2012
Quilceda Creek
“CVR” Red Wine
It sounds uncomplicated: Assemble a blend of 83 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 11 percent Merlot, 4 percent Cabernet Franc, 1 percent Petit Verdot, and 1 percent Malbec, age it in French oak for 22 months, and release it into the market for your clients to enjoy. But as they say, the devil is in the details.
Our CVR bottling owes its existence to our devotion to a stringent cluster-by-cluster sorting process, followed by our evaluation of each barrel destined for our top-level bottlings. In some vintages this declassification process can mean that up to 30 percent of our fruit is marked for use in the CVR. This creates a high-quality wine that is also a tremendous value. The 2012 has all the flavor and aromatic markers we treasure at Quilceda Creek: deep red and black fruit tones, bittersweet chocolate, graphite, and leather. It will best be enjoyed within 15 years of release.
Paul Golitzin, Director of Winemaking
94 points
"The 'CVR' is Quliceda Creek's entry level wine which is made from fruit that didn't quite make the grade for their flagship Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. The blend for the 'CVR' changes each year, with the 2012 being composed of 91% Cabernet, 7% Merlot and 3% Cab Franc. This is very expressive with ripe and complex aromas of cassis, mocha, black olive and cedar notes, which all come together beautifully. This possesses a rich and dense palate that persists with notes of anise, crème de cassis, black olive and blackberry ending with impressive minerality and wonderful length. Overall, a rich and refined wine that's open but can also benefit from many years in the cellar. (Best 2015-2025)"
93 points
"A smoking effort that shows the beauty of the 2012 vintage, Golitzin's 2012 CVR Colombia Valley Red Wine is made from a declassified blend of most Cabernet Sauvignon, with smaller parts Merlot and Malbec. It's offers a brilliant, almost Bordeaux-like, bouquet of sweet cassis, lead pencil shavings, graphite and hints of toast that flows to a full-bodied, layered, seamless Cabernet that has integrated acidity, sweet tannin and a great finish that doesn't lack for richness or persistence. Already hard to resist, it will nevertheless continue to drink nicely for another decade or more."
91 points
"(15.2% alcohol): Deep ruby-red. Sexy aromas of black raspberry, licorice pastille and bitter chocolate oak. Concentrated and savory, with the dark fruit and chocolate flavors complemented by graphite minerality. Finishes with fine-grained tannins and lovely persistence. A very strong vintage for this bottling, which consists of declassified lots that did not make it into Quilceda Creek's flagship Cabernet."