Quilceda Creek Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2019

Daniel Carroll

Very smooth and not too dry

Wulf Losee

I revisited this wine in July of 2022, and I am upping my rating to 9.1. I don’t know if it’s just a biochemical difference in my taste buds from day to day, or whether the wine is miraculously transforming itself within the bottle while I’m not paying attention to it. All of my previous descriptions still hold, except at the tannic structure has become fuller. And that holds everything together. My new opinion of this wine is that it’s very elegant, indeed. My old review: 2019 opened February 2022. Disappointing but drinkable. Mint and nettles on the nose. Unripe strawberries on the front of the palate. It has a weak — almost watery — tannic structure that fails to balance the sour high notes that crowd in on mid pallet. And the pucker factor intensifies as it transitions to the finish, but it dissipates quickly leaving just a hint of lingering flint and menthol. Better than a fourth growth Bordeaux in an off year, but that’s not saying much.