Quilceda Creek Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 750ml

The flagship 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon (90% from Champoux Vineyard and 10% from Mach One Vineyard) raised all in new barrels. It’s slightly deeper hued than the CVR and has a stunning nose of blackcurrants, smoked tobacco, toasted spices, and graphite with a beautiful varietal, herbal undertone that comes through with time in the glass. Deep, rich, full-bodied, and velvety textured, this thrilling Washington State Cabernet Sauvignon will benefit from 4-5 years of bottle age and evolve for two decades. This is unquestionably up with the greatest vintages of this cuvée ever made. (Jeb Dunnuck)

The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon opens with a lush, silky, rich, round nose with fresh and ripe notes that seduce and delight. Full-bodied, fresh and yet still tight, the wine offers a balanced structure and lifting tannins that elevate the mid-palate followed by juicy, fruit-forward layers and delightful oak spices. The Cabernet continues to show its depth and breadth, compounding its natural beauty. The Cabernet lingers on the ever-evolving, food-friendly finish and will benefit from another two years of bottle aging. The wine rested for 22 months in 100% new French oak. 5,450 cases produced. (Anthony Mueller)

With 90% of the grapes from Champoux Vineyard and 10% from Mach One Vineyard, this blend could have been labeled Horse Heaven Hills and is certainly no less a standout than the vineyard-designate bottlings. Mint, black fruit, cinnamon, sandalwood, blueberry and floral notes form a seamless whole, wrapped in beautifully integrated, fine tannins. Drink now but best from 2028. (James Suckling)

The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Colombia Valley is a beautiful wine and has a more classic profile than the more sexy, massive 2015. Beautiful notes of creme de cassis, lead pencil shavings, graphite, dried herbs, and loamy earth all flow to a full-bodied, incredibly pure and perfectly balanced Cabernet Sauvignon that has no hard edges, a deep, concentrated mid-palate, good acidity, and a great, great finish. It reminds me of the 2002 with its uber classic, balanced yet broad and powerful style.

The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon has a ripe nose with a precise core of generous, healthy and robust red and black fruits. Bursting from the glass, chocolate-covered black cherries with elegant blackberry tones effortlessly strut their stuff next to seductive tones of French oak spices and subtle savory and floral tones. Full-bodied, the wine turns a touch tart in the mouth, with a focused acid structure balanced by lush tannins. The mid-palate is perfectly balanced, with rich dark cherry notes framing the oak expressions. The ripe core of fruit and oak dance vibrantly on the long, elaborate and generous finish, and the aftertaste lingers on for more than a minute after the wine has left the palate. This is a stunning and impressive wine in this vintage, one for collectors to take note of and seek out. 4,975 cases were produced.

The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon erupts with a classic Quilceda Creek expression. A big, bold and boisterous wine, it presents a fresh, juicy attack with gobs of succulent, ripe, fresh fruit tones complemented by plenty of oak essences. The palate is full-bodied, fresh, layered and complex, showcasing balanced acidity and fine-grained tannins. The elongated finish suggests that while it can be enjoyed now, patience will be generously rewarded with additional years in the cellar. However, keeping your hands off this gorgeous wine will take a lot of self-discipline. The wine aged for 20 months in 100% French oak. 65,520 bottles produced.

Moderately saturated dark red with ruby tones. Classic, complex Cabernet scents of black fruits, cocoa powder and sexy herbs lifted by a strong mineral component; the high-quality Taransaud and Darnajou barrels come through clearly but not loudly. Wonderfully smooth, tight-grained wine with gloriously ripe but not roasted flavors of wild blackberry, cassis, bitter chocolate and minerals. Harmonious ripe acidity gives this wine outstanding finesse and lifts the fruit. I find this wine more relaxed than the superb 2015 version, perhaps because there was little in the way of vine stress in ’16. Perhaps most impressive in the early going on the extremely long, slowly building back end, which features noble tannins, great suavity and outstanding lift. (Stephen Tanzer)

Really juicy and savory at the moment with beautiful freshness and linear tightness that frames the wine. It’s full and flavorful with currants, coffee and walnuts. Mahogany, too. The tannins are polished and spread across the palate. Accessible and hard not to drink now, but will age wonderfully, too. Drink or hold.

The flagship 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley is all Cabernet Sauvignon brought up in new barrels (mostly Taransaud and Darnajou). Beautiful crème de cassis, graphite, spice box, and lead pencil notes all flow to a full-bodied, soft, elegant wine that has beautiful tannins, no hard edges, and a seamless texture. It shows the more upfront, charming style of the vintage and is already hard to resist. Nevertheless, it should easily evolve for 20+ years. (Jeb Dunnuck)

This is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, with fruit coming from Horse Heaven Hills sites Champoux, Lake Wallula, Palengat, and Wallula. It’s aromatically brooding out of the gate, with notes of cherry meats, barrel spice and incense, not yet ready to reveal its charms. Dense, focused, layered, almost creamy-feeling fruit flavors follow. It is coiled up tightly right now but has all of the stuffing to go the distance and then some. Best from 2030–2037. (Sean P. Sullivan)

Bright medium ruby to the rim. Very ripe aromas of blackberry, cassis, licorice pastille, bitter chocolate, cocoa powder and minerals, lifted by a note of lavender; just this side of liqueur-like. Dense, sweet, silky and firm, with wonderfully suave, dense flavors of dark berries, bitter chocolate and violet dominating. This savory wine finishes with a slowly building whiplash of flavor and the sophisticated seamless tannins to support a long evolution and graceful evolution in bottle. I still give the edge to the 2016 for its energy and lift, but this very deep, youthfully medicinal wine is potentially great as well. Real nobility of texture here (it saturates every square millimeter of the palate) and outstanding palate-staining length. Lots to come! (Stephen Tanzer)

The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley opens slowly. At first dark and understated, it gains lovely floral perfumes with each passing swirl of the glass, as rose-tinged black raspberries evolve, laced with nuances of sandalwood, lavender and dark, dark chocolate. This floods the palate with an elegant wave of ripe red and black fruits complemented by sweet exotic spice, all expertly lifted by a core of zesty acidity. The 2020 leaves balsamic nuances, with clove and cherry liquor, while tapering off lightly structured with fine yet silky tannins. The balance and energy here is remarkable for such a powerful young wine. The 2020 hails from 90% Champoux to 10% Mach One Vineyard’s. (Eric Guido)

This compelling red is rich and polished yet impeccably structured, offering expressive blackberry, espresso and clove flavors that build tension and texture toward refined tannins. Drink now through 2034. 5,450 cases made. (Tim Fish)

Aromatically stunning. The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon is a bombshell, opening with a mentholated freshness that gives way to sweet sage, sandalwood, lavender, white smoke and cinnamon-dusted currant. It’s elegant yet sincere, with silken textures and vibrant acidity that motivates its depths of dark red and black fruits, all complicated by hints of rosemary and spice. This finishes long and staining, with beautifully round tannins that present a structured yet not severe sensation. The 2021 tapers off long and unexpectedly fresh. This is a blend of 90% Champoux and 10% Mach One. (Eric Guido)

Revisiting the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon at a year on, the wine remains bold and structured and has had a bit more time to come together and harmonize. The wine remains generous on the nose with sweetness of fruit and a glossy character, which offers chocolaty undertones in the glass with aromas of lavender and black cherry that are still persistent on the nose. Full-bodied, the tannins are beginning to round with an additional year in bottle. At the same time, the palate offers layers of dusty blackberry essence and juicy plums with elegant baking spices from the 100% new French oak aging before ending with a rich, juicy and intense finish. The original score and drink date still stand.

Quilceda Creek has been a benchmark in Washington since its first vintage in 1979. Aromas of pitch-black cherry, graphite and spice lead to ripe, intense, layered dark-fruit flavors supported by velvety but firm tannins that lead to a warm finish. As always, time in the cellar will serve this wine well. Best after 2026, with a long life beyond that. (Sean P. Sullivan)

Polished and well-proportioned, with medium-bodied flavors of blackberry and cherry that take on accents of bitter mocha and bell pepper before finishing with medium-grained tannins. Drink now through 2034. 5,460 cases made.

Quilceda Creek’s flagship cabernet, this is a blend of four vineyards, including estate fruit from Palengat and Champoux, in the Horse Heaven Hills. It’s seamless, balanced and exceedingly well tailored, the scents of tar, tanbark and briar set against bright red fruit in a firm, sinewy package. A wine for lamb.

Combines polish with a firm, complex structure, offering blackberry, black olive and smoky accents that build richness toward fine-grained tannins. Best from 2021 through 2027. 4,975 cases made. (Tim Fish)