Review: Panilonco Cabernet Sauvignon

The Panilonco Cabernet Sauvignon is another one of those dirt cheap wines that you pick up mostly because of the price tag and the cool bottle despite knowing absolutely nothing about what to expect from what is inside. That was exactly how I found myself sitting down for dinner with a bottle of this. After all, it has a lion on the label, and lions are pretty sweet. Put a lion on anything and I’ll probably buy it. Plus it was only $5 for a Cabernet Sauvignon, so you are barely paying a premium over the equivalent Charles Shaw offering.

Panilonco Cabernet Sauvignon is a Chilean wine that has some real body and heft. This is not a small, meek wine that will fade into the background. It has a deep red hue and flavors of plums and pepper playing off one another. At the end of each sip, I kept wishing for more of a finish.

Overall, this is a hard wine to not recommend. It definitely has its flaws for sure. The Panilonco Cabernet Sauvignon is not a home run. However, it was only $5. How critical can you be of a decently drinkable $5 wine? If I could afford to spend a little more, I probably would not buy another bottle, but you could really do a lot worse in this price range.