Wine Country: America

Wine Subregion: California

Wine Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon

Over the past decade or so, Paso Robles has become an undeniable force in the California wine market.  Can you say ‘Austin Hope?’  We think it’s because the best and most-visible producers have smartly leaned into what makes them special as opposed to trying to imitate a style of wine like Bordeaux or the Napa Valley in a climactic region that just won’t allow it.  As a result, ‘Paso Cab’ has become a ‘thing,’ a big thing; a style of wine no one else can reproduce at prices that remain distinctly un-Napa/Bordeaux like.  One of the prime movers of the ‘Bring it on Paso’ movement is DAOU.  Started by the two Daou brothers from Lebanon; they knew from the start exactly how to handle wine grapes from a torrid growing region and produce a style of wine that does, indeed, while offering a deep bow to the best wines of Bordeaux, don’t try to recreate their style in Paso Robles.  In the process, they’ve created a reputation for their style we’ve not seen before from this up-and-coming wine growing region.  The most glittering gem in the Daou tiara is their iconic Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, a wine that has become one of the most emblematic of the entire Paso ethos.  Made from 77% Cabernet Sauvignon and 23% Petit Verdot (as if this wine really needed any more color!) and aged a year and a half in 50% new French oak, it’s a gentle monster that bursts at the seams with luscious black/blue tinged fruit backed by broad swaths of mulberry, pipe tobacco, chocolate-vanilla and bay leaf.  As it airs, a veritable ‘grandma’s kitchen’ of baking spices and vanilla extract  reveal themselves as the young tannins meld beautifully into the wine. Rich and velvety like the curtains of a really ritzy hotel, it’s a wine that combines power and class within the very unique style for which Paso is fast becoming well known. 
 
Robert Parker: The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve is blended with 23% Petit Verdot, made entirely with free-run juice, and it will be matured for 16 months in 50% new French oak. Opaque ruby, it offers pure aromas of cassis, violet, grilled meats, desert sage and bell pepper. The full-bodied palate is powdery, energetic and detailed with a long, layered finish.
94-96 points