerality also developed on the finish.
Everything is in such fine, elegant balance here. The flavor will merely please you a lot at this point, it won't blow you away. This wine is a tribute to the craft of the Golitzin family and their winemaking team. A beautiful achievement in this Washington vintage!
Deep, dark, reddish-purple garnet in color; almost opaque. Full, forward & attractive nose of ripe deep, dark fruit aromas of cherries, blackberries & cassis with overtones of floral & earthy/dusty notes, mint, spices, herbs, minerals, dark cocoa, anise, coffee, smoky notes, some cedar & a hint of oak/vanilla in the background. Medium-full to full bodied with a very good concentration of well balanced & smooth textured, ripe dark fruit flavors of cherries, blackberries & plums with spices, herbs, dark cocoa, minerals & a hint of oak/vanilla. Long lingering finish. Drinks quite well at present with decanting & extended airing but it really needs & should continue to develop further with additional aging at which time it may merit an even higher score.
This is approachable and easy to drink. It’s young and the oak is somewhat pronounced right now, but it’s still a very pleasurable drink. This very clearly has the balance of fruit, tannin, and acidity to go the distance. It reminds me of a first or second growth Bordeaux before it shuts down. I won’t be drinking any more of these bottles for many years, but I’m glad I opened this for a preview.
No excessive tannins or alcohol at all for such a young cab, and more complex than I was expecting, not to mention the shear unctuous taste! Completely outclassed the Bevan Ontogeny 2018 I also tasted.
Massive cherry, cassis, blackberry, cinnamon, clove, vanilla, dried earth, lead pencil and amazing balance. Drinks well now as a PnP, but I see this as getting much better in 5 years.
Ok I know it's young but I had to try it. Initial heat and tannic as expected but right away amazing dark fruit, cassis and graphite along with some chocolate notes. After around 3h it becomes more elegant, sweeter and floral notes start to evolve in the glass. It will be amazing in 5 years. Good luck waiting...
5/2/2024 - dreinitz Likes this wine: 97 Points
I’m sure this will be better in a few years, but if you open it now you will not be disappointed.
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4/14/2024 - WR701 Likes this wine: 96 Points
Fabulous wine. Decanted for 2-1/2 hours and it kept getting better as we drank it over the next 1-1'2 hours with steak. Total package, complex fruit opening that developed further making for a great mid-palate followed by a long dry finish. Completely balanced, dense but not over extracted. Much better than the previous bottle we drank with friends (again with steak) a few months ago but only decanted for a little over an hour. Koodoos to the winemaker.
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3/16/2024 - dlcass Likes this wine: 97 Points
Beautiful wine. Nose of dark berry, cassis, tobacco and herbs. Great integration, texture and finish. Lovely wine.
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3/11/2024 - JerryMasters Likes this wine: 94 Points
Better the second day. Decant an hour before if you're opening it today. going to be a great wine in a few more years. Still young
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1/14/2024 - Teknsteel Likes this wine: 93 Points
Purpule. Dark plums and sweet spices on the nose. Add crème de cassis on the palate. Subtle and complex. Don’t swirl, just let it slowly unfold. Dense with promise. Will be fun to follow.
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1/1/2024 - bflood16 Likes this wine: 94 Points
3rd wine of the night after a Quintessa and a Bella Oaks. No significant drop off here. Very fragrant nose and full mouthfeel of dark fruits with a long sustained finish. This wine easily hangs with the some of the best Napa has to offer.
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10/20/2023 - Tgood wrote:
NYWE - a standout - cedar mint chocolate - dense on palate
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8/5/2023 - Jhalpern27 Likes this wine: 96 Points
2 hour decant and this baby was singing.
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6/1/2023 - Scottlmatthews wrote:
Gave as gift for charity at Fairmont San Francisco.
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5/6/2023 - timcan Likes this wine: 96 Points
92 PnP. 94 after a couple of hours. 96 on day 2. Looking forward to revisiting this in 5 years.
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4/22/2023 - Brolawa wrote:
U2. Drank at Preserve with Ovid 2018. Pretty jammy. Nice tannins.
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3/5/2023 - BobbaWA wrote: 93 Points
Maybe a bit young. Drank along with a 2015 QC Cab and the ‘18 had a tartness that wasn’t evident in the smoother ‘15.
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12/4/2022 - Glenn228 Likes this wine:
Black cherry, olive, concrete aromas. Tastes of plum, crème de cassis. Fine-grained tannins, Fruit, acids and tannins are well integrated for such a young wine. Excellent wine and looking forward to holding our remaining bottles a bit to see what it becomes.
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9/24/2022 - sean7711 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Part of a good wine weekend while relaxing at home. Friday night was MM VHR vs FM's Sleeping Lady (both 2019). Saturday, we decided to test out a 2018 Quilceda Creek versus a 2018 M. Etain.
For Saturday, I opened both wines, double decanted back into the bottle and let it slow ox for ~5 hours. My fiance and I both agreed we liked the QC more. Higher toned, red fruited, just all the tannins working in harmony, rich, smooth, but not hedonistic. It's experiences like this which makes me come back to QC time and time again and glad I am building a cellar with them in it.
The M Etain was a different beast. Still very enjoyable, this came off much more dark fruited, more cloying, hard to read. I felt like this once is built for many more years, and I will lay my hands off my other bottle for awhile. You get the classic Rutherford nose, along with cloves, tar, tobacco leaf. I wish we saved some of this for another day so I could see how it continued to evolve overnight. Well made wine.
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9/12/2022 - BobbaWA Likes this wine: 95 Points
We did a 2018 comparison of Kontos, Eagle Harbor Raptor, QC CVR, and no surprises that this Cab won the day. Velvety tannin, richness, and depth. Smooth blackberry and cocoa powder. Lovely stuff.
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8/18/2022 - Jfkervan wrote: 90 Points
I must be missing something here. Too alcoholic, overwhelming, not well integrated. Even after a 4h decant.
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7/23/2022 - FlyPig Likes this wine: 95 Points
Hold 2-3+, will only get better.
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7/21/2022 - JP75Wine Likes this wine: 98 Points
Really gorgeous wine. Quilceda, yet again, shows why it is widely regarded as one of the best in WA. Impeccable balance, nice finish, dark fruits. I believe this is 100% new French oak and it shows, though the wine caries it well.
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6/19/2022 - wdcwineguys Likes this wine: 94 Points
30 min of air. Enjoyed with smoked BBQ. Fantastic now, better in 5+. Full bodied, long finish. Vibrant black cherry, leather, and dusty soil. Give it some time.
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6/16/2022 - Cforrester Likes this wine:
Great wine. Minimal decant. Drank like a top tier Napa valley cab. Fruit forward, leaning to blue / black / darker fruit. Smooth.
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5/6/2022 - Good2drink Likes this wine: 93 Points
Wonderful
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4/28/2022 - Teamrehfeld wrote: 95 Points
Quite good. Surprisingly so from the start. Quite balanced and approachable. Subtle not in your face dark fruits. And interesting mid palate hint of wintergreen. Not sure how time will make this any better.
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3/28/2022 - rlesher wrote: 94 Points
Really solid Cabernet. Should improve with cellaring for many years.
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2/11/2022 - MikeW wrote: 97 Points
Beautiful wine... decanted for an hour. Exception fruit forward - typical QC excellence
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1/23/2022 - Agunderson Likes this wine:
N/a
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11/19/2021 - Matt Scott Likes this wine: 98 Points
Decanted for three hours. A mesmerizing,
opaque core that is very noir. So full and luscious, and yet quite transparent. Unctuous, yet this remains so controlled. Blackberries, cinnamon stick, vanilla bean, cherries jubilee, ground rock, blonde coffee and dried flowers. Layer upon layer of cottony, vanilla tannins, and this bright, magnetic Cabernet is continuously engaging. A tour de force. A mere baby, Quilceda has been a true cellar maven. The elegance prevails, as this lovely beast is just starting to tame. Drink 2026 -.
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8/19/2021 - camdawg Likes this wine: 94 Points
The score of 94 is for drinking now. I'm sure I'd score it higher after five years of aging.
Some Quilceda Creek wines are absolute beasts if you open them young. In 2020, I opened one of my 2014 Palengats. It was a 'Spinal Tap' wine, everything was dialed up to "11". Huge fruit, big tannin, big oak, high alcohol. I had to sip it slowly as if I were drinking Scotch!
This 2018 flagship Cabernet isn't like that at all. It's definitely not wimpy. There's good fruit. You'll feel some heat from the alcohol, but not much. It melds into the overall experience so cleanly. Is there some oak? Sure, but the treatment is so fine and gentle.
Why should you be patient with this wine? You get the very clean and elegant fruit, but it gets taken away from you after awhile by the clean, refined structure. The way the wine grew in the glass for me, hinted at what's to come. With increasing time after opening, the fruit got darker and more savory. Rutherford style dust developed on the finish. For those who also love Bordeaux, an iron/iodine like minerality also developed on the finish.
Everything is in such fine, elegant balance here. The flavor will merely please you a lot at this point, it won't blow you away. This wine is a tribute to the craft of the Golitzin family and their winemaking team. A beautiful achievement in this Washington vintage!
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7/23/2021 - Vinnut Likes this wine: 95 Points
Deep, dark, reddish-purple garnet in color; almost opaque. Full, forward & attractive nose of ripe deep, dark fruit aromas of cherries, blackberries & cassis with overtones of floral & earthy/dusty notes, mint, spices, herbs, minerals, dark cocoa, anise, coffee, smoky notes, some cedar & a hint of oak/vanilla in the background. Medium-full to full bodied with a very good concentration of well balanced & smooth textured, ripe dark fruit flavors of cherries, blackberries & plums with spices, herbs, dark cocoa, minerals & a hint of oak/vanilla. Long lingering finish. Drinks quite well at present with decanting & extended airing but it really needs & should continue to develop further with additional aging at which time it may merit an even higher score.
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7/16/2021 - Tsliwinski Likes this wine: 97 Points
Beautiful young cab, plenty of rich red fruit, black cherry, and minimal smoky game. Has firm tannins which should integrate with a lot more time.
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4/17/2021 - O'Meara Likes this wine:
This is approachable and easy to drink. It’s young and the oak is somewhat pronounced right now, but it’s still a very pleasurable drink. This very clearly has the balance of fruit, tannin, and acidity to go the distance. It reminds me of a first or second growth Bordeaux before it shuts down. I won’t be drinking any more of these bottles for many years, but I’m glad I opened this for a preview.
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4/14/2021 - BShocktaster Likes this wine: 97 Points
No excessive tannins or alcohol at all for such a young cab, and more complex than I was expecting, not to mention the shear unctuous taste! Completely outclassed the Bevan Ontogeny 2018 I also tasted.
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4/5/2021 - mmeyers1984 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Really good big bold wine. May need a couple of years to hit its prime
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3/8/2021 - pakabear Likes this wine: 96 Points
Massive cherry, cassis, blackberry, cinnamon, clove, vanilla, dried earth, lead pencil and amazing balance. Drinks well now as a PnP, but I see this as getting much better in 5 years.
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3/7/2021 - Myman24 Likes this wine: 96 Points
Ok I know it's young but I had to try it. Initial heat and tannic as expected but right away amazing dark fruit, cassis and graphite along with some chocolate notes. After around 3h it becomes more elegant, sweeter and floral notes start to evolve in the glass. It will be amazing in 5 years. Good luck waiting...
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2/8/2021 - pdemaio Likes this wine: 95 Points
Big smooth and full of fruit. Very easy to drink. Should last well, but surprisingly good so young.
PDQ94+
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