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Winemakers:
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Paul Golitzin, Marv Crum, Alex Golitzin
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Varietal:
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97% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Merlot
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Vineyards:
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Champoux, Ciel du Cheval, Klipsun, Tapteil
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Barrels:
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100% New French Oak
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Time in Barrel:
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22 Months
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Bottled:
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July 2005
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Case Production:
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3400 Cases
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Quilceda Creek's new
state-of-the-art winery facility.
Photograph by Jim Fagiolo
Used with permission
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The 2003 vintage resulted in wines that have stunning aromas, flavors and texture.
Violets, black-cherry and blackberry coat the palate, layering complex notes of
Vahlrhona chocolate, wood-smoke and Asian spice. This wine will mature nicely over
the next 7 to 8 years and continue to age gracefully for at least another 10-20 years.
2003 Cabernet Sauvignon
"Full ruby-red. Knockout nose combines blackcurrant, blueberry, smoke, tobacco, road tar,
coffee and milk chocolate. Wonderfully ripe and lush but uncompromisingly dry, with
an exhilarating underlying minerality and superb lift to its fruit and torrefaction
flavors. Full and complete, finishing with outstanding breadth and lingering sweetness.
Paul Golitzin notes that tannin management at Quilceda Creek is far more sophisticated
today than in was in the mid-90’s."
Score: 93-96
Stephen Tanzer, International Wine Cellar Nov/Dec 05
"Seemingly unsatisfied with receiving the first perfect score I’ve attributed to a young red
wine in these pages, the Golitzin family went for broke, earning two. Alex Golitzin and his
son Paul, both obsessive about quality, have worked together for years to maximize fruit flavors
and minimize harsh tannins. Their work has been on two fronts. 1.) the vineyards, where their
demands, meticulousness, and obsession with late harvests has driven growers crazy (yet, in
retrospect, the farmers are grateful); and 2.) the winery, where they have experimented with
every conceivable process to further their goals. Soaking and vinifying at precise temperatures
(they tape over the gauges lest visitors learn their closely guarded secrets) to draw out
flavor and only the sweetest tannin, the Golitzins have gone further, inventing a system
utilizing air to break and sink their caps in a much more gentle way than pump-overs
(remontages) and punch-downs (pigeages) would ever allow."
"Years ago, Robert M. Parker, Jr. wrote that Quilceda Creek was one of the world’s finest sources of
Cabernet Sauvignon. Over the past decade, I’ve chimed in that there isn’t a Cabernet producer
with this winery’s track record for consistency. Now, Quilceda Creek has produced two wines
that are second to none."
"Darker colored and significantly more powerful, the 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon displays
mouth-watering aromatics of black chocolate, sage, and blackberry liqueur. Its awe-inspiring
core of cassis liqueur, violets, blueberry nectar, black cherry syrup, and chocolate is
immensely muscular yet elegant. Texturally reminiscent of liquid velvet, it slathers the
palate with oodles of fruit, displaying unreal depth, balance, and length. Wow!
Projected maturity: 2010-2024. Congratulation Alex and Paul, welcome to the big leagues."
Score: 100
Pierre-Antoine Rovani
Wine Advocate, Issue 164, closing date 4-24-06
"As this Cabernet specialist refines its style, the wines are becoming polished and seductive
without losing their richly layered flavors. It has gorgeous, focused currant, plum and
blackberry fruit, shaded with touches of dusky spice and smoky notes from oak, but it’s
almost subliminal to the harmonious, seamless fruit character. The wine glides over the
palate, submerging its tannins to let the flavors soar. Best from 2008 through 2020."
Score: 95
Harvey Steiman, Wine Spectator Insider April 19, 2006