2000 Quilceda Creek Merlot- USA, Washington (10/15/2009)
Consumed across two nights. Wow, this is pretty serious. I have had several Quilceda Merlot but with a little less age on them, and in their youth they show a LOT of oak. If I were tasting this blind I would be making some comparisons to 1991 and 1994 Dominus. The wine is very ripe with some black fruit, cocoa, smoke, some dusty notes and a yearning similarity to a very ripe vintage right bank Bordeaux. Where it clearly verges into Washington is a high-toned raspberry element on the nose. Still very dusty and tannic even after 9 years, this is a powerfully structured wine. I have been aggressively moving away from Washington and towards French wines, but this is definitely a wine to make one sit up and pay serious attention to Washington. Wow. (94 pts.)
The 99 Merlot got big points from Rovani and others. The 2000 not so much, but this was a simply terrific bottle of wine. The 1991 and 1994 Dominus are better wines, but like those, this wine DID pay a bit of homage to Bordeaux in a very pleasing way. It just has taken a long time to resolve a lot of oak. Seems to have the stuffing though.
Paying homage to Bordeaux is exactly why I love Dominus…it’s such a well made wine, and so consistent. I only wish it was cheaper!
Come to think of it, the QC Merlot was dropped in a grouping of mid-range Bordeaux as a ringer, so it MUST have at least some Bordeaux-esque qualities…
When I have read reviews that compare the QC Merlot to a right bank wine, I have thought that the reviewer was fracking nuts. Now after almost 10 years I am starting to see the comparison.