2018 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Palengat Vineyard
Buying options
Tasting notes
Today, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Palengat is heady and rich, showing a sheen of spicy new oak with notes of clove, allspice and violet candies that slowly evolve to reveal a core of rum-soaked black currants. Supremely silky and supple on the palate, this impresses with a core of zesty acidity that elegantly lifts its ripe red and black fruits, as hints of cocoa resonate under an air of freshly shaved pine. Silky tannins frame the finale, but they don’t get in the way of the Palengat’s potent notes of black raspberry and salted licorice that resonate on and on. For the hedonist, this is already drinking beautifully, yet I believe the best is yet to come as its oak integrates over time. If drinking the 2018 today, make sure to give it a good decant.
Critic scores
Average Score
James Suckling
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
Compared to the Cabernet Sauvignon Galitzine Vineyard, the 2018 Palengat Red Wine is ripe and floral, with a softer, more compact frame. The wine is expressive and seductive with plum notes and hints of crème de cassis and dark cherry before a delightful floral lift wafts from the glass with elegant oak tones. Medium to full-bodied, the wine is balanced and offers succulent acidity with a well-framed expression that is not overdone yet brings me back for another sip. As the wine sits in the glass between sips, it seduces me further and my only choice is to give in and enjoy it. For the first time in a while, I enjoy the Palengat almost equal to the Galitzine Cabernet, but they are entirely different beasts.
Black plums, blackberries, dark cherries, chocolate, walnuts, pine needles and dried flowers. Itâs full-bodied with firm, velvety tannins. Creamy and smooth with a ripe and fragrant character. Walnut and hot-stone notes on the finish. Long and polished. Drink or hold.
The 2018 Palengat is the plushest and most forward of the releases, offering a gorgeous perfume of cassis, leafy herbs, lavender, scrub brush, and chocolaty spice. With full-bodied richness, a round, expansive, mouth-filling texture, and beautifully polished tannins, it's already impossible to resist yet should easily evolve for 15-20 years. This release comes from the Horse Heaven Hills and is mostly Cabernet Sauvignon blended with a touch of Cabernet Franc. This is unquestionably another brilliant set of releases from Quilceda, and these 2018s show the classic opulence this estate is known for backed up by beautiful purity and lots of underlying structure. In addition, their CVR Cuvee remains one of the great values in Cabernet Sauvignon out there.
About the producer
Quilceda Creek of Washington State has a track record of absolute excellence matched by very few producers from anywhere in the world. With incredibly impressive scores, the consistent quality they get into the bottle is astonishing.