100 Points Owen Bargreen
The 2023 Quilceda Creek ‘Columbia Valley’ Cabernet Sauvignon mirrors the blend from ’22, with 90% coming from the Champoux Vineyard and the remainder sourced from the Mach One Vineyard. Stored in all new French oak barrels once on the nose this takes on creme de violette, and graphite notes alongside beautiful purple rose petals, walnut and shades of Black Forest cake. The palate is weightless and seamless throughout the drinking experience, as this has immense depth, and flavor complexity and flavor density with serious verve and length. A complete wine, enjoy this mesmerizing Cabernet Sauvignon over the next twenty years. If savoring now be sure to give this several hours in the decanter. Drink 2026-2046.
98 Points Jeb Dunnuck
All varietal, the 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley is sourced predominantly from Champoux (90%), the remainder from Mach One. Sweet, silky fruit coats a full-bodied, concentrated palate of bright, lifted freshness and supple tannins, exceptionally well-balanced and perfectly ripe. It’s opulent within a context of elegant refinement, creamy in red fruit and citrus, polished, structured, and simply gorgeous. As with all of the wines, it was aged 20 months in all French oak.
98 Points James Suckling
A rich yet elevated and very sophisticated wine with wonderful purity of fruit and a silky mouthfeel. Medium- to full-bodied with aromas and flavors of plums, black cherries, spices and stony minerality. Very seamless. Drink or hold.
98 Points Vinous
The 2023 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is an understated beauty, mixing crushed stone and mint with dried roses and dusty black currants. It washes across the palate with an array of liquid violet florals and decadently ripe red and black fruits as a subtle spicy tinge adds cheek-pinching tension toward the close. It finishes with dramatic length and is pleasantly firm, with sweet tannins that tug at the palate without slowing the 2023's energetic momentum. This is an unbelievably pretty rendition of Quilceda Creek's Cabernet Sauvignon.
Winemaker Notes
Since its founding is 1978, Quilceda Creek has dedicated itself to producing world-class Cabernet Sauvignon from some of the finest vineyard sites of the Columbia Valley. The 2023 vintage is composed of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from their Champoux (90%) and Mach One (10%) vineyards in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA of Columbia Valley, WA. This marks the 45th vintage of Quilceda Creek’s classic Columbia Valley Cabernet, aged for 22 months in new Darnajou and Taransaud French oak barrels.
