2021 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley Washington USA 750mL

The winery began in 1978 in Snohomish, when Alex Golitzin decided the summers he had spent with his uncle André Tchelistcheff, the man who built Napa's greatest Cabernets, should amount to something. They did. Robert Parker's Wine Advocate has handed the winery seven perfect scores since, and in 2011 President Obama poured the 2005 for the president of China at a White House state dinner. The 2021 is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, 90% of it from the Champoux Vineyard in the Horse Heaven Hills and the rest from Mach One, raised 20 months in nothing but new French oak. Alex's son Paul runs the cellar now, and the wine is his signature, deep, glossy, and dense, with drink windows that stretch towards the next century. Napa's 100 point Cabernets cost four figures and hide behind mailing lists. This one has four of the same scores, a Tchelistcheff bloodline of its own, and a price that still looks like a mistake next to theirs. The scoreboard says first growth. The label says Washington. Enjoy exploring the difference!