• 2003 Quilceda Creek Merlot - USA, Washington (12/13/2006)
  
  This was a big, bad Merlot reminiscent of a Bob Foley wine. In fact it tasted very similar to an 02 Switchback I recently tried - complex with wild dark fruit, dark chocolate, mineral and floral flavors. There was a blackberry liqueur flavor that hinted at the alcohol but the wine was balanced. It had a very aromatic nose of dark fruit including a plum aroma. As a 2003 it's very young and primary but did match well with a boldly flavored sausage, peppers and pasta dish. This wine might overwhelm many foods. I don't know about the aging on this wine but suspect it might have improvement in it. Ours are for drinking so they won't be in our long term aging storage. [~$68 on release; 14.9% alcohol; Decanted 30 minutes and needed it] (92 pts.)

2003 Quilceda Creek Merlot - USA, Washington (4/17/2007)
Close to a 91; a better showing for this wine with aeration and decanting. It had a charred note on the finish which detracts from the overall presentation but really has good concentration. Overpriced for what it is. (90 pts.)

2003 Quilceda Creek Merlot - USA, Washington (2/18/2007)
VinoCellar.com 4th Anniversary Celebration (Wineries and John Ash Restaurant, Santa Rosa, CA): Tasted at the John Ash Restaurant in Sonoma, CA as part of the VinoCellar.com 4th Annual Celebration. Nothing like the previous bottle. Very one-dimensional and clumsy with little flavor integration. ouch. (89 pts.)

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