Seattle Tasting Group does Quilceda Creek

I hosted the STG for a vertical tasting of Quilceda Creek. As much as we have tasted together, we had never done a Quilceda themed event, so this was exciting. We chose to keep the number of wines to around a dozen and intentionally omitted 1997-2002 in the interest of focusing on more mature examples.

Also in attendance were Jeff & Dena Morris, in town on business and happy to tag along despite the fact that Cabernet is not their true love.

We started off with an apertif flight as people arrived of two vintages of the Quilceda Table wine.

• 1998 Quilceda Creek Red Wine Columbia Valley 88 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  Oaky on the nose with a bit of stemminess. Sweet vanilla in the mouth, a real mouthful. Still my favorite of the Quilceda table wines.

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• 1999 Quilceda Creek Red Wine Columbia Valley 86 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  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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Our first real flight had a pair of older Quilceda, and I elected to toss in a third ringer of an 83 Margaux (as people often compare the noses on these). Alas, the Margaux was not a great bottle and was the big loser of the flight (if not the tasting) for most people.

• 1982 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon 90 Points

  USA, Washington

  Leafy and spicy on the nose, quite pungent and explosive. With time in the glass some mushroom notes come out and eventually some hints of rotten plums. The palate shows red fruit, drying out a bit, spicy, quite round and resolved, some cola. The consensus was that this might have been better a few years earlier, but I was impressed and think it is hanging on quite well.

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• 1987 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon 94 Points

  USA, Washington

  I had this once a year ago, and amazingly I gave it the same score (an accident really). This is an especially strong Quilceda Creek that, in a somewhat rare development for this producer, actually seems nicely mature! Mmm, cassis, raspberry and mineral come out on the 'lifted' nose, then some underbrush. Terrific aromatics and more secondary that one usually finds for Quilceda. The palate is fresh with cranberry, powerful focus, quite vibrant, picking up weight and steam on the finish as it airs. Some intense black cherry comes to the party. Really terrific wine!

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• 1983 Château Margaux

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux

  I snuck this in as a ringer, but as it turned out it was not a good bottle. I loved the nose which showed leather, cedar, some menthol and a hint of roast beef. This was clearly a different animal from the Quilceda. The palate though was tough, tannic and quite dry by comparison. I did find that it opened up well to yield nice, plummy fruit and good, silky length and depth. I even rated it as 93 points, but knowing this wine, it was clearly a slightly oxidized bottle. So officially, this is NR. (BTW, 1/3 of a bottle of leftovers were still hanging on fairly well 24 hours later.)

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This next flight was the strongest, 3 of the 4 'Reserve' wines ever released by Quilceda. These just keep getting better and better, and in fact leftovers of these had improved considerably the next day to reveal much more expressive aromatics.

• 1988 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 92 Points

  USA, Washington

  This was my least favorite of the Reserve flight. A leafy edge, powerful with some rusty notes of iron. The palate has a huge attack with a slightly medicinal edge to it. Black and spicy, this actually seems a little oaky. Still, a lot of stuffing here and a very strong wine.

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• 1990 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 93 Points

  USA, Washington

  Some graham cracker on the nose and slightly meaty & smoky. The palate is huge, vibrant with rather unreal intensity, dark notes intermingle with tart cranberry, raspberry and a hint of vanilla.

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• 1992 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 96 Points

  USA, Washington

  Oh yeah, this one has the violets! Along with that is some confected raspberry and hints of pine tar, a very explosive nose. The palate is on another dimension with amazing layering and complexity, a massive wall of tannins and a simply huge expression of Quilceda. A real beast and my kind of wine!

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This next flight was the 'dinner' flight and was meant to be a little less serious. Interestingly, paired with steak sandwiches these were VERY popular wines for a lot of people. Clearly the tannins were starting to get to folks.

• 1991 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon 91 Points

  USA, Washington

  This had the most classic Quilceda nose so far with raspberry, violet and a hint of cedar, high-pitched and soaring from the glass. On the palate this is still quite tannic, but for some reason it struck me that now was a good time to drink this. It just doesn't seem like the fruit will outlast the tannin, and at least now it still has youth and force in its favor.

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• 1993 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon 89 Points

  USA, Washington

  A hint of barnyard on the nose and that medicinal, vitamin-pill smell. The palate shows char with a dark flavor profile, somewhat raspy tannins, and a bit of bitter espresso. I like the wine, but it's not in the same league as most of the others.

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• 1997 Quilceda Creek Merlot 87 Points

  USA, Washington

  Chocolate and sage on the nose. Mouthwatering palate, herbal with some vanilla.

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We finished up the Quilceda vertial with a nice troika. The 1994 stole the show, but the 1995 was very popular in this flight as well.

• 1994 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon 96 Points

  USA, Washington

  Ahhh, here we go, this wine just ALWAYS delivers for me, exploding from the glass with violets. This rocks! This really is Quilceda on steroids with somewhat out of control tannins, and yet it just works for me, really, really well. Muscular and expressive, this wine seizes your palate yet delivers a wealth of fruit, firm yet somehow silky, with a gorgeous flavor profile that is lightly bittersweet.

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• 1995 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon 93 Points

  USA, Washington

  Darker in profile with more mineral and pine than the 1994. Wow, this is taut and muscular, lots of mineral to the point of salty. OK, this is different but pretty terrific. Each time I have this wine it seems to get a bit bigger and more muscular, showing more structure. Perhaps it is drying out a little, but this seems to have a lot of stuffing.

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• 1996 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon 91 Points

  USA, Washington

  The nose here seems a little flawed with soy and clear notes of volatile acidity. The oak still has a light presence as well. The palate is a much better story, dark and lush with a bitter edge, cranberry and mineral. I like.

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Jeff & Dena contributed a stunning troika of Zind-Humbrecht wines for dessert, and these proved a lovely palate cleanser after all of that Cabernet. And oh my the Brand VT was right there for WOTN honors in my book!

• 1995 Zind-Humbrecht Riesling Brand Vendange Tardive 96 Points

  France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru

  This *almost* stole the show from the 1994 and 1992 Quilceda Reserve. Honey and more than a faint hint of diesel on the nose. On the palate, oh my, zingy and intense with dancing acidity and some saltiness. Wow, what a serious, serious package!

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• 1989 Zind-Humbrecht Gewurztraminer Goldert Vendange Tardive 93 Points

  France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru

  I usually find Alsatian Gewurz to be too rambunctious and overbearing, but 16 years have brought this wine to a great, great point. Clear notes of rose and the flavor of lychee nuts make it really, really obvious what this is. A faint hint of orange peel adds some intrigue as well. The palate really is "liquid lychee" with some kerosene and spicy white pepper tossed in as well. Wow, another stunner!

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• 1994 Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris Rangen de Thann Clos St. Urbain Vendange Tardive 91 Points

  France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru

  This was my least favorite of the flight. Honey and some fainly smoky smells, lightly medicinal, with that funk I associate with PG. Maybe I just don't like Pinot Gris as much as Riesling and Gewurz. This was a lovely wine but lacking the verve of the others. The best thing it had going for it was a LOOONG finish.

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Thanks everyone for a terrific tasting, and sorry for the belated notes! Jeff & Dena, a pleasure to meet you and thanks for the killer Z-H!