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

Abundant rainfall combined with moderate temperatures and extended hang times resulted in the latest harvest on record. The winter rains yielded a healthy cover crop that replenished the soil’s micronutrient stores. The growing season was perfect with temperatures hovering in the 80s and 90s, and not a single day reaching 100 degrees in the vineyard. The fruit arrived at the winery in exquisite condition with small, pure, and unblemished berries. The 2019 vintage is marked by elegance, intensity, and fine acidity, all combining to promise excellent longevity and staying power. This vintage is the epitome of a terroir-driven wine that has immense power without sacrificing any elegance. The wine explodes out of the glass with boysenberry fruit, crème de cassis, cedar, cigars, crushed stone and lead pencil accompanied by a perfume of violets. Deep and full-bodied, rich with astonishing texture, it manages to stay fresh and balanced throughout with a finish that does not stop.

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.