2021 Daou 'Soul of a Lion' Proprietary Red Paso Robles
The 2021 vintage displays remarkable intensity in the glass with dark, inky ruby-purple hues. Abundant fruit aromas of black cherry, blackberry, blueberry jam and black currant are interwoven with accents of baking spices, sage and graphite. A voluminous entry introduces sumptuous layers of chocolate-covered blueberry, tobacco, mocha, vanilla and toasted oak. The mouthfeel is concentrated and elegant, with round, vibrant tannins that carry into a commanding finish.
Up on the highest vineyard in Paso Robles, brothers Georges and Daniel Daou have raised the bar for Bordeaux-style wines in central California. The brothers, engineers by trade, were raised in Paris and Cannes before immigrating to the US in their 20s. By their early 30s, they had sold a successful computer networking company, and Daniel promptly retired from tech and threw himself headfirst into learning winemaking. Between 2007 and 2012 the brothers purchased 212 hillside acres on the west side of Paso Robles. Legendary consulting winemaker “Maestro” André Tchelistcheff originally consulted on the first Cabernet vineyards here in the 1960s, and described the Daou’s hill as “A jewel of ecological elements,” referring to the site’s high altitude (2,200 feet, which is where Napa’s famous Howell Mountain tops out), limestone soils (a true rarity in the US), and cool climate, which allows the wines to attain full ripeness and deep colors without having to be acidified. Cab lovers, this is a winery to watch. Here we have unique terroir, fanatically scientific winemakers who use only free-run juice, and reality pricing, not vanity pricing. These three wines would make up a great mixed case to sock away and savor. We concur with this sentiment: “These are easily the greatest Bordeaux blends I’ve tasted from Paso Robles.” – The Wine Advocate.
Wine Advocate
The 2021 Soul Of A Lion is a blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Cabernet Franc and 7% Petit Verdot. It was matured for 22 months in 100% new French oak, bottled in August of 2023 and tasted in late September. It takes some time to unfold scents of blackcurrants, blueberries, green pepper, dried lavender and sage and continues to open as it spends time in the glass. The palate is stunning! It has ripe, detailed fruit, pixelated tannins and seamless acidity and finishes with fantastic length and perfume. It's an especially elegant example of this cuvée and should be very long lived.