2002 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley
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Tasting notes
The 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon is mature and near-term in the glass with earthy and funky tones that resonate with the remnants of a once-sweet fruit frame that has shifted almost fully into a stewed fruit core. Full-bodied, I recommend drinking this in the next few years, as it currently offers elements of dried blackberries and tar across the mid-palate. For a generous wine, it's starting to wind down and only has a few years left. I recommend enjoying this bottle with an aged ribeye steak.
Critic scores
Average Score
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
(bottled in August of 2004; includes bits of merlot and cab franc) Bright ruby-red. Superripe aromas of cassis, black raspberry, minerals and chocolate. Rich, lush and expressive; superconcentrated but not at all heavy. In fact, this broad, suave wine offers a compellingly silky texture. Finishes impressively rich, dry and long, with firm but fine-grained tannins. Wait until 2010 before drinking this superb cabernet, by which time it may merit an even higher rating.
(this was to have been bottled in August) Bright, deep ruby-red. Pungent nose combines black raspberry, black cherry and baking spices. Fat and sweet but primary; del ivers an impressive blast of fruit. Not yet complex but this compellingly sweet wine shows a very refined tex ture. Finishes with ripe, building, very suave tannins and a strong flavor of chocolate. Paul Golitzin told me that there's more Taransaud in this vintage than previously, as Quilceda Creek is phasing out its Seguin-Moreau barrels. Offers great potential: will it equal the 2001?
About the producer
Founded in 1978, Quilceda Creek helped put Washington Cabernet on the world stage. Mentored by André Tchelistcheff, the family-owned winery became renowned for its powerful, age-worthy Cabernets and was the first U.S. winery outside California to earn 100 points from Wine Advocate.