2016 Quilceda Creek Columbia Valley Red (CVR)
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Tasting notes
Dark red-ruby. Musky currant, plum, licorice, herbs and tobacco leaf on the nose, along with a hint of celery seed and obvious oak. At once firm and smooth on the palate; more black fruit than red in character, with dominant flavors of boysenberry and dark plum complicated by licorice, herbs and oak spices. Offers a fine-grained texture for a wine made from declassified barrels, and less of a range of ripeness than usual, perhaps owing to the longer hang time afforded by this vintage. Finishes with a solid spine of dusty, building tannins that mostly avoid dryness. Shows less of the black olive component demonstrated by the 2015. (aged in 60% new French oak; 6,675 cases made from declassified barrels)
Critic scores
Average Score
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
A blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot and 3% each of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, the 2016 CVR Columbia Valley Red Wine wafts from the glass with tones of rich and ripe red fruit with a soft tartness and subtle cedar spice on the nose. Full-bodied, the wine is sprinkled with sweet spice on the palate, giving way to a ripe tannic structure, and it concludes with a long finish with nuances of subtle dark cherry and elegant oak spice.
The entry-level 2016 Columbia Valley CVR is a beauty and well worth purchasing, particularly as it drinks well right out of the gate where the top cuvee benefit from 2-4 years of bottle age. Full-bodied, ripe, and sexy, with terrific notes of kirsch, black cherry liqueur, lead pencil shavings, and graphite, it has plenty of tannins as well as terrific balance and elegance.
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.