DAOU Seventeen Forty Reserve 2013

Professional Ratings

• 94 Wine Enthusiast
  Rocky aromas meet with pure blackberry and other concentrated black fruits on the ripe but nowhere near sweet nose of this blend of 56% Cabernet Franc and 44% Merlot. Lavish flavors of blackberry, lilac, caramel and crushed gravel show on the zesty palate, but the star of this bottling is the chalky, fine-tuned structure. Drink 2018–2028.
• 93 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
  Still in barrel, the 2013 Seventeen Forty Reserve is close to an even split of Cabernet Franc and Merlot that will see 20 months in 70% new French oak. One of the more decadent releases from this team at 14.7 alcohol, it's a voluptuous and downright sexy effort that has full-bodied notes of tobacco leaf, dried violets, sweet oak and assorted dark fruits. Nicely focused and with tons of ripe tannin, it should impress with short-term cellaring and hold for a decade or more after that. Range: 91-93+ points.
• 93 Connoisseurs' Guide
  56% Cabernet Franc; 44% Merlot. Sporting a cépage that recalls the St. Emilion bottlings of Bordeaux’s right bank, but positively brimming with the ripe, wonderfully concentrated fruit of its local home, this fleshy, full-bodied wine earns kudos for both its depth and abiding richness. Although in some ways quite showy now, it has a tremendous sense of reserve and untapped potential, and its combination of exemplary structure and brooding strength is sufficient assurance that, while it will be approachable in a half dozen or so years, it will continue to unfold and reveal more well into its second decade.
• 93 Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
  One of the most unique and special red wines from Paso Robles, the 2013 Daou Seventeen Forty Reserve excels in the style of Right Bank Bordeaux. Loaded with red currants and savory herbs, the wine stays bright and fine in its long and lively finish. Drinks nicely now. (Tasted: August 5, 2016, San Francisco, CA)