Quilceda Creek 2012 Columbia Valley Red Wine 750ml

"A smoking effort that shows the beauty of the 2012 vintage, Golitzin's 2012 CVR Colombia Valley Red Wine is made from a declassified blend of most Cabernet Sauvignon, with smaller parts Merlot and Malbec. It's offers a brilliant, almost Bordeaux-like, bouquet of sweet cassis, lead pencil shavings, graphite and hints of toast that flows to a full-bodied, layered, seamless Cabernet that has integrated acidity, sweet tannin and a great finish that doesn't lack for richness or persistence. Already hard to resist, it will nevertheless continue to drink nicely for another decade or more.

This is another serious lineup by Paul and Alex Golitzin and I was able to taste their 2012s multiple times, once at my office in Colorado where I was able to follow the wines for multiple days, and then during a visit at the estate just north of Snohomish. In both cases they showed beautifully, with the ripe, exuberant style that's common in the vintage. When speaking about the '12s, Paul told me that it was an "easy growing season and that you had to be selective." In addition, they had more production from Champoux (which was hit hard by frost in 2011) due to their increased ownership in the vineyard after the retirement of Paul Champoux. Looking at their 2013s, these are more restrained and classic in style, yet have terrific concentration, and I actually preferred their slightly more focused, pure style. We'll see how these round out once in bottle, but they're certainly terrific wines and in line with the expected quality from this estate. Yields as a whole were down in 2013 compared to 2012, but I didn't get a feel for the percentage or effect on the case production of the cuvees."

Score: 93 points

-- Jeb Dunnuck, Wine Advocate, Jun 2015