Bob McDonald

9.6

I became a fan of Quilceda Creek when visiting our son at College in the US back round 2005. I bought this bottle from Vinfolio in San Francisco. This wine is a dark Ruby red with a tawny rim developing. Initially notes of asparagus (SO2) which blew off after about 30 minutes in the decanter. Medium weight on the palate with red and black berries and a touch of chocolate. Very balanced at 16 years of age , some savouriness finishing with soft resolved velvety tannins. Medium plus intensity and low acid. I note Harvey Steimans Drinking window was 2010 to 2020. 14.9% ABV is hardly noticeable. One of the 1001 wines and a delight to drink this. — 4 years ago

Alex Crangle

Assistant Winemaker Balo Vineyards

9.2

Spot on! Good midpallet for Albariño. — 8 years ago

Andrew Z. Scharf

9.5

92 vintage. Just epic. A beautiful wine. My wife's birth year celebrating the birth or our son. — 10 years ago

Jon Haupt

9.5

Loved this wine. Especially the aroma--pepper, bacon, slightly woody. Mildly tart, bright fruit flavors. Excellent. — 10 years ago

Jon Fine

9.0

cool red from Spain--pretty sure I never had a red from this region before. — 10 years ago

Ryan Guy

9.0

Mineral driven nose, with white flowers. Creamy lees. Chalky. Medium minus weight. Bright and fresh on the palate. — 5 years ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

On the nose; liqueur style blackberries, dark cherries, black plum, plum, blueberries, baked strawberries, sweet spice, vanilla, wood shavings, dark, rich, moist soil, crushed, dry rocks, violets and fragrant, fresh, dark florals. The palate is medium bodied and the tannins are nicely resolved and round. The fruits are also liqueur is style. Blackberries, dark cherries, black plum, plum, blueberries, boysenberries, raspberries, baked strawberries and a touch of dry cranberries. Sweet, soft leather, lead pencil, cola, vanilla, cinnamon, soft spice-box, understated herbal notes, rich, moist, dark soil, crushed rocks, a touch of bramble, crumbled volcanic minerals, nice, soft, round acidity and a long, lush, fresh, elegant fruit finish that is 75% fruit and 25% earth. The 06 has plenty of life ahead of it...at least 10 years. I'm pretty sure this bottle was around $35 at Costco upon release. Photos of, the view from their tasting terrace, the legend/Napa maverick Joseph Phelps, terrace seating and interior shot of the remodeled estate. Producer notes...the winery was founded in 1973 by Napa wine pioneer, Joseph Phelps. Like a number of other vintners in the valley, Joseph came to wine from another industry. In the 1960’s he ran one of the largest construction companies based in the USA, Hensel Phelps Construction One of his projects was to work on building the BART system in the San Francisco Bay Area (Bay Area Rapid Transit). Joseph's transition into the winery business started with a banker informing him of several potential winery projects in Napa and Sonoma. One of the projects was to build Souverain Winery in Napa (now Rutherford Hill Winery). After that project Joseph became interested in purchasing his own property in the valley. He acquired 600+ acres. His first vintage of Insignia was 1974. Joseph Phelps began planting grapes – varieties such as Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Pinot Noir. They ultimately discovered these grapes were not suited to the particular climate of this part of the valley and they changed over to other varietals...namely Bordeaux based red varieties.The first vintage of Joseph Phelps was made at Heitz Cellars. Sadly, Bill passed away in April 2015 at 87...may he rest in peace with a glass that never empties. All and all a good life I'd say. Today his son Bill Phelps is President of winery. Not that long after Joseph's passing, Joseph Phelps opened their remolded hospitality center (photos above) located in what was the original winery building. It's sad that Joseph did not live to see it's full completion and opening. The last 1/4 of glass or less from the bottom of the bottle which; is called "The Truth" was so rich, concentrated & beautiful, I was tempted to push the rating to 9.3/9.4.
— 7 years ago

Shay A

9.3

Once & Future is a fairly new project headed up by Joel Peterson (yes, that Joel Peterson). Alongside this Mataro (Mourvèdre), the portfolio also includes Petite Sirah, merlot, and a killer line up of zins (of course, he is a bit of a zin master). Even some use of Bedrock vineyard in tandem with his son.

I’m fairly certain this is my first 100% Mataro (Mourvèdre). The color of this wine is one of the most gorgeous shades of purple I’ve ever seen...as though it’s mixed with a faint hue of magenta. This is a wine that could almost be enjoyed by nose alone...absolutely divine. Brambly fruits, huckleberry, baked blackberries that were just freshly squeezed. Potpourri. Though “only” 14.5ABV, it feels quite less. The palate is fairly light. Lots of tart dark fruits, cardamom, baking spices and plum. Great finish. @Jake Rubash , I’ve enjoyed our convos about this wine, thanks for the info!

It’s worth noting I had this open (in bottle) for an hour or so yesterday and while the nose was there, the palate wasn’t ready. Re-corked and was much better the next day. — 6 years ago

Lucky Girl Wine Club

9.0

Loving this California producer right now. You may see their Zinfandel in the ATL market. Winemaker Morgan Twain-Peterson is the son of Ravenswood founder Joel Peterson. They're working with multiple old vineyards in CA making gorgeous Heritage single vineyard wines (vineyards a blend of varietals). — 10 years ago

Bruce K

9.4

Son in law had it and likey a lot Not strong but mellow — 10 years ago