1990 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon

Color:  Dark purple

Nose:  Green pepper, forest floor, a hint of currants

Taste:  Spice and red pepper

Finish:  Medium with pepper and earth

Evaluation:  Past it’s prime but certainly enjoyable.  Drink up!  91 points

1992 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon

Color:  Dark red

Nose:  Forest floor and plum

Taste:  Some fruit but earth dominated

Finish:  Short but after 30 seconds a buttery flavor kicked in

Evaluation:  Not as good as the 90 and should be consumed now.  88 points

1993 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon

Color:  Medium purple

Nose:  Mushroom, earth and forest floor

Taste:  Some fruit left in this one featuring plum and tannins still provide a bit.

Finish:  Red pepper and still a little tannic

Evaluation:  This one still has some life and would improve with a year in the cellar.  91 points

1994 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon

Color:  Medium purple

Color:  Plum and earth

Taste:  Multi layered with cherry, plum, spice and forest floor

Finish:  Dry short finish with earth present

Evaluation:  The finish was a disappointment.  90 points

Comments: The first four showed some age and didn't perform as well as we had hoped. Although all enjoyable we were not blown away but that was soon to change.
Decanted: All four were poured into a decanter and served within an hour as recommended my several board members. Additional time would have not improved these in my opinion.

1995 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon

Color:  Dark purple

Nose:  Forest floor, cherry and plum

Taste:  Cherry, forest floor, little tart, plum

Finish:  Multi layered with plum, tart cherries, buttery notes into a long impressive finish

Evaluation:  A wine in balance at this stage and would decant an hour and enjoy!  94 points

1997 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon

Color:  Dark purple

Nose:  Plum, cherry and blueberries

Taste:  Blueberries, cherry with some acidic qualities noticeable

Finish:  Long multi layered with earth, mild tannins, vanilla, and slight oak

Evaluation:  Great wine that still has some life.  It was in perfect balance.  95 points

1998 Columbia Crest Reserve Red $$$

Color:  Red

Nose:  Earth, pine, cherry

Taste:  Earth, red pepper, cedar

Finish:  A medium finish with earth and cedar

Evaluation:  A little past its prime.  88 points

 

1998 Columbia Winery David Lake Signature Otis Vineyard Cabernet $$$

Color:  Red

Nose:  Plum, cherry and earth

Taste:  Earth, cherry and mild tannins

Finish:  Smooth with plum, cherry and earth components

Evaluation:  This wine has aged well and is drinking great. 90 points

1998 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon

Color:  Dark purple

Nose:  Plum, cherry and powerful!

Taste:  Floral, cherry, plum, earth and Asian spice

Finish:  Long perfectly balanced wine that encompassed the nose and taste right into the finish.

Evaluation:  I predicted that this would be my favorite wine of the night and it was a close second.  96 points

 

Comments: The 98 I thought would be my wine of the night and it was close. With some cellar time I figure the tannins would have softened and flavors would exploded which they did but my wine of the night and year was yet to come.
Decanted: About an hour and a half prior to serving. I would not go much more then two hours with these as I was pleased with their showing. I was surprised with all the wines so far that there was very little sediment but tons of flavor.

 

1999 Chateau Ste. Michelle Cold Creek Vineyard Cabernet $$$

Color:  Dark Purple

Nose:  Plum, earth, spice

Taste:  Gritty, spice, earth, crushed rock

Finish:  Short with spice and crushed rock

Evaluation:  Opened September 07 and is past its prime.  Heavy sediment so decant.  83 points

1999 Hogue Genesis Cabernet $$

Color:  Dark purple

Nose:  Rich aromas of earth, plum and spice

Taste:  Sour cherry, earth, coffee, tobacco

Finish:  Medium with coffee, spice and earth

Evaluation:  Tried in 07 and this wine aged nicely.  A great value.  88 points

2000 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon

Color:  Dark purple

Nose:  Rich fruit, spice, plum and high alcohol

Taste:  Spice and earth with a buttery flavor present

Finish:  Asian spice, leading into a medium finish with buttery notes

Evaluation:  More Bordeaux style then most of the other Quilceda's.  94 points

 

2001 Cayuse Syrah Bionic Frog - USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley (9/11/2010)
Super nose with charcoal, smoke, scorched earth, minerals On the palate very concentrated wine with scorched earth, floral, forest floor, smoke and mushrooms. Medium to long finish. This is my first Bionic Frog and hopefully not the last although the price is getting crazy. (94 pts.)

 

 

2001 Columbia Crest Cabernet Grand Estates $

Color:  Dark Ruby

Nose:  Cherry, Smoke, red pepper

Taste:  Fruit forward wine with plum and cherry.  Not a super complex wine with multiple levels.

Finish:  Very smooth with a medium finish.

Evaluation:  Easy drinking wine and a tremendous value for under $8.  This wine is great for large parties, wedding receptions and just sipping while watching tv.  90 points

After a few days this wine is really showing vibrant cherry flavors with a nice buttery finish.  91 points

2001 Columbia Crest Walter Clore Reserve $$$

Color:  Dark Ruby

Nose:  Beautiful nose with smoke, plum and exotic spices.

Taste:  Very complex multi layered wine with earth, being cherry, and hints of pepper.  A thick wine with some mouthfuls of fruit.

Finish:  About a minute with many of the above descriptors flowing through the mouth.

Evaluation:  Another well made reserve wine from Columbia Crest.  92 points

2001 Col Solare $$$$$

Color:  Dark purple

Nose:  Cherry, earth and smoke

Taste:  Tannic, Cherry, earth, spice

Finish:  Medium with spice, cherry, pepper, oak, and heavy tannic quality

Evaluation:  Cellar three to five years!  88 points

 

2001 Januik Cabernet $$$

Color:  Medium purple

Nose:  Cherry and pepper were distinct.

Taste:  Forest floor with cherry and a buttery feel going into the finish.

Finish:  About a minute but with more time in the glass it was getting more complex.

Evaluation:  Decant this wine for two hours and it will be drinking nicely.  Good QPR winery out of Washington.  91 points

2001 Tamarack Cellars Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon $$$

Color:  Medium purple

Nose:  Red Pepper, high alcohol, spice

Taste:  Red Pepper, spice, chewy wine with medium alcohol

Finish:  Earth, pepper weaving into a buttery finish.  Dries out your mouth after 30 seconds.  No fruit here.

Evaluation:  The high alcohol adds to the wine and it has some nice elements.  Not my favorite cab from Washington but a lot of nice elements going on here.  88 points

 

2001 Quilceda Creek Columbia Valley Red Wine

Color:  Medium red

Nose:  Lots of heat with no detectable fruit at this stage

Taste:  Spice, pepper, multi layered flavors with a buttery edge thrown in

Finish:  Impressive and long with spice and red pepper

Evaluation:  This wine was very good and had more of an aussie shiraz feel to it.  90 points

2001 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon

Color:  Ruby red

Nose:  Plum, cherry, rich spice and high alcohol

Taste:  Thick with currant, spice and a powerful thick taste

Finish:  Multi layered with an extremely long buttery finish

Evaluation:  This wine was in perfect form and will improve with some cellar time.  96 points

2002 Columbia Crest Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon $$$

Color: Deep purple

Nose:  Tannic at first but they died down, plum and red pepper

Taste:  Tannins, red pepper with plum

Finish:  Medium with nice fruit and earth tones

Evaluation:  Cellar this wine for a few years and revisit.  87 points

2002 Columbia Crest Walter Clore Reserve $$$

Color:  Dark and thick in appearance

Nose:  Strong tannins, earth

Taste:  Dominated my strong tannins that will soften offer time.  Pepper, cherry and plum evident.

Finish:  Multi layered but hard to detect anything but pepper as the tannins are strong.

Evaluation:  This wine could be a tremendous, highly rated wine if it is stored well.  I am conservative with this score and can see it increasing in four years.  88 points

2002 Columbia Crest Walter Clore Reserve $$$

Color:  Dark purple

Nose:  Oak, spice, cherry, plum

Taste:  Oak, cherry, vanilla, plum, smoke

Finish:  Multi layered and complex.  This is singing in 2009.

Evaluation:  Drinking well right now 93 points

2002 Tamarack Cellars Firehouse Red $$

Color:  Medium purple

Nose:  Plum, oak, vanilla

Taste:  Spice, oak, vanilla, plum, scorched earth

Finish:  Strong up front with spice, plum, and lingers into a buttery finish with oak and vanilla. 

Evaluation:  A nice value Bordeaux Style Blend.  88 points

 

2002 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon

Color: Dark inky purple
Nose: Floral and spice
Taste: White pepper, floral, spice, earth.
Finish: A nice finish with floral, spice and earth dominating.
Evaluation: I basing this on potential. It did not have the fruit components of the 01 or 02 and I would assume it was the bottle with less decanting time. Certainly I won't ever see a 100 points in this one. 95 points

 

MERLOT

 

1998 Leonetti Columbia Valley Merlot $$$$$

Color:  Dark purple

Nose:  Earth, tobacco, plum

Taste:  Complex with a chewy texture.  Also earth, tobacco, plum and cherry

Finish:  Long with a hot finish.  Currants emerging along with tobacco

Evaluation:  Wow.  This is an impressive effort.  92 points

1999 Columbia Crest Reserve Columbia Valley Merlot $$$

Color:  Dark Purple

Nose:  Red Pepper, spice, plum

Taste:  Medium tannins, currants, spice

Finish:  Medium with plum and earth elements which ends in a buttery finish

Evaluation:  A well made merlot that has aged well over the years.  89 points

2000 Columbia Crest Reserve Columbia Valley Merlot $$$

Color:  Medium purple

Nose:  Ripe fruit, red pepper and earth

Taste:  Very smooth with spice box, cherry, plum with a touch of butter

Finish:  Medium with sour cherry, tobacco and earth

Evaluation:  This wine one a Twin Cities Wine Club Merlot Event.  92 points

2001 Hogue Genesis Columbia Valley Merlot $$

Color:  Medium purple

Nose:  Spice, cedar, earth

Taste:  Tobacco (almost chunks of it), spice, cedar, medium tannins, cinnamon

Finish:  Spice up front with cedar and cinnamon on this medium finish

Evaluation:  Drank fall of 07 and could age a few more years but not the most complex or balanced wine.  83 points

2002 Gordon Brothers Family Vineyards Columbia Valley Merlot $$

Color:  Medium red

Nose:  Spice, red Pepper, cherry

Taste:  Spice, pepper, little heat, red currant

Finish:  Medium with some complexity.

Evaluation:  Solid effort and a quality merlot. 87 points

2002 Andrew Will Ciel du Cheval Blend $$$$

Color:  Medium purple

Nose:  Cherry, forest floor, spice, oak, plums

Taste:  Cherry, spice box, oak, vanilla, cinnamon

Finish:  Medium and Intense.  Tannic structure still there and has several interesting components

Evaluation:  A wine to cellar for five more years.  This would receive some votes in a Right Bank Tasting.  93 points

2002 Andrew Will Ciel du Cheval Blend $$$$

Color:  Medium purple

Nose:  Cherry, dried spices, plum, oak, vanilla

Taste: Wow!  Cherry, spices, plum, oak, vanilla, forest floor

Finish:  Medium and concentrated.  This is drinking perfect right now

Evaluation:  One of the best Merlot based wine I have ever tasted that is actually affordable  94 points

 

 

SYRAH

2000 Chateau Ste. Michelle Reserve Syrah $$$

Color:  Medium purple

Nose: Pepper, floral, plum

Taste:  Very smooth wine with cherry, floral and spices

Finish:  Medium with pepper and earth dominating

Evaluation: A nice value for the quality.  88 points

2001 Columbia Crest Columbia Valley Reserve Shiraz $$$

Color:  Medium purple

Nose: Plum, spice

Taste: Sweet fruit, spice, Crushed rock with a kick

Finish: violets, crushed rock and spice

Evaluation: a solid effort but nothing amazing. 87 points

2002 Betz Family Winery Syrah la Cote Rousse $$$$

Color:  Dark purple

Nose:  Dark fruits, cherry, plum, blackberries, and pepper

Taste:  Pepper, plum, spice, chocolate

Finish:  Multi layered with spice, floral and pepper

Evaluation:  Very impressive and a wonderful finish.  Great way to start off a wine club event.  93 points

2002 Three Rivers Winery Walla Walla Syrah $$$

Color:  Black

Nose:  Forest floor, mushrooms, plum, black fruit

Taste:  Pine needles, mushrooms, plum, cherries, pepper

Finish:  Medium and super balanced

Evaluation:  A great value from Washington.  90 points

 

 

» Back to Top

© 2006 Wine Glas  All Rights Reserved