2018 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon

BY ERIC GUIDO | SEPTEMBER 19, 2022

There are very few wines that I personally seek out year after year. For a wine to become a recurring purchase for my cellar, it takes a proven track record, unparalleled quality among peers, vintage-to-vintage consistency and relative value. The Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon is such a wine, even with a steady price increase over the past ten years. Labeled simply with the Columbia Valley AVA, this dark beauty actually hails from two vineyards, both located in the more-defined Horse Heaven Hills AVA within Columbia Valley. Ninety percent of the blend is sourced from the highly regarded Champoux vineyard, with the 10% balance coming from the Mach One vineyard that sits 50 feet up on a plateau above the Columbia River. The 2018 is a gorgeous expression of the vintage, showing radiance mixed with fruit intensity and energy that will promise two decades or more of pleasurable evolution.