Winemaker Notes
This wine has a wonderful texture showcasing layers of black and red fruits interwoven with cocoa powder, leather, vanilla, and minerals. This is an amazing wine that must be tasted again and again.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Funky and woody on the nose, the 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon still has elements of dried red cherry and black raspberry reduction with cinnamon-covered currants on the nose. I am sensing some bottle variance, but the full-bodied wine goes on to show a delightful structure that should hold together for a few more years in the bottle. Ultimately, the wine ends with a tannic edge over the long conclusion, ending with mature flavors of stewed fruit compote with an element of old oak and pine bark.
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Wine Enthusiast
This is an almost-pure, Champoux Vineyard Cabernet, the best of the best. It’s extremely aromatic, rich and textured, tight and dense. As it slowly opens it reveal layer upon layer of black fruits, mineral, salt and lovely, evanescent hints of herb. It does not show its 14.9% alcohol except for a slight bit of heat in the finish. Very, very young; Quilceda Creek Cabs may be the longest lived in Washington.
Cellar Selection -
Wine Spectator
Intense and remarkably harmonious, this wine hangs its broad and generous flavors on a very fine, polished texture. It brims with spice-scented cherry, red currant and herb flavors, lingering impressively on the plush finish.
Washington produces so many exciting wines, and that definitely includes Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. With over 10,000 acres under vine, Cabernet Sauvignon is now the most widely-grown varietal in the state. Terrific examples hail from sub-appellations like Red Mountain, Wahluke Slope, Horse Heaven Hills and Walla Walla Valley. One of the fascinations of these Columbia Valley Cabs is that they so often seem to have one foot in the New World and one in the Old. Representing the former are characteristics like the ripe, forward fruit that results from long sunny days during the growing season (up to two hours longer than in much of California). Old World similarities include an undeniable brightness from acidity, as well as notes of herbs, graphite and a dusty, sometimes gravelly minerality.
Whether you’re looking for a budget bottle for everyday enjoyment, or a stellar, world-class wine with tremendous aging potential, Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon wines can deliver the goods! Among the many fine options are bottles from Columbia Crest, Chateau Ste. Michelle, L’ecole #41, Quilceda Creek and Leonetti.