2016 Patrimony Cabernet Sauvignon

The 2016 Patrimony is made of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and aged 30 months in 100% new French oak. It has a deep purple-black color and explosive, unbelievably layered nose of lilacs, violets, vanilla, espresso, rooibos tea leaves, underbrush and cinnamon stick aromas mingling over a core of blueberry compote, blackberry pie, black cherry preserves and pure blackcurrant fruit with an undercurrent of iron and graphite. The medium to full-bodied palate gives up stunningly explosive flavor layers. It has an unbelievably ripe, pixelated frame and fantastic juiciness, finishing very long, lifted and layered. This is stunning.

What can be considered the flagship of the estate, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon is a sensational Cabernet Sauvignon that can stand up the best out there. Incredibly pure notes of cassis, spice box, graphite, lead pencil shavings, and a terrific sense of minerality all flow from this pure Paso Robles beauty that shows the quality that can be achieved from these magical limestone soils. Full-bodied and powerful, yet seamless and balanced, enjoy bottles over the coming 15-20 years or more. The Patrimony releases from Daou are now released under their own Patrimony label.

Last of the 2016s, the flagship 2016 Patrimony is always a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon brought up in new barrels, where it’s still resting, not schedule to be bottled until next March. This is a massive barrel sample by any measure and offers up a huge nose of crème de cassis, tobacco leaf, graphite, and chocolate. Despite it’s size, it stays graceful and balanced on the palate and carries thrilling amounts of fruit, remarkable purity, and terrific underlying structure and depth. It’s the real deal and is going to be another sensational Cabernet Sauvignon from this estate. From high up off Adelaida Road, the Daou brothers continue to make a massive lineup of stellar wines. The 2016s are incredibly strong across the board and make the most of this brilliant vintage. In 2017, they opted to wait until after the heatwaves and then do extensive sorting, and this paid off brilliantly and I suspect they’ve made the top Bordeaux blends in the vintage. As I’ve said in the past, these wine compete with the best of Napa Valley and are some of the leading Bordeaux blends from Paso Robles.