2017 Daou Cabernet Sauvignon
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Tasting notes
Bottle two weeks ago, the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon offers classic notes of blackcurrants, tobacco, licorice, and smoke herbs, and as with the Pessimist, it’s a whole lot of wine for not much buck. 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.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Josh Raynolds
More reviews and scores
(60% new French oak) Deep bright-rimmed ruby. Intense cherry and red berry scents, along with hints of cracked pepper, pipe tobacco and vanilla. Juicy and focused on the palate, offering concentrated red currant, bitter cherry and spicecake flavors that deepen slowly and turn sweeter on the back half. Fine-grained tannins build on a long, spice-laced finish that leaves behind a suggestion of cherry compote. In the context of top-notch California Cabernets, this wine delivers remarkable value.
Tasted from barrel, the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon is very promising, revealing a youthfully primary bouquet of currants and plums that's already integrated its new oak. On the palate, it's full-bodied, richly structured and generous, with a sun-kissed core of fruit and a dry, fine-grained finish. A cuvée that includes purchased fruit, this is typically a great value. I'm looking forward to seeing it from bottle.