2015
Quilceda Creek
Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
The 2015 growing season was the warmest ever recorded in Washington State. Fortunately, we had sufficient shoot growth early in the season to provide shading for the fruit during the hottest June days. And we installed overhead misters in all of our vineyards to help keep the fruit cool, making it possible to produce the finest grapes we can grow, even as the weather hit new extremes. Almost all of our Cabernet Sauvignon achieved its final ripening under perfect, mid-70 degree temperatures in October. The grapes were very small and concentrated, full of flavor and freshness.
The 2015 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley is a truly majestic wine of great purity, class, and breed. Made with 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon from the Champoux, Lake Wallula, Palengat, and Wallula vineyards, it offers a wealth of blackberry, blueberry and black cherry fruit, with hints of spring flowers, cocoa powder, roasted herbs, forest floor, and minerals. This wine will have a long drinking window, thanks to the seamless integration of all its elements.
Paul Golitzin, Director of Winemaking
99 points
"The flagship is the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon, 100% Cabernet Sauvignon mostly from Champoux with the balance from Palengat and Wallula vineyards. Crème de cassis, graphite, black licorice, unsmoked tobacco, and hints of chocolate emerge from this beauty and it continues to gain depth and nuance with time in the glass. Full-bodied, deep, and layered with an incredible purity and elegance on the palate, it's already accessible but has more than enough tannin, depth, and balance to evolve for two decades or more."
96 points
“The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon shows the intensity of the 2015 vintage with robust, dark red and black fruit tones that sway in the glass with aromas of crème de cassis, Chambord and black raspberry jus, with an open-knit nose that’s generous, juicy and hedonistic. Full-bodied, the wine is drinking great now as it offers up juicy tannins with a quilt of baking spices that floats on top of the dense richness that the warm 2015 vintage delivered to Washington. Ripe and juicy, the wine concludes with elevated alcohol on the finish that continues to offer up flavors of Chambord with sweet oak tones of cinnamon and nutmeg over the elongated finish. I will tip the age range two more years, capping it at 2030, giving it a 15-year lifespan. Overall, the 2015 vintage present several challenges, the intense heat being the main concern, yet Quilceda Creek still managed to deliver quality and made a wine that delivers pleasure.”