It offers deep and compelling aromas of red and black fruits lead pencil and traces of oak spices. This full-bodied concentrated and chewy wine is thick dense and gorgeously defined for such a massive wine. Its combination of power and elegance brought to mind the 1986 Margaux one of the finest wines ever produced by that illustrious estate. When I first tasted this wine at the estate in Snohomish Golitzen was worried that it was too big and powerful. I found myself in the all-too-rare position of defending a wine's qualities to the person who had made it! At a subsequent tasting the wine had lost some of its youthful exuberance and Golitzen was enthused to see that it was gaining focus and elegance. This is a truly magnificent wine and it will age remarkably well. Drink it between 2004 and 2015+.The dark ruby-colored 1994 Quilceda Creek is an extraordinary wine that deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as California's top offerings. I recently served a bottle of it blind to Robert Parker amidst wines from Dominus Harlan Estate Colgin and others. While it did stand out as being different (it is much more Bordeaux-like than its California brethren) it was their qualitative equal.