TN: 2002 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon (USA, Washington)

  • 2002 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, Washington (12/14/2014)
    Dark opaque purple. Definite heat on the nose – reminds me of a fruit liqueur rather than a wine. As time went on, the alcohol on the nose became overpowering. Broad, dark fruits with little acid or any other kind of brightness. Again, more like a fruit liqueur than a wine. A poor showing.

Posted from CellarTracker

Par for the course?

That is disappointing.

The last one we opened was undrinkable and hot. Corked it and tried it again 2 days later. Much, much better, but still had some heat. Day 3 it was starting to show its stuff but still needed more time. I don’t think this wine should opened until 2022 and double decanted.

Adrian,

Yes, it seems that Quilceda and disappointment are becoming par for the course for me. I am not sure why. I started buying them with the 97 vintage. I’ve liked the pre-2000 vintage wines I’ve had from them, but the 02 and 03, particularly, have been terribly disappointing. I don’t know if they changed styles somewhere in the 99/00 time frame or what happened. I need to pull one of my remaining 90s era Quilceda’s and see if it is delicious or if I just need to give up.

Randy,

It might well be that they just need to be forgotten. I worry about long term aging, however, given the lack of acidity or tannins. Most of the cabs that I’ve had that were long agers always seemed to have a lot of both of those – in addition to lots of fruit. This Quilceda didn’t seem to have much of either. Of course, I would not consider myself any kind of authority on aging, especially aging Cabs.