2020 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Galitzine Vineyard
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Tasting notes
The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Galitzine Vineyard comes all from a site on Red Mountain and spent 21 months in new barrels. Cassis, black cherries, graphite, and classic Red Mountain chalky mineral nuances define the aromatics, and it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, a focused, elegant texture, nicely integrated tannins, and outstanding length. Displaying the vintage's narrower, elegant style, it will benefit from 3-4 years of bottle age and should have a solid two decades of overall longevity.
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Average Score
James Suckling
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
Set to be released in August 2023, the 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Galitzine Clone 8 is big and juicy with seductive aromas of blackberry compote, dusty flowers and elegant oak spices. Full-bodied with generous layers and a robust and luxurious mouthfeel, the Cabernet reveals a fantastic and dusty edge that is not overdone yet walks the line of power and precision. Offering generous layers of resinous purple flowers that will indeed be a juggernaut and show better in time, the wine continues with a tight, complex and ever-evolving finish where I can see bumping the score up one more point in the coming years once it’s had time to come together. It’s an absolutely stellar expression of Galitzine Cabernet Sauvignon, but be patient with this one. The wine rested in 100% new French oak for 21 months. 1,275 cases were produced.
What a deep core of black fruit here. Concentrated notes of blackcurrants, thyme, bay leaves, cloves, bitter chocolate and graphite here, with wet earth and stony minerality. Black cherries and salty olives, too. Full-bodied and broad, with generous horizontal layers that interweave with firm and polished tannins. Fantastic density and focus that pulls you in.
The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Clone 8 Galitzine Vineyard is spicy in the glass, with dusty rose, dried strawberries and sweet autumnal spices forming its captivating bouquet. This is pure elegance from start to finish, washing across the palate with a dense textural wave of ripe dark red fruits, sweet spice and cocoa, as grippy tannins slowly saturate toward the close. The 2020 Galitzine tapers off structured yet energetic and incredibly long, leaving a staining of cheek-puckering tannins that penetrate deeply. This youthful yet radiant Cabernet will pay dividends in the cellar. (EG) 96+
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.