Quilceda Creek Vintners was founded in 1978 by Alex and Jeanette Golitzin. Alex Golitzin is a nephew of André Tchelistcheff, the legendary winemaker who put Beaulieu Vineyard at the forefront of Napa Valley Cabernet in the 1960s and 70s. He credits summer trips to visit his uncle in St. Helena, California with developing his early interest in wine. Alex’s son, Paul Golitzin is now chief winemaker at the winery.
Quilceda Creek Vintners Cabernet Sauvignon has earned some of the highest scores of any wine produced in the United States. The 2002, ’03, ’05 and ’07 vintages all scored 100-point ratings from Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate. The 2003 vintage of Quilceda Creek’s Cabernet Sauvignon was named the No. 2 Wine of the Year by Wine Spectator. Quilceda Creek produces several single vineyard Cabernets, and they also bottled a Merlot through the ’06 vintage.
Purple in color. 14.9% ABV. Candied cherries, violets and vanilla bean on the nose. Maybe a slight hint of volatile acidity (VA). Concentrated and immense. Tons of structure. Currants, cassis, blueberry, chocolate, eucalyptus, spice and mineral on the palate. Plush and exotic. Silky tannins on an exceedingly long finish. I’d have scored this several points higher had the VA not been somewhat distracting.
My rating: 91 points.
Current vintages of the Cabernet Sauvignon can be obtained via the mailing list and at retail and should set you back around $150.
If you enjoyed this post please consider subscribing to Zinfandel Chronicles updates by email.