A California first-growth Cabernet Sauvignon without peer, fulfilling the Adelaida District’s destiny as the world’s next benchmark for Bordeaux varieties.

The 2018 vintage may go in history as the longest season yet. A good amount of rain fell on DAOU Mountain which gave to a later bud break in April. The vines were energized by the much-needed moisture, setting one of our best crops yet. The weather remained steady from spring through June when we received a long heatwave that fortunately did not affect the quality of the grapes due to the fact that it occurred before the start of veraison. A cooling trend ensued for the rest of the season right after the heatwave prolonging the hanging time and the harvest to October. The result was our latest harvest ever on the mountain, reaching all the way into the third week of October. The long hang time yielded deep color and concentration with dense wines. The tannins are silky and beautifully integrated. As a result, the 2018 vintage was an exceptional vintage that gave way to powerful and balanced wines.

PATRIMONY is rooted in the unrivaled terroir of DAOU Mountain. The phenolics produced on this mountain are known to be among the highest in the world, fostering an immensity of color, depth and structure. In order to extract the purest and most elevated expression of this terroir, purposeful omission is required. For this reason, only select vineyard rows are chosen for PATRIMONY cultivation. By the time the fruit is aggressively thinned, optically sorted, and used only for its free-run juice, a minimal percentage of the total potential yield actually meets the exacting standard we set for PATRIMONY. Fermentation proceeds exclusively with wild yeasts cultured from DAOU Mountain, imbuing the wine with native texture and character.

The PATRIMONY aging program is built around the most coveted barrels that are accessible only through personal relationships with top cooperages. These barrels are: (1) Taransaud T5 barrels coopered from five-year seasoned staves cut from centuries-old Tronçais forest trees; (2) The Serie Vieux Morat Sylvain collection barrels made from this 39 metre tall sessile oak is approximately 350 years old. It has a diameter of 1.30 metres and a total volume of 19 m3. It is located in plot no. 233 of the famous Colbert stand, the historic heart of the Tronçais forest; (3) a proprietary DAOU barrel created from rare, super fine-grain pink oak, or bois rosé, that is also seasoned in the elements for five years. This proprietary barrel is custom toasted with a low flame to avoid char and ultimately accentuate the wine with extraordinary length; and for the first time, (4) Seguin Morreau’s ICÔN concept, whose technology allows even flavors throughout the barrels; and (5) Berger barrels, who customized a special toast for our fruit. Collectively, these barrels provide for seamless oak integration and staggering complexity over a maturation period of 30 months, all without encroaching upon the pure qualities of our DAOU Mountain fruit. The result is a most pure expression of the Cabernet Sauvignon grape—abundantly layered, extravagant in depth, and intricately poised to the end.

This wine definitely qualifies as the most elegant PATRIMONY Cabernet to date. The longer hanging on the vine provides a great tannin structure while maintaining Freshness. The nose is layered and complex, exploding with chocolate, cooked blackberries, violets, cedar and cigar box. On the palate, crushed stones give it a dimension rarely seen in a new world wine. The fruit is pure and potent yet very fine while being accompanied with a kaleidoscope of flavor ranging from blueberries, blackberries, dulce de leche and a touch of rose petal while having a very mineral and floral note. This wine will show its potential after it ages in the bottle for several years. With an immense structure, this will age and improve for decades.