Community Tasting Notes 85

• Josch48 wrote: 87 points

  October 18, 2023 - The winemaker correctly describes the color of this wine to be that of a dark purple aubergine, sans any brown. The nose initially has a strong unidimensional almost stewed/smokey presentation of unidentifiable red and black fruit.
  The component contributing characters in this melange are 62% Petite Sirah, 19% Zinfandel, 17% Syrah, and 2% Lagrein, a Northern Italy red varietal that is related to Syrah and is also grown in small quantities in the Central Coast of California and is more prominently planted in the McLaren Vale and Adelaide Hills regions of Australia.
  The 15.2% ABV presence is all but hidden by a thick, highly viscous, and syrupy sweet mouthfeel, supported by a peripheral acidity and almost occult tannins. The wine’s overall flavor profile conjures up memories of dense ruby port without the contributing complexity, other than the interesting citrus flavor, lemon particularity, on the finish.
  This wine could have easily been made to display both the individual and collective nuances of the respective varietals assembled, but the decision appears to have been to produce a jammy, cloying wine that would be wonderful when poured over ice cream or used in a flavorful cooking sauce. This is not to say that the wine is without merit, but this producer, who is capable of other much better conceived and crafted wines, has decided to take a page from Chuck Wagner’s Caymus hand book of lugubrious, and thick enough to eat it with a spoon Pinot Noirs.
  I am not altogether sure whether I am not in accord with the winemaking style, or the wine itself, a wine I want to like, but can’t quite feel comfortable with, due to the disconnect I sense on multiple levels.
  Sometimes surprises are not as pleasant as we had hoped they would be. The scoring is of a generous nature, befitting the positive attributes of the wine rather than the perceived inexplicable pitfalls, per this reviewer’s assessment of this particular effort, of the winemaker’s stylistic veracity.

• Spth115 Likes this wine: 89 points

  August 26, 2023 - A very robust red blend from Paso Robles!

  Comment

• AGELVIS Does not like this wine: 87 points

  August 23, 2023 - One hour slow ox. Deep dark intense magenta color. Smoky plum, black cherry, fennel, baker’s chocolate, and cinnamon. Smooth, dry palate, with fine acidity. Firm, full, lower intensity tannins on the medium short finish.
  
  This is an easy drinker, but not my style. These lower end Daou reds are too smoky and extracted for me these days. This is very similar to the grocery store Daou CS. It’s a good entry level bottle for those early in their wine journey (or good for a party with non-wine people).

  1 person found this helpful Comments (1)

• Kat032967 wrote: flawed

  August 21, 2023 - Cork taint

  Comment

• cubswinws Does not like this wine: 86 points

  June 3, 2023 - Technically red wine but tastes over extracted/ over manipulated. I couldn't begin to tell you what grapes were in this.

  Comment

Pro Reviews 1

Wine Definition

• Vintage 2018
• Type Red
• Producer Daou Vineyards
• Varietal Red Blend
• Designation The Pessimist
• Vineyard n/a
• Country USA
• Region California
• SubRegion Central Coast
• Appellation Paso Robles
• UPC Codes 7864113002794, 850008182068, 890409002794, 890409006785

Community Holdings

• Pending Delivery 3 (0%)
• In Cellars 1,369 (35%)
• Consumed 2,536 (65%)

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