2017 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Palengat Vineyard
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Tasting notes
Bright ruby-red. Notes of violet and minerals lift the aromas of blackberry, cassis, licorice and bitter chocolate, with some sexy oak tones emerging with air. Highly concentrated, dense wine with an almost liqueur-like ripeness to its dark berry and bitter chocolate flavors, and yet this Cabernet boasts more energy than the CVR. This very ripe, seamless wine finishes with smooth, palate-saturating tannins and easygoing sweetness. It offers considerable early appeal even if it has the stuffing and concentration to age. Doesn't show quite the violet lift of the 2016 version but displays an intriguing chocolate note on the back end, despite the absence of Merlot in this bottling (the Golitzins did not feel that the Merlot was up to their usual standards in '17). This wine gained in breadth and suavity with 24 hours in the recorked bottle.
Critic scores
Average Score
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
A blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Cabernet Franc, the 2017 Palengat Red Wine explodes with power and finesse, combining aromas of graphite and pencil shavings with an undercurrent of juicy blackberry, dark cherry skin, robust plum and red and purple flowers before swaying with elegant baking spices from being rested in 100% French oak for 20 months. Full-bodied and tightly wound, the juicy, mouth-watering fruit expression has ample opportunity to absorb all the French oak across the mid-palate, which seems to lift the expression synergistically. While the label states it’s 14.8% alcohol, the complexity and depth of the wine never pull you toward a hot expression, which some might expect. Prevailing for more than a minute, the wine concludes with a continually evolving finish that repeatedly flips between robust fruit expression and subtle minerality with elegant oak and floral tones on the finish. Only 1,025 cases were produced and will undoubtedly sell out quickly. This will age for more than two decades.
A blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Cabernet Franc, the 2017 Palengat is a darker, richer effort that has loads of blackcurrant, chocolate, toasted nut, scorched earth, and violet notes. Straight, focused, and beautifully concentrated, with nicely integrated acidity, it's a powerful, full-bodied, opulent yet textured wine to enjoy over the coming two decades.
About the producer
Founded in 1978, Quilceda Creek helped put Washington Cabernet on the world stage. Mentored by André Tchelistcheff, the family-owned winery became renowned for its powerful, age-worthy Cabernets and was the first U.S. winery outside California to earn 100 points from Wine Advocate.