Daou Vineyards, Patrimony Black Label, Paso Robles 2019

VINTAGE: 2019
VARIETIES: Cabernet Sauvignon 100%
ALCOHOL: 15%
ÉLEVAGE: 30 Months
CASES: 285
TASTING NOTES: With a deep color, almost black with hints of ruby, this opulent wine astonishes with its freshness. The layered aromas are the definition of elegance, combining delicate florals with notes of fresh black and blue berries and nuanced hints of dark chocolate, licorice, and ash. The bold and full-bodied texture retains the elegance and freshness of the aroma, augmenting the tasting experience. The finish is impressively long and precise, packed with notes of fresh berries, black cherry and tobacco. Vibrant tannins give this wine the finesse and backbone to age gracefully for decades to come.

Tasting Panel 99
Daniel Daou’s success in producing classics in Paso Robles’ Adelaida District continues. Sipping this wine is akin to taking a swan dive into a satin-rimmed, bottom- Hess lake of boysenberry and crushed violets. Up on the surface, chalky limestone tannins have the texture and flavor-of baker’s chocolate and graphite. Juicy plum and a wealth of balsamic- and cedar- blessed fruit generously spreads on the finish.

Jeb Dunnuck 99
The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon continues to show brilliantly. (I rated it 97-100 from barrel last year.) It has a quintessential Cabernet nose of pure crème de cassis, crushed stone, lead pencil, graphite, and tobacco that gains depth and richness with time in the glass. Deep, full-bodied, rich, and incredibly textured, yet still fresh, light on its feet, and beautifully balanced, this gorgeous Cabernet shows what’s possible with the variety from Paso Robles.

Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate 98
The 2019 Patrimony Cabernet Sauvignon was made with free-run juice and matured for 30 months in 100% new French oak. It has a deep ruby color and alluring tones of truffle, brown sugar and coffee to begin, opening with time to very pure cassis, boysenberry, tobacco, garrigue and aniseed. The palate is supple and fresh with surprisingly restrained, mineral-laced fruits and a fan of spicy accents across the long finish. This ultra sleek, elegant Cabernet evolves continually in the glass and has the harmonious structure it needs to go the distance in the cellar.

Decanter 98
A benchmark California Cabernet Sauvignon which showcases the strength and tenacity of this revered grape. On the nose, a juxtaposition of expressive, bright fruit plus a grounded earthiness. The delicacy yet force of this wine creates a most pleasant tension that you seek to reconcile with each sip. Flavours of blackberry, bramble and dark chocolate sit side by side with floral and sweet cedar notes. Tannins display laser-sharp integration. A wine with thoughtful, intentional power.

James Suckling 95
Deep, rich and plush on the nose showing cassis, blackberries with hints of dark olives, fennel, dark chocolate, cigar box and elderberry characters. Full-bodied and fleshy on the palate with an abundance of tannins, which are extremely fine-grained. Restrainedly opulent, deep, structured and long.