Pepper Bridge Winery Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

Professional Ratings

• 94 Decanter
  I adore this showing by Jean-Francois Pellet. Dense and chewy, with a bright beam of acidity, sweet cassis and pipe tobacco flavours that intermingle with graphite and tar tones on the palate. Vibrant, with a glorious sense of acidity, this has a long life ahead of it.
• 93 Wine Enthusiast
  This was a glorious vintage for Washington. This is another shining example. The aromas offer notes of barrel spice, black cherry, chocolate and vanilla. The palate is clenched at present, with plentiful dark-fruit flavors a lot of tannins. All of the stuffing is there, but it needs time. Best after 2026.
• 92 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
  Made with the addition of 6% Cabernet Franc, 4% Malbec, 4% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon displays a deep ruby core with a magenta rim. Firm, dense and concentrated dark fruit essences of plum reduction, cherry compote and crème de cassis with hints of lavender liqueur and bitter dark chocolate waft from the glass. Full-bodied, rich and generous, the palate is chewy with layers of complexity that offer pleasure at every turn. Firm tannins grow across the mid-palate before turning to a long, winding and evolving finish with persistent flavors of spiced plums and blackberry reduction. The wine saw all French oak, 56% new. Give it one more year in the bottle to come around and drink over the next decade.
• 92 James Suckling
  Aromas of red licorice, blackcurrant and wet stone. Full-bodied with chewy tannins. Vivid and lush. Very good intensity and depth here. Chocolate and espresso at the finish. Concentrated. Drink or hold.