It has been quite the year for Quilceda Creek. Whether it was being one of the only Washington wineries represented at Matter of Taste, Napa, joining me for 2020 Washington Wine Blog Critic’s Choice of Washington or being one of the lone featured Washington wineries in Decanter Magazine, Quilceda Creek has been crafting some thrilling new wines over the past several years. I had the honor of being the first person to taste the new Quilceda Creek wines from the 2017 vintage in December 2019 with superstar director of winemaking, Paul Golitzin. ‘We have good control of the vineyard now, which makes a huge difference especially in warm vintages, as we are able to cool things.’ Golitzin explained how he uses state of the art technology to monitor temperature at his Champoux Vineyard. Obviously from a hot site, as vintages become warmer and warmer, this technology becomes more paramount in helping create optimal conditions for phenolic ripening and ensuring that vines do not shut down. In April 2020 the Champoux Vineyard began a major replanting project which replaced aging Muscat, Chardonnay, Lemberger, and Marquette vines with specific clones of both Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Champoux will now be planted to 100% red Bordeaux varietals which benefits both the winery and the consumer.
Quilceda Creek also sources from top vineyards besides the Champoux, — the Galitzine, MachOne (formerly Lake Wallula), Palengat and Wallula Vineyards. More recently, Paul Golitzin has been adding some MachOne Vineyard fruit to his Galitzine Vineyard bottling. ‘That fruit [MachOne] seems to round things out nicely,’ Paul said. It was a great honor to revisit vintages 2004-2010 for my Decanter Magazine piece in March. As I slowly moved from wine to wine, the one thing struck me about the wines that were obviously very rich and dense was their elegance and pillowy texture. The new wines that I tasted come from the 2017 vintage, one that saw consistently warm temperatures in the summer, with few major heat spikes. Summer temperatures were consistently warm but the fall cooled considerably which led to consistent ripening.
This is now my second soiree into the 2017 Quilceda Creek ‘Columbia Valley’ and ‘Galitzine Vineyard’ bottlings which are steadily becoming more and more divergent from each other. Both wines are amongst the best wines in North America that I have tasted over the past year. The 2017 Quilceda Creek ‘Columbia Valley’ Cabernet Sauvignon (WWB, 99) has a massive core of dark fruits and a pillowy texture. Obviously rich and decadent, this has a great feeling of elegance and bright acidity that keeps everything in balance. Every bit as good and showing more of a muscular persona with its creosote and tar tones, the 2017 Quilceda Creek ‘Galitzine Vineyard’ Cabernet Sauvignon (WWB, 99) is a hedonistic treat to savor even at this juncture. This is massive and intense, truly one of the thrilling wines made in the state that is a Washington Cabernet lovers dream. Buy both of these wines with confidence. Learn more about these incredible wines at https://www.quilcedacreek.com Here are the gorgeous new releases by Quilceda Creek.
2017 Quilceda Creek ‘Columbia Valley’ Cabernet Sauvignon-
It has now been six months since I first visited the scintillating 2017 Quilceda Creek ‘Columbia Valley’ Cabernet Sauvignon, a wine that exudes both elegance and decadence. The wine spent 20 months in 100% new French oak and was sourced from the Champoux, MachOne, Palengat, and Wallula Vineyards. One remarkable thing that I continue to notice about this wine is despite its use of 100% new French oak, the oak influence in the wine is quite minor and is very well-integrated to the fruit and non-fruit flavors. Following a three hour decant, the wine shows high-toned violets with shades of sagebrush, milk chocolate covered Bing cherry, creme de cassis and anise tones that all sing in harmony in the glass. The palate is rich and layered, yet extremely polished, with a pillowy texture. Deep layers of espresso bean, Black Forest Cake, blueberry compote, graphite and sandalwood in this highly complex range of flavors. The length of this wine is truly outstanding, as is the silky texture which makes the wine effortlessly glide across the mid-palate. Generous and approachable at this juncture with a long decant, the 2017 Quilceda Creek ‘Columbia Valley’ Cabernet Sauvignon will enjoy an exceedingly long life ahead of it. Try to resist this beautiful wine for at least two more years. Drink 2022-2040- 99
2017 Quilceda Creek ‘Galitzine Vineyard’ Cabernet Sauvignon-
The Quilceda Creek ‘Galitzine Vineyard’ Cabernet Sauvignon has become quite a different animal than its ‘Columbia Valley’ brother. The more that this vineyard ages, the more divergent this wine becomes in my mind. This 2017 edition is almost entirely sourced from the Galitzine Vineyard (95%) with the remainder sourced from the ‘MachOne’ Vineyard. Following a three hour decant, the wine slowly begins to unveil layers of deep dark fruits with fresh sage, blueberry cordial and creosote tones that meld in the glass. The palate its massive at its core, with a plush, opulent texture. A thrilling backing of acidity lifts this wine that reveals ripe blackberries with mocha, tar, pipe tobacco and suggestions of blueberry pie. While obviously quite hedonistic, the wine has a fantastic sense of poise and balance, evening out the massive fruit and non-fruit flavors. The exceedingly good finish accentuates this scintillating new wine that has a long life ahead of it. This is Red Mountain at its finest. Drink 2022-2040- 99