diff --git a/block/block-backend.c b/block/block-backend.c
index f9da1d1..c8b13f1 100644
--- a/block/block-backend.c
+++ b/block/block-backend.c
@@ -125,6 +125,8 @@
 
     blk = g_new0(BlockBackend, 1);
     blk->refcnt = 1;
+    blk_set_enable_write_cache(blk, true);
+
     qemu_co_queue_init(&blk->public.throttled_reqs[0]);
     qemu_co_queue_init(&blk->public.throttled_reqs[1]);
 
@@ -160,7 +162,6 @@
         return NULL;
     }
 
-    blk_set_enable_write_cache(blk, true);
     blk->root = bdrv_root_attach_child(bs, "root", &child_root, blk);
 
     return blk;