Quilceda Creek - October 16, 2024

Starter

2018 Martinelli Three Sisters Chardonnay, Fort Ross-Seaview (RP 94)

Betz Family Winery (Washington)

Père de Famille, Columbia River Valley AVA - 88% CS, 10% PV, 2% M (JD 95, JS 95, WE 95, WA 94)

Quilceda Creek (Washington)

CVR 2019 - 94% CS, 2% M, 2% CF, 2% PV (OB, JD 94)
CVR 2017 - 96% CS, 3% M, 1% CF (J. D’A 95, JD 95, Anthony Blue 94, OB 94)
CVR 2015 - 81% CS, 11% M, rest CF and PV (JD 93)
Galitzin 2018 - 100% CS, 96% from Galitzine vineyard, 4% from Mach One vineyard (OB 100, JS 98, JD 98)
Galitzin 2012 - 100% CS, 97% from Galitzine Vineyard, 3% from Wallula Vineyard (OB 98, JD 97, ST 94)
Palengat 2017 - 90% CS, 10% CF (JD 96, JD’A 96, OB 96)
Palengat 2014 - 73% CS, 18% M, 9% CF (JD 96, OB 95, ST 94)
Palengat 2012 - M 59%, 29% CS, 7% CF, 5% PV (OB 96, JD 94, ST 93)
Columbia Valley 2018 - 100% CS, 90% from Champoux and 10% Mach One vineyards (OB 100, JD 98, JD’A 98, WA 98, JS 98)
Columbia Valley 2015 - 100% CS, from Champoux, Lake Wallula, Palengat, and Wallula vineyards (99JD, 98IWR, 97DC, 96JS, 96RP, 96VN, 96WE)

California Treat

2008 Hundred Acre "Kayli Morgan" 100% CS, (WS 94, WE 94, Vinous 96, RP 97)

Dessert

NV Rosenblum Cellars, Désirée A Smooth Red Blend (Moscato, Zinfandel) (3.8 Vivino)

Images of Sampled Wines:

Brief History of Quilceda Creek

Intriguing is the history of the people associated with the winery, and its connection to some of the renowned people in winemaking not only in Europe but also in the United States. Born in Poland and educated in France, Prince Lev Sergeevich Galitzine was the acclaimed winemaker to Russian Czar Nicholas II’s Abrau Dursau estate, as well as the Massandra and Novy Svet sparkling wine estates. In the 1880s he produced sparkling wines using the classic French technology of secondary fermentation in bottles, becoming a leading figure in the development of Russian winemaking and was dubbed the “creator of Russian champagne.” In 1917, Alex Galitzine’s parents fled the revolution to France, where Alex was born. After World War II, Alex and his family emigrated to San Francisco, California, sponsored by Alex’s maternal uncle and famed winemaker, André Tchelistcheff. Throughout his youth, Alex and his family regularly visited “Uncle André” in Napa Valley, where he was the winemaker at Napa Valley’s Beaulieu Vineyard together with George de Latour. Alex developed a close relationship with Tchelistcheff, who became known as the “Dean of American Winemaking,” who in turn help inspire a large cadre of American and French winemakers. When Alex decided to make his own wine in Washington state, Tchelistcheff, who consulted for Chateau St. Michelle, was a significant influence and often called upon by Alex for advice.

Alex, his wife Jeannette and their family moved in 1967 to Washington State where Alex worked as an engineer for the Scott Paper Company. He soon began to make wine as a garagiste, and by 1978 Alex and Jeannette establish Quilceda Creek in Snohomish, Washington. It is the 12th bonded winery in Washington State post Prohibition. Quilceda Creek’s first vintage of Cabernet Sauvignon, 150 cases made by Alex in the family garage, was in 1979, making Quilceda Creek one of the oldest, family-owned and controlled wineries in Washington State. The Quilceda Creek 1979 Cabernet Sauvignon won a gold medal and the Grand Prize from the Enological Society of the Pacific Northwest. The grand prize for the Quilceda Creek 1979 Cabernet Sauvignon was only the second time a wine had earned this honor in the seven years of this annual wine competition. In 1985, the Golitzin family visits Château Bonnet in Bordeaux, attending a tasting hosted by Proprietor and Vigneron André Lurton. The visit, orchestrated by André Tchelistcheff, was a turning point for Paul Golitzin, son of Alex and Jeannette.

In 1992, Paul Golitzin, who grew up doing everything around his parents' winery, officially joined Quilceda Creek as winemaker.He focused on vineyard sourcing and viticultural practices, and introduced new techniques and technologies in the winery. He began experimenting with yeasts, worked with coopers to develop custom barrels for Quilceda Creek, and kept scrupulous historical vineyard and vintage records to identify the strongest blocks and rows at each property. Importantly, he recruited outstanding eonoligists, vineyard managers and production managers that elevated its wines to elite status. In 2006, The 2002 and 2003 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon each earn 100 points from respected wine critic Pierre-Antoine Rovani of Robert M. Parker Jr.’s The Wine Advocate, the first American wine from outside California to earn a perfect WA 100-point score. Since its founding, Quilceda Creek has received six 100-point ratings from The Wine Advocate for the Cabernet Sauvignon, one 100-point rating for the 2014 Galitzine Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon and one 100-point rating for the 2020 Palengat Cabernet Sauvignon. Additionally, Quilceda Creek has received four “Top 10 Wines of the Year” in Wine Spectator. Since then, Quilceda Creek has racked up more 100-point ratings than perhaps any other Washington producer by Robert Parker, Jeb Dunnuck, J. D’Angelo, Owen Bargreen and others, but aside from the single critics who may skew towards a bias, web-based aggregator rating sources usually bell-curve the median in the mid-90s. Either way, these are solid, enjoyable and extremely well-made wines.

Vineyard Locations

Currently, Quilceda Creek has three main locations for its grapes: Champoux Vineyard (Horse Heaven AVA), Mach One (Lake Wallula, Horse Heaven AVA), and Galitzine Vineyard (Red Mountain AVA). In the past they have also outsourced from other locations.
Champoux Vineyard – Columbia Valley, Horse Heaven Hills AVA. One of the oldest and most prestigious vineyards in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA of the Columbia Valley. Originally planted in the early 1970s and 1980s, this much-revered vineyard has been the source of some of the world’s most sought-after Cabernet Sauvignons, powerful wines known for their gorgeous fruit, balanced acidity and elegant tannins. Quilceda Creek has sourced fruit from Champoux since 1986 and owns and farms 134 of its 169 acres. The Horse Heaven Hills AVA is one of the warmer appellations in the Columbia Valley, but our Champoux Vineyard, which sits in the foothills at an elevation of 600-800 feet, benefits from cool nighttime air draining down from higher elevations and accumulating across the south-facing site. This diurnal shift moderates the daytime warmth of the vineyard, contributing to balanced, long-lived wines with lovely natural acidity.
West Richland – Galitzine (Red Mountain AVA). Named for the family’s heritage of winemaking, Galitzine Vineyard sits in the small Red Mountain AVA, one of the warmest appellations in Washington State and an ideal region for growing red wine grapes. Meticulously farmed by Vineyard Manager Dan Nickolaus, 17-acre Galitzine was planted in 2001-2002 exclusively to Cabernet Sauvignon Clone 8. The grapes from this vineyard produce a powerful, structured wine with intense black fruit and earthy minerality, eminently worthy of its single vineyard designation. Bordered by gentle brush-covered mountain slopes and influenced by the Yakima River nearby, Galitzine Vineyard experiences dramatic day to night temperature swings, and can go from an average of 90°F to below 50°F during the growing season. We regulate the intense sunlight and heat at this south-facing site by carefully managing the vine canopies, opening up the eastern side of the vine rows to gentle morning light and protecting the west side from intense afternoon heat with a layer of leaves. Galitzine is typically one of our first vineyards to be harvested in late September.
Lake Wallula - Mach One (Horse Heaven Hills AVA). Mach One is a hillside vineyard in the southeastern corner of the Horse Heaven Hills AVA. Moderated by the Columbia River, this warm, 40-acre vineyard sits just 50 feet above its banks at a point where the width of this mighty waterway is over a mile. Mach One was first planted to Cabernet Sauvignon in 2009, and additional acreage was planted in 2015-2017 and 2020-2021. Mach One’s low elevation and proximity to the Columbia River make it one of the warmest sites in Washington State, with 300+ days of sunlight. Sitting in an amphitheatre of rock, radiant heat from basalt-lined cliffs to the north force early bud break, approximately two weeks before most Horse Heaven Hills vineyards. But strong winds off the river cool the vineyard down at night, and the diurnal temperature shift is typically about 40 degrees. The result is a long growing season, nearly 30 days longer than many sites, allowing ample time for Cabernet Sauvignon grapes to develop full physiological ripeness and flavor. The unique geological formation of Mach One coupled with its shallow soils and strong winds make this a vineyard where winegrowing is extreme. The vines are stressed, but the thick-skinned grapes they produce outstanding quality. The soils at Mach One are loess overlaying basalt and river rock. Densely planted at 1815 vines per acre, Mach One’s vine roots reach deep down through these shallow, infertile soils to reach the layers of rock, which may account for the hint of minerality in its wines. Drip irrigation of these vineyards is necessary.

Quilceda Creek Wine Offerings

There are 5 wine offerings from Quilceda Creek: Columbia Valley, Palengat, Galitzine, Tchelistcheff, and CVR. Columbia Valley is the Cabernet Sauvignon that put Quilceda Creek on the map, and is a winter release. Palengat is a tribute to the co-founder Jeannette Golitzin, née Palengat. It is  a Cabernet made from clone 685, and is released in the spring. Also released in spring is the Tchelistcheff, a single clone (412) from a single vineyard, and is released at the same time as Palengat in limited quantities. These three wines are from the Horse Hills AVA. Galitzine, from Red Mountain, is clone 8 Cabernet. Last but not least, the CVR (Columbia Valley Red), is sourced from the Champoux, Galitzine and Mach One vineyards and is a blend (which varies from year to year) of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot (sometimes Malbec).

If you’re looking to try other great Washington producers, of which there are many, look for wines of Christophe Baron (Cayuse/ No Girls/ Horsepower/Hors Catégorie), Betz, DeLille, Figgins, Force Majeure, Leonetti, Reynvaan, Sleight of Hand and Weathereye.

Images of wines sampled:

(forthcoming)

Page last updated: October 20, 2024 (EB)

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