The 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley is made up of 88% Champoux Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (Quilceda Creek is a partner in the vineyard), 10% Red Mountain Cabernet, and 2% Merlot from the Palengat Vineyard. As good as the Palengat cuvee is, the flagship Cabernet Sauvignon takes it to another level. A slightly brooding bouquet displays aromas of sandalwood, exotic spices, incense, violets, and wild berry notes. On the palate it has extra layers of fruit, exceptional complexity, impeccable balance, and a 60-second finish. At Quilceda Creek it’s the same old story, great wines made by unpretentious people. The Golitzins decline to raise prices because they feel loyalty to the people who supported them from the beginning and who might not be able to afford connoisseur/collector pricing. As for the latest wines, they regard 2008 as ”a regular vintage with no issues; you could pick at your leisure”. They are considerably more excited by the 2009 vintage which they describe as “wines with tons of aroma ... really good” which, given their understated manner, I interpret to mean really terrific. For this tasting, the 2009s were all tasted from barrel samples.Tel. (360) 568-2389; www.quilcedacreek.com

The flagship wine from Quilceda Creek offers exotic scents of plum, cassis, loam, coffee and pine sap, a rich and evocative blend. The wine delivers all that is promised and more; it is deep and dense with flavor, polished, focused and persistent. Vanilla, espresso, fine tannins, luscious acids and cascading fruits. ——P.G.(2/1/2012)—— 99