Cellar for up to 9 years. No need to decant before serving. This punchy Petit Verdot and Petite Sirah blend is an opulent introduction to the DAOU house style which combines luscious fruit from their Paso Robles vineyards with an Old World approach to winemaking. The 212 family-run estate is located in the Adelaida District and was founded by two brothers, Georges and Daniel who fled their native Lebanon as children to live in France and later in the USA. After settling in California, the siblings fell in love with the world of wine and began to build their own legacy on this hilltop site which has been called a “a jewel of ecological elements” by the legendary winemaker André Tchelistcheff. Their red wines take inspiration from the great chateaux of Bordeaux, blending magnificent French grape varieties to create sophisticated and polished cuvees that can age beautifully in the cellar. Their Bodyguard bottling captures the full brilliance of the DAOU terroir and the brothers’ approach to winemaking with deliciously ripe fruit flavours carefully balanced by firm tannins, a well-built structure, and a very long finish. On the palate there is plenty of ripe cassis, blackberry and dark cherry along with delicate notes of menthol, graphite, leather and cigar box spice. A great wine to enjoy now alongside barbecued ribs, steak, and hearty meat stews, or to keep for a decade or so in the cellar.