Seek
Upstate NY
Wine Thief
Posts:2772
 | | 11/25/2002 12:29 AM |
| 1999 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon
14.1% Alcohol
$66 off Mailing list order.
I am real fan of the wines coming out of Washington state, and this Quilceda Creek is to date the best I have tasted. Black-purple and nearly full bodied this wine has a simply awesome nose. Massive amounts of black and red mountain berries, chocolate, & black currant soar from the glass. In the mouth you will find a burst of fruit mainly blackberry and cherry in a jammy form, chocolate, followed by a gigantic sweet tannic attack. The forward fruit (as pointed out to me by STW) did seem to run and hide after about 15 seconds while the luscious tannins kept holding on (is this starting to shut down?). I really enjoyed this style of wine and find it to be an outstanding effort. I will let the remainder of the case sleep for now, and maybe wake one up in about 4 years. 96 points
This wine was decanted about 6.5 hours before first taste from Riedel Grand Cru Sommelier Bordeaux stems. Tasted on its own after consuming 3 other wines (`90 Dalla Valle Cab, `92 La Jota 11th Anniversary Cab, and `92 Dunn Howell Mountain cab) I ranked this wine 3rd out of the 4 wines tasted, for overall enjoyment. | | | |
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Blair Ridley
Wine Labeler
Posts:3980
| | 11/25/2002 1:07 AM |
| This was my second foray into Washington State cabernets and it was a real treat.
However, I still placed this wine as my personal #4 of 4 during the evening for enjoyment (but #3 of 4 for rating).
This massive wine is a monument to structure. Full-blown chocolate, glycerin, and the noticeably different berry-fruit drive this wine to a mid 90's score for me.
However, I was slightly disappointed with the finish as compared to the other wines of the evening. The finish started strong then completely fell off.
For me, I'd rate this wine 94 with a great potential for additional scoring in many years time. | | | |
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Budman
Master of Wine
Posts:11858
| | 11/25/2002 11:33 AM |
| Thanks for the notes, guys.
Looks like I should let the bottles I have sleep quietly for a few years. | | | |
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Pool Boy
Laurl, MD (DC suburb)
Master of Wine
Posts:13698
| | 12/05/2002 9:42 PM |
| | Great notes. Now if only I could FIND some.... | |
www.roguefood.com -- www.cellartracker.com | |
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Marc A
Grape Sorter
Posts:259
| | 01/01/2003 9:47 PM |
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I'm actually surprised it wasn't higher in enjoyment and ranking. I have not had the '99, but have had and actually own the '97. I think the '97 is as good a cab as I have had...and based on the cooments and posts from this community the '99 appears to be even better.
I would also love to get some of the '99.
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Tim
Barrel Filler
Posts:1465
| | 02/21/2003 6:01 AM |
| I finally broke open one of my '99s at a dinner at Cannons in Dana Point, Ca. I was somewhat apprehensive about this guy with all the high praise it has recieved and how badly I've wanted to open one, scared I would be let down...oh boy, no worries...Absolutely spectacular!!! I did not take formal notes, but like STW indicated, and my thoughts were exactly, a monument to structure. While it is way to early to drink this wine there is nothing missing here, it just has everything in spades. I've never had a U.S. Cabernet wine with the acidity this has, that showed it anywhere near as well as this wine does, just breathtaking. Balance to die for, complexity, fruit, mouthfeel, finish, it's all here. From crappy stemware with only an hour of air and no decanter, it just soared from the glass and delighted both the nose and the palate. As has been indicated, much more Bordeaux like than Cal except it has wonderful, very sharply defined fruit profiles. Wow what a bad boy, only question is how good will this get with 10 years on it??? 97+ points.
Not to rag on WS but how in the hell is this not in the top 100??? It is just mind boggling. | | | |
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TCK
Barrel Filler
Posts:1279
| | 02/21/2003 6:10 AM |
| WS has never rated this wine higher then 94pts. Harvey is consistent in his ratings though. He just doesn't seem to like it as much as Rovani does. I know people from both camps. It appears this one is all about your appreciation of the style, the quality is obviouse.
TCK | | | |
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Tim
Barrel Filler
Posts:1465
| | 11/27/2003 5:53 AM |
| | I had the pleasure of having this wine again at dinner at Neal Family Vineyard and WOW was I impressed again, drank along side '96 Margaux, '94 and '96 Abreu and held its place just fine. Considering the cost differential this is strataspheric QPR. The wine is surprisingly approachable now, but still displays just incredible structure with beautiful fruit surrounding wonderful earth, leather, and wood notes. I really didn't think this would drink this well at this point, this will really make it hard to keep my mitts off my remaining bottles. 95+pts. | | | |
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Seek
Upstate NY
Wine Thief
Posts:2772
| | 11/27/2003 12:53 PM |
| | Stealthman, I would have to believe that the `99 Quilceda Creek had been decanted for some time, was it??? The last time I had this 3 months ago it was hard as nails, tasting like a locked down-closed up-tannic young monster Bordeaux. After my experience with it I felt that my remaining bottles will have to cellar for several more years. I guess you did not experience the same thing? | | | |
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ChangeMe
Master of Wine
Posts:11169
| | 11/27/2003 1:19 PM |
| | Can you imagine what the 2000 was like this Summer when Alex Golitzin popped the cork and poured us tastes immediately? It was extremely difficult to evaluate under those circumstances. | | | |
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ChangeMe
Master of Wine
Posts:12891
| | 11/27/2003 2:36 PM |
| board-o,
when i had the 00 earlier this year it took a good 36 hrs to start to open up. i left it opened in the cellar over the course of 2 1/2 days. | | | |
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Tim
Barrel Filler
Posts:1465
| | 11/28/2003 4:00 AM |
| I want to say this was decanted for about an hour and a half or so before I had it, but was served just above cellar temperature. A thought to consider here about the approachability I percieved in these wines. The day had been spent barrel tasting Pride, Foley, Ladera, and Neal '01s and '02s. Some of these are pretty ferociously tannic right now (Howell Mtn stuff especially). 2000 Montrose might be percieved as approachable with Tuesdays palate calibration. 
I want to say the '00 is nowhere near as approachable as the '99, but I haven't had them at comparable points in their evolution. I just hope the '00 ends up comparable to the '99 in flavor profile, which I'm not sure will happen. Like Board-O said, it's very difficult to evaluate these wines at this stage, but I really believe the '99 will be legendary and to me,  already is. | | | |
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ChangeMe
Master of Wine
Posts:12891
| | 11/28/2003 12:03 PM |
| | glad to hear that mr. stealth. i have the 98,99 and 00 in the cellar and i plan on maxing out my 01 allocation with 750's and magnums. this stuff is just awesome juice for the price. i actually can't believe the price. the could change 50% more and still sell out in my book (i hope they don't frequent this site) | | | |
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John Chasse
Grape Stomper
Posts:171
| | 01/23/2005 8:10 PM |
| Has anyone had this recently? Any decanting advice?
The wife's in Europe, and I picked up a nice dry aged rib eye. I'm thinking of popping one of these to enjoy while watching the NFL games, and to accompany the steak later. (Assuming i can shovel my way to the grill) | | | |
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wineismylife
Arlington, TX
Master of Wine
Posts:12211
| | 01/23/2005 8:20 PM |
| | I only have 4 left so I'm rationing them out fairly tightly. My first of the four isn't scheduled to go until 2006. | |
Joe
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Wine is like potato chips around me...if it's open, it's gone. | |
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ChangeMe
Master of Wine
Posts:12891
| | 01/23/2005 11:00 PM |
| | i have a 6 pack and like joe my 1st one isn't set to go until 2006. if it is like any other typical qc i would say at least 4-6 hrs or maybe more. although there is a tn on cellartracker that states it was drinking great with 1 hr of air time. | | | |
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John Chasse
Grape Stomper
Posts:171
| | 01/24/2005 2:32 PM |
| Thanks guys.
This whole effort turned into a real fiasco. First, I decanted the QC. (It seemed closed tight, but that's why I was decanting, right?)
90 minutes later I set the steak out to warm to room temperature. Then I prepared some root vegetables for roasting and got them into the oven.
At the appropriate time I shoveled a path to the grill to find that the igniter button was frozen solid. So the search began for a match. One would think this would be a simple thing, but no. It took 15 minutes to find something and get the grill lit, which meant that the veggies would be ready before the steak.
When the grill got up to temp I threw the rib-eye on and went to pull the vegetables out of the oven before they got overcooked. I went back out to flip the steak, and to my horror when I opend the lid the steak was completely engulfed in flames .
I pulled it off the grill, and retreived a spray bottle to douse the flames. Apparently, the last time the grill was used, a lot of oil-based marinade had been deposited on the "flavorizer" bars, and now was the appropriate time for them to combust.
Of course, while I was running around looking for the bottle, the wife's 15 year old cat decided to make a run for the sliding door which was open 3 inches. Upon dropping Laurie off for her trip to Germany, her only instructions were "remember to feed the cat, and whatever you do don't let him outside - he'll freeze to death or get eaten by the fox that's been hanging around lately."
Luckily, it was -8 degreees with the wind chill, so Scamb (the cat) decided he wasn't up for a stroll and I was easily able to shepherd him back in doors (with the spray bottle - heh!)
I placed the now half-cooked steak back on the grill at about the same time the vegetables got cold. When I ran back out to retrieve the steak, it was of course on fire again, but it appeared to be done
As I let the rib-eye briquette stand for a few minutes, I poured a big glass of QC - who needs food when you've got great wine, right?
CORKED! At least it appeared to be damaged in some way. With 3 hrs of air, the wine had NO fruit whatsoever. The nose was weakly dominated by wet fur (and no, the smell wasn't coming from the cat!), and the palate was thin, fruitless and astringent.
In the end I washed down the well-executed meal with 2 bottles of Stella Artois.
Ahh, bachelorhood!
I haven't screwed a meal up this badly since I tried to roast a turkey during a house party in college. | | | |
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Budman
Master of Wine
Posts:11858
| | 01/24/2005 2:38 PM |
| How soon til the wife gets home???  | | | |
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ChillyWino
Barrel Racker
Posts:1697
| | 01/24/2005 2:47 PM |
| | Maybe you should stick with takeout until the wife gets home. | | | |
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John Chasse
Grape Stomper
Posts:171
| | 01/24/2005 3:15 PM |
| Funny thing is that I do most of the cooking even when the wife is here.
This was just a complete fiasco!
Can't wait for the Neal offline Thursday...I can probably get a good meal then! | | | |
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