- 2001 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, Washington (12/11/2021)
I flat out hated this wine five years ago, finding it syrupy and bitter at the same time. I actively avoided my other bottles, burying them in an inaccessible corner of my cellar. Based on some comments from a person I trust I decided to perform an archeological dig to grab a bottle of the 2001. Opened with great trepidation, I was at first overwhelmed by a distinct blueberry/vanilla aroma, but decided to put the glass aside while I finished putting together dinner.
Fast forward an hour, and it’s still ripe, but also suddenly showing a real balance. It’s not thick or heavy as the initial aromatics would have indicated, but full-bodied with clear nuance. The fruit is still in the blue spectrum, and there is vanilla oak, but it’s not sloppy, goopy or murky. I know that’s damning with faint praise, but to go from detestable, bitter swill, to blue fruited, yet ripe modern Cabernet is quite a transformation. There’s plenty of material for further development, so I am likely to let my other bottles sit even longer, but instead of from fear, it will be in hope.