Skip to main content

24 replies

99 Quilceda Creek TN

C cabnutMember
I thought by now that there would be a long thread on the Quilceda Creek 99 wines from the open house yesterday. I know some of you received your wine shipments earlier, but had not seen anyone posting as having opened one. Well, I picked mine up at the winery yesterday morning; they were kind enough to let me pick it up early. I was just overnighting in Seattle on a return trip from AK and it happened to coincide with the open house. It’s early to evaluate these wines and 8 AM Saturday morning was especially so. The 99 Cab is all that RP (actually P-A Rovani) says it is. It’s not profoundly dark in the glass, nor was it giving a lot on the nose, but the wine I had was freshly opened and right out of the bottle. But in the mouth it’s impressive, I found some liquorish and anise on the palate along with spice and chocolate. The finish goes on and on, but it’s obscured by some leathery tannins at present. I’m not touching any of my six coveted bottles for at least a year or two. The 99 Merlot is also very good, but I’m not a big merlot fan and would did not buy any of it. It’s about on a par with the Pride Merlots I’ve had from the last couple vintages.

CabNut
Original Post

Replies sorted oldest to newest

B blobbyMember
I volunteered to work yesterday (o/t will help pay for it [Big Grin] ), so went today. Excellent visit, as usual, & we had a beautiful sunny day (yesterday was rather gray).
I thought they were both outstanding wines, but the Cab definitely more so. It got even better with some of the munchies.
I may or may not open one this Thursday, since a friend is visiting from Portland. I'll plan on opening one of each at Mother's Day.
$66 & $52 by the case.
W wino 2Member
I had both the cab and the merlot at the winery. The cab was outstanding (you already have some tns, so I will hit the merlot) and had more fruit up front than the merlot. The merlot was good, however. It was on the heavier side. The fruit was a little supressed, but it was there. The wine had notes of chocolate and coffee. Nice finish. We bought a few extra bottles to go with the case that we had already bought.
W
S smaugMember
I stopped by on sunday and it was a gorgeous morning for a wine tasting.. I concur on the partial TN's for the cab. I also detected just a touch of nuttiness that I have not seen anyone list. Very good wine and I won't touch one for at least two years.

A word about the merlot... My wife and I are normally not huge merlot fans... but we thought this one was really nice. Showing better than the cab at this point in the life-cycle. Reminded me more of a St. Emilion than a typical WA or CA merlot. She (my wife) talked me into buying some of that along with our cab order. Whether it is worth $52 is another consideration.
C cabnutMember
Smaug:

You did not go far wrong on the merlot in my estimatiom. My wife and I don't drink or buy many either, but this one is in the league of the others I will spring that kind of money for: Pride, Saddleback, Beringer, and for half (or less) the price of any of these, Whitehall Lane. My wife was not with me so I didn't have to buy any, but I'll admit to having second thoughts myself.

CabNut
B blobbyMember
The Cab was $72/btl for 6 at the winery; $66/btl for 12; $148 for a magnum; 2,300 cases made. The mags sold out in a couple days.
The Merlot was $56/btl for 6; $52/btl for 12; 250 cases made. The newsletter didn't say, but the Merlot has been sold only thru the winery since first offered in '97 vintage.
I bought a bottle of '93 Merlot, which was not officially released, at a shop last year. It was not much good anymore.
Word locally is that retail will be about $76, & more limited than in the past, due to RP's review, more sales thru the winery, etc.
The 2000 is supposed to be as good as the '99, & the 2001...shall I say it?--better.
G gatcMember
Thanks wino, just what I need - encouragement to buy more wine. I had a high school friend that I connected with on Classmates.com. I found out that he's in WA doing some utility consulting work and he's part owner of a winery up there. I've been afraid to pursue it any further because I'm sure he would turn me on to some great wines there.

Since I had great difficulty getting the case of Leonetti into my wine cellar last night, I'm definitely going to stop buying - for now.
B blobbyMember
Popped open a Merlot last night, after several beers, dinner, dessert & Port. I thought that would be enough, but my visiting friend wasn't fond of the Port & said he is a Merlot fan. I'm enjoying leftovers right now.

This is a major league, monster of a Merlot. Color is almost opaque, dark garnet/purple.
Brambleberry & oak aroma. Dense & concentrated, packed with fruit & just enough spice. Strong, steely & mineral backbone, & long finish.
What else could one ask for? Maybe a couple or so years of age?
This is typical Klipsun Vineyards juice, & the 25% Cab helps.
Glad I bought a case.

Oh, & it has legs. ( [Wink] [Big Grin] )
D drtannin 2Member
mcrtn-

Just realized that I forgot to e-mail you, because I had read and then forgotten this thread as it got buried and my constant life distractions. Only yesterday's search for this wine reminded me of my error. Wish bookmarks could be created. Thank you for your offer and info. and I apologize for the gaffe not emailing you.

In any event, I just purchased 4 bottles QC '99 @$70.00, which is $5-10.00 above the '98.

With respect to many people requesting TN and/or critical of points etc, this wine, 96-98 pts by WA and recommended to cellar until 2006, is probably like many high end Bordeaux, giving less now than it will later. If you haven't had these before, it is an example of a wine worth buying on faith from professional reviewers for what it will be more than from judging now. Call me silly, but I bought some without first trying solely based on others' recommendations, if only to obtain a few bottles before it is sold out. Sometimes you just have to do this. [Roll Eyes]

DrT [Cool]
B blobbyMember
jt: I have had the same experience with the G's, back when pickup at the winery was less formal...
And on a clear day, a great view of the Cascades.
I expect the '98 "Red Wine" to sell out soon, to be replaced by the '99, & will have to get a couple cases (sold only retail, so far).

I see that Shane mentioned on the infamous MTH thread having '98 & '99 Q.C. in Vegas. Perhaps he will enlighten us, too? [Wink] Maybe he's even had a '99 Leonetti to compare it to?--there's a thread on that a couple pages back now.

Add Reply

Post

Membership Required

We're sorry. You must be signed in to continue. Sign In or Register
×
Are you sure you want to remove from your Block List?
×
Loading...
×
When you block a person, they can no longer invite you to a private message or post to your profile wall. Replies and comments they make will be collapsed/hidden by default. Finally, you'll never receive email notifications about content they create or likes they designate for your content.
Note: if you proceed, you will no longer be following .
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×