Daou Vineyards Soul Of A Lion Adelaida District Red Blend 2019

94 points - new discovery                      Daou is making some of the best Cabernets in Paso Robles today. Highly recommended. 97 Points Jeb Dunnuck: "Checking in as 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot that’s still resting in new barrels, the Daou Soul Of A Lion has a dark, dense bouquet of crème de cassis, chocolate, violets, tobacco, and cedar pencil. This gives way to a beautiful, powerful, full-bodied wine that has building yet attractive tannins, a rounded texture, good freshness, and a great finish...Don’t think Paso Robles can make world-class Cabernet Sauvignon? Try this wine." ...From high up off Adelaida Road, the Daou brothers continue to make a massive lineup of stellar wines. The 2016s are incredibly strong across the board and make the most of this brilliant vintage. In 2017, they opted to wait until after the heatwaves and then do extensive sorting, and this paid off brilliantly and I suspect they’ve made the top Bordeaux blends in the vintage. As I’ve said in the past, these wine compete with the best of Napa Valley and are some of the leading Bordeaux blends from Paso Robles." 96 Points Robert Parker: "The Daou Soul Of A Lion is a blend of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Cabernet Franc and 8% Petit Verdot. It is still in barrel and is expected to age 22 months in 100% new French oak. It has a deep ruby-purple color and lovely scents of dried herbs and flowers, charcuterie, coffee beans, potpourri and broody spices with a core of cassis. The medium to full-bodied palate features fresh, bright, perfumed fruits with mineral nuance in a pixelated frame, and it finishes long and nuanced. Wow!" ...These notes are the result of a fascinating and extensive tasting with father and daughter team Daniel and Lizzy Daou. As readers may know, Daou's estate vineyards (which emphasizes Bordeaux varieties) are planted at high density on steep slopes in Adelaida District in a site once singled out by the great André Tchelistcheff for its potential. Grown in these soils and in this climate, Daou's vines produce grapes with an extraordinarily high phenolic content, to which the estate's winemaking has gradually adapted. Macerations are very short, with the wines finishing fermentation in barrel, but even so these inky, structured reds don't lack for color or substance. Acidities are healthy, alcohols never in excess of 15%, and the wines are totally dry. I looked at two verticals in the course of my tasting, so I'm also in a position to observe that these wines evolve very slowly. There's no one else making Cabernet Sauvignon like this in Paso Robles." In the golden, oak-studded hills of Paso Robles' fabled west side, not far from William Randolph Hearst's magnificent castle, there is a man with a Homeric vision. His name is Daniel Daou and he is devoting his life and every imaginable resource to creating, first and foremost, a Cabernet Sauvignon that rivals the very best in the world. Gracefully perched atop a stunning promontory at 2,200 feet, the DAOU Spanish Colonial style winery is embraced by a tangible serenity. This kind of synergy happens rarely: superlative climate and terroir, super intensive vineyard culture, and cutting edge viticultural practice. You're more likely to find it in Bordeaux than Central California.

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