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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 92.1 pts. and median of 93 pts. in 112 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Nothung on 8/2/2023 & rated 93 points: A beautiful Washington State cab. Decanted for about an hour. Drinking really well. Won’t improve with more cellaring so drink up. (604 views) | | | Tasted by marcstevens45 on 4/30/2022 & rated 93 points: Opened for about 2 hours before drinking.
Dark purple color.
Nose had some fruit, earth, oak.
Pallet had nice acidity and good balance.
Really nice. (1359 views) | | | Tasted by Lhyandrew on 12/4/2021 & rated 90 points: At home
Paired with flank steak.
Vacuum pump slow ox overnight before serving.
Opaque purple on appearance. Dark fruits, grilled meat, cinnamon, slightly oaky on the nose with a slightly tingly alcoholic sensation. The palate is fairly smooth - its fruity with good acidity, slightly oaky with notes of vanilla and cinnamon. The wine does not taste old. It’s quite bold, fairly complex, and pairs really well with the steak.
I like this wine with food. By itself it’s a little too bold and heavy for me. (1645 views) | | | Tasted by mss452 on 11/22/2021: Over hill (1644 views) | | | Tasted by phandley66 on 3/22/2021 & rated 94 points: Probably should have decanted this one. Huge wine, massive. Lots of bright fruit, cherry. Plent of barnyard (Brett?). Still pretty tannic. Wonderful wine, but would definitely decant for an hour or two. (2112 views) | | | Tasted by Gary on 12/10/2020 & rated 92 points: Still a stunning wine after 25 years. (1926 views) | | | Tasted by Nothung on 9/6/2020 & rated 94 points: A beautiful, well structured, nuanced wine. Opened about three hours, then decanted shortly before drinking. Continued opening up a bit in the glass. (1699 views) | | | Tasted by Myman24 on 6/24/2020 & rated 93 points: Very good 25 year old bottle. Smooth tannins and plenty of dark/red fruits!! (1663 views) | | | Tasted by norsktorsk on 4/12/2020 & rated 93 points: Holding up quite well. Awesome (1645 views) | | | Tasted by senesd on 12/25/2019 & rated 92 points: took a couple of hours to open up. Nice color no browning at all. Plum and dark berry in the nose and mouth. Nice long finish. Drinking well now (1515 views) | | | Tasted by Nothung on 6/5/2019 & rated 91 points: Decanted about 2.5 hours before drinking. Not quite as dynamic as other bottles that I’ve had. A subtle, beautiful wine. (1692 views) | | | Tasted by Ron Slye on 4/6/2019 & rated 95 points: Wow. This just continues to amaze. Dark earthy and brooding, with dark fruits. This can last at least 5 more years if not more -- and will probably get better during that time. Note to self: Resist drinking the last bottle until 2025 or so. (1656 views) | | | Tasted by mhudes on 3/17/2019 & rated 93 points: At Lalimes in Berkeley for Walter's birthday. PnP. Dark red in color. Flowers on the nose along with some nutmeg? Plums and other dark fruit (particularly dark cherries) on the palate along with cedar/herbs in the background. Tannin completely subsided, some acidity, but very smooth. An elegant wine that still had a nice finish. (1552 views) | | | Tasted by Duncan H on 12/13/2017 & rated 92 points: Probably coming to the end of its life, but still lovely. A nuanced nose - cedar/tobacco, gentle (not sweet) blackcurrant. Mid-weight and long on the palate. No doubt not as forceful as it was a few years ago, but very fine nevertheless. (2700 views) | | | Tasted by Ron Slye on 6/11/2017 & rated 95 points: Still very dark and dense. Lovely nose of dark plums, licorice, leather. Similar flavors dominate on the palate, with a stronger taste of black cherry at the center, surrounded by hints of licorice, leather, and earth. Really lovely.
On day 2, this has really opened up with all cylinders. This is performing like an excellent aged Bordeaux. Nose of plums, leather, tobacco, and mushrooms. The palate is still somewhat tight – but a nice hard core of black cherry, and a finish that goes on and on.
I should point out that on day 1, I just took a glass, so there was not a lot of wine exposed overnight. The bottle was uncorked over night, then corked from morning until this evening. As this is opening up more in the glass now, I do think this requires a decant of at least an hour before drinking. I would not be surprised if this were not better in five, even ten, years. This shows how domestic Cabs can really shine and age if done right. I paid $49.95 for this back in…. maybe 1997 or 1998? Worth every penny!
PS. Just noted my earlier note. This is clearly still a youthful wine that will benefit with more bottle age. (3616 views) | | | Tasted by rocknroller on 12/18/2016 & rated 92 points: 1992 & Older Napa Cabs - Blind - With a Few Ringers (Siggy & Jenny's Place, Mpls, MN): Dark red color. PNP, drank 1 glass blind over an hour. This flight consisted of '92 & '91 Arrowood Sonoma Cab and this '95 Quilceda Creek ringer. The Quilceda took the flight on the strength of a simply glorious nose. I probably could have sat and just nosed this wine all night. The nose alone was easily 95pts. The nose brims with a tantalizing array of earth, rose, potpourri, wood spice, truffle, and pretty dark red fruits that create an amazing perfume.
The palate tonight did not equate the same way. The palate is harder and shows firm tannin and a wood that dominates the faded dark fruit too much. (4891 views) | | | Tasted by rocknroller on 10/29/2016 & rated 93 points: Brisket Bash Deux: 10 Vintage Vertical of Clos de Papes and more (Siggy & Jenny's Place, Mpls, MN): Very dark red/purple color. PNP, from magnum, 2oz pour. Very good and ready to drink, nose is complex with dark red fruits, florals, dill, bright berries, nicely spiced, cassis, tannins say this can still go awhile. (5185 views) | | | Tasted by Zweder on 9/24/2016 & rated 93 points: USA 1995 (@ JK): Beautiful bouquet with some floral impressions. On the palate earthy and mushroom flavors, dark berries like cassis, firm acidity, medicine box, some chocolate but also classical with slightly drying tannin. Good freshness! Still a beautiful wine with some future. (4794 views) | | | Tasted by Nothung on 9/15/2016 & rated 94 points: Decanted about an hour and a half before drinking. Really drinking beautifully. Won't be getting any better with age, but will drink well for a number of years. Drink up! (3403 views) | | | Tasted by dcwino on 7/22/2016 & rated 93 points: Poker night - Mostly double blind - Rayas, Masseto, Schrader, QC and etc. (Reston, Va): Double blind, Incredibly youthful nose, sweet dark fruits, cab bell pepper, lead pencil and caramel. Initially my guess is classic napa cab, Dominus 94. There is Bordeaux like freshness but a bit too ripe. My guess is ten year old Napa cab. (3547 views) | | | Tasted by robertek on 5/7/2016 & rated 94 points: Mature and dandy. (2444 views) | | | Tasted by Neecies on 8/26/2015 & rated 89 points: Mature plummy fruit on the downhill side of life; a perfectly decent drink but no longer a show horse for Washington cabernet like a recent '92 was. Clean unsaturated cork, but it crumbled on approach like Redteeth below's bottle did. Drink up. (3489 views) | | | Tasted by Redteeth on 4/5/2015: The cork simply crumbled on removal even though this bottle was bought on release and properly stored ever since. Needless to say the bottle was decanted and it took a few minutes to open up and clean up. Fortunately the wine was good with nice color and medium weight, mature fruit. I doubt this is going to improve with further age and it is time to drink unless a science experiment is desired. (3973 views) | | | Tasted by Ron Slye on 5/14/2014 & rated 89 points: Definitely a more restrained cabernet. Not like the fruit bombs people complain about with QC -- though I guess those came later? This was good, but not amazing. Still some life, but I would drink in the next few years -- though who knows what might happen in 5-10 -- perhaps this is a dumb phase? (5450 views) | | | Tasted by spatchmo2 on 12/31/2013 & rated 93 points: Drank this wine next to the 94. This wasn’t quite as good but still a nice wine. Drink them if you got them. Fruit might be fading a bit. (5744 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, September/October 1999, IWC Issue #86
(Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Washington State) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Vinous. (manage subscription channels) |
| Quilceda Creek Producer website1995 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Winemakers Comments: The 1995 vintage was a late one, with the first grapes beginning harvested on September 17 and the last of the Cabernet Sauvignon coming in on October 22. Cool summers are not a problem in eastern Washington because the Cascade Mountains hold back the Fall Pacific storms, allowing us to leave the grapes on the vines until they are totally physiologically mature. The 1995 Cabernet Sauvignon is a hedonistic blend of black cherries, cedar, chocolate and spice. The addition of 11% Merlot give the wine a beautiful complex aroma and a great depth of flavor, with the Merlot fruit layered on top of the density and textural elements of the Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine is really delicious now, yet has the structure to age beautifully in your cellar for a good 25 years.
|| Winemakers: || Alex Golitzin, Paul Golitzin ||
|| Varietal: || 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot ||
|| Vineyards: || Ciel du Cheval, Kiona, Klipsun, Mercer Ranch(Champoux) ||
|| Barrels: || 100% New French Oak ||
|| Time in Barrel: || 22 Months ||
|| Time in Bottle before release: || 13 months ||
|| Case Production: || 2250 Cases ||
|| Drinking window: || 2002-2015 ||Cabernet SauvignonCabernet Sauvignon is probably the most famous red wine grape variety on Earth. It is rivaled in this regard only by its Bordeaux stablemate Merlot, and its opposite number in Burgundy, Pinot Noir. From its origins in Bordeaux, Cabernet has successfully spread to almost every winegrowing country in the world. It is now the key grape variety in many first-rate New World wine regions, most notably Napa Valley, Coonawarra and Maipo Valley. Wherever they come from, Cabernet Sauvignon wines always seem to demonstrate a handful of common character traits: deep color, good tannin structure, moderate acidity and aromas of blackcurrant, tomato leaf, dark spices and cedarwood.
Used as frequently in blends as in varietal wines, Cabernet Sauvignon has a large number of common blending partners. Apart from the obvious Merlot and Cabernet Franc, the most prevalent of these are Malbec, Petit Verdot and Carmenere (the ingredients of a classic Bordeaux Blend), Shiraz (in Australia's favorite blend) and in Spain and South America, a Cabernet – Tempranillo blend is now commonplace. Even the bold Tannat-based wines of Madiran are now generally softened with Cabernet SauvignonUSAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.Washington Washington Wine Commission | Credit to Washingtonwine.org for this article
Washington Wine
Washington State is a premium wine producing region located in the northwest corner of the United States. Although a relatively young wine industry, it is now the nation's second largest wine producer and is ranked among the world's top wine regions. Washington wines are found nationally in all 50 states and internationally in more than 40 countries.
Wineries
With 30,000+ acres planted, the state has ideal geography and conditions for growing premium vinifera wine grapes. Primarily grown on their own root stocks, the vines produce grapes of consistent quality, resulting in strong vintages year after year. While its focus is on Chardonnay, Riesling, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, the region also produces a wide range of other spectacular whites and reds.
Growers
Winemakers from all over the world have chosen to establish themselves in Washington, where they can create wines reflecting this region's unique characteristics. Their hand-crafted wines are receiving wide acclaim from critics regionally, nationally and internationally for their consistently high quality. Many of them have received scores of 90 and above from the major wine media. Overall this is a higher percentage than other leading wine regions.
Regions
As the state's fourth largest fruit crop, the Washington wine industry is an important contributor to the long-term preservation of Washington agriculture. The industry is committed to sustainable agricultural practices and conservation of water resources.
Washington State is a premium wine producing region located in the northwest corner of the United States. Although a relatively young wine industry, it is now the nation's second largest wine producer and is ranked among the world's top wine regions. Washington wines are found nationally in all 50 states and internationally in more than 40 countries.
Varieties
Washington produces more than 20 wine grape varieties - a ratio of 56 percent white to 44 percent red. As the industry matures and experiments, it finds many grape varieties that thrive throughout Washington's microclimates. There are more than 16,000 vineyard acres of red wine varieties statewide.
History & Vintages
Washington's wine future is limitless. As consumers discover the quality of Washington wines, demand continues to grow nationally and internationally. New acreage and wine varietals are being planted and new wineries are opening at a remarkable pace. Washington State is recognized as a premium viticultural region around the world.
State Facts
Washington's wine industry generates more than $3 billion to the state economy. It employs more than 14,000 people, directly and indirectly, with projections to add nearly 2,000 more jobs by 2006. In terms of tax revenues accrued to the state and federal government, wine grapes are among the highest tax generators of any agricultural crops. Furthermore, Washington wine tourism attracts nearly two million visitors annually contributing to the positive growth of local and regional economies.
Washington State - the perfect climate for wine = ideal growing conditions, quality wines, business innovation, lifestyle, and social responsibility. All are key elements of this world-class wine industry.
Vintages
"2008 and even more so 2010 and 2011 were cool, even cold vintages (think: 2002 in the Barossa) without the extreme ripeness, extract and higher alcohol that had become the norm in the state’s post 1995 world. 2008 was manageable but the duo of 2010/2011 nearly caused a “great depression” in Washington State." - Jon RimmermanWashingtonRattlesnake Hills |
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