America’s Greatest Winery?
I gotta say, the résumé speaks for itself:
- Appearing on the Wine Spectator Top 100 list on five separate occasions…
- An unbeaten six 100-point scores from Wine Advocate in the last decade…
- Nearly 40 wines over 95 points from Wine Advocate
- named Food & Wine’s Top American Wine…twice
I could go on, Quilceda’s ‘Press Page’ on their site would take a whole day to read….
In case you didn’t know, Quilceda Creek is one of the world’s most distinguished estates, dedicated exclusively to the production of world-class Cabernet Sauvignon. Founded in 1979 by the Golitzen family, Quilceda Creek and its iconic Cabernet Sauvignon helped put Washington’s Columbia Valley on the map. We get a couple cases a year (if we’re lucky) and it vaporizes immediately, hitting the cellars of a couple lucky customers.
That tightly-allocated wine sells for $200 a bottle, and there really isn’t any of it to talk about anyway.
But, the real question, today’s question, is how do you think that legend wine ends up being SO GOOD every year? What kind of draconian selection takes place from their roster of world-class Cabernet vineyards to give that wine a shot at perfection nearly every vintage?
Lucky for you (and us) you get to taste just how intense that selection process can be.
The 2015 Quilceda Creek "CVR" Columbia Valley Red Wine is an absolutely smashing by-product of the Golitzen family’s commitment to excellence that we are delighted to share with you today.
Over the years, the family has sourced Washington’s most hallowed sites to produce their epic Cabernet. The vineyard roster is literally a who’s who of brilliance. Yet, even still, the family felt compelled to kick things up another notch by purchasing vineyards that they could control full-time.
As the family writes:
Beginning in 1997, Quilceda Creek became a partner in Champoux Vineyard, LLC with a handful of other Washington wineries.
In 2001, the Golitzin Family partnered with Jim Holmes of Ciel du Cheval in the Red Mountain AVA to develop the Galitzine Vineyard. This 17-acre vineyard is planted with 100% Cabernet Sauvignon.
In 2006, Paul Golitzin and brother-in-law John Ware acquired a 4.5-acre vineyard located next to Champoux Vineyard. Renaming the vineyard Palengat in recognition of the French side of the family, this vineyard produces Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec.
In July 2014, Paul and Judy Champoux retired from Champoux Vineyards. Quilceda Creek acquired their remaining interest in the vineyard and hired Dan Nickolaus as the estates' new vineyard manager.
All of these vineyards have crafted wines that have rated 97-100 points from Wine Advocate on their own and all of the vineyards have been used to produce Quilceda’s flagship Cabernet. That’s what makes the 2015 CVR all the more compelling.
Combining components from Champoux, Galitzine, Palengat, and Wallula Gap Vineyards, the 2015 Quilceda Creek CVR is exhilarating to swirl and taste. Lush, polished, impeccably balanced, as the winery says, it is certainly “One of the best CVRs to date”. The wine is, in fact, Cabernet Sauvignon, with a blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot.
