The Golitzin family celebrated its 38th vintage in 2016, and this statuesque Cabernet Sauvignon is built upon the shoulders of four estate vineyards in the Horse Heaven Hills – the birthplace for many of Washington’s most acclaimed Cabs. Champoux Vineyard long has been the backbone of this high-scoring wine, complemented by nearby Palengat and Quilceda Creek’s two sites overlooking the Columbia River – Lake Wallula and Wallula. Second-generation winemaker Paul Golitzin devotes 20 months to a program of 100% new French oak barrels, yet there’s remarkable grace to the aromas of cassis and dried blueberry with cinnamon powder, orange oil and the hint of dusty herbs – a classic thumbprint of Horse Heaven Hills wines. There’s remarkable depth to the easy entry and juicy flavors of black cherry, plum and black currant, which lead to rounded chocolaty tannins, capped by a long finish of vanilla and blueberry. This marks the second-largest production in the history of Quilceda Creek’s storied Columbia Valley program, and the framework is there for this bottle to evolve during the next decade.
Rating: Outstanding!
Production: 4,975 cases
Alcohol: 15.2%
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