2005 Quilceda Creek Columbia Valley Red (CVR)
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Tasting notes
(84% cabernet sauvignon, 9% cabernet franc and 7% merlot) Bright ruby-red. Very ripe, rich aromas of currant, plum, smoke and mocha, lifted by spice and floral nuances. Plush and slightly candied in the mouth, with dried fruit and roasted, smoky oak notes perked up by the spice component. The sweet finish features substantial dusty tannins.
Critic scores
Average Score
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2005 Red Wine is the winery’s second label for declassified lots. It consists of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc, and 7% Merlot. Purple-colored, it reveals an expressive bouquet of cedar, pencil lead, spice box, black currant, and blackberry. This is followed by a full-bodied, plush wine with ample ripe tannins and layers of sweet fruit. The wine has serious weight, excellent length, and will profit from several years of additional cellaring. It should be at its best from 2011 through 2020. The wine is true to the house style and is a superb value. Quilceda Creek Vintners remains a model of consistency. In the outstanding 2005 vintage, Quilceda Creek’s Cabernet Sauvignon remains the benchmark for what can be achieved in Washington and the United States. Some good news from the winery is that beginning with the 2006 vintage, there will be a new vineyard designate, a Cabernet Sauvignon from the Palengat Vineyard in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA. The vines are only 7 years old but the potential is enormous as a taste from barrel attests. Tel.(360) 568-2389; www.quilcedacreek.com
(84% cabernet sauvignon, 9% cabernet franc and 7% merlot) Good deep red-ruby; this seemed to gain in color in the glass. Much less open on the nose than the 2004, hinting at currant, minerals, graphite and nutty oak. Densely packed and rather powerful, with blacker fruit flavors than the 2004. This finishes with a firmer tannic spine. Paul Golitzin noted that the family's 2005s are more powerful wines than their comparatively lush 2004s due in large part to smaller berry size. They'll need longer aging, he said-"maybe the longest ever!"
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.