Perched atop a small 2,300-foot promontory in the beautiful Paso Robles hills, Daou Winery is the creation of brothers Daniel and George Daou, who passionately craft some of the world’s finest Cabernets as well as world-class Bordeaux blends that combine the elegance of Old World wines with the exuberance and food friendly-approach of the California ones.
The Daou family doesn’t just make wine; they strive for excellence in the vineyard, in the cellar, and in the bottle. And it’s exactly this aspiration that brought Daniel and George from Lebanon to DAOU Mountain, the 212-acre hilltop estate in the Adelaida District, where the unique terroir and climate create extraordinary wines.
The long journey to Paso Robles
The story of the inseparable Daou brothers begins in Lebanon, in a generous and united family with a proactive approach to the future, whose life was abruptly turned upside down in the 1970s by the civil war. To ensure a better future for their children, Daniel and George's parents decided to move to France and later send their children to study in California. While Daniel and George's love of wine was certainly born in France, it is in America that the two were able to realize their dream. After studying computer science, founding and selling their company DAOU Systems, they finally decided to devote themselves entirely to wine.
The long journey to find the ideal location lasted several years and involved various states and countries in and out of the United States, including Argentina, and finally concluded in 2007 in Paso Robles at the Hoffman Mountain Ranch. This large estate, originally founded in 1961 by Dr. Stanley Hoffman, is one of the most iconic places in the region, as it was the first commercial-scale winery. However, its prestigious reputation is mainly linked to the potential of its terroir, which the famous winemaker André Tchelistcheff immediately understood and that the Daou brothers were able to develop. After the restoration of the original cellar, a historic redwood building, now used as an aging barrel room, the first vintage dates back to 2013.
The Daou Mountain, a “jewel of ecological elements”
Described by André Tchelistcheff as “a jewel of ecological elements,” Daou Mountain’s terroir has distinctive characteristics that make it ideal for growing Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux blends. Although these areas were initially known primarily for Rhone varietals, the Daou brothers have embraced the potential of this magnificent soil, a deep combination of clay with limestone substrate similar to those on the right bank of Bordeaux.
Altitude also plays a key role. Daou Winery is the highest on California’s Central Coast. Its vineyards stretch along steep slopes 2,200 feet above sea level, enjoying dramatic views over the coastline. Here, about 14 miles from the Pacific Ocean, breezes across the Templeton Gap ensure cool nights, which alternate with warm, temperate days, creating the coolest microclimate in Napa Valley.
These exceptional conditions ensure a slow and uniform phenolic ripening of the Bordeaux grapes, specifically Cabernet Sauvignon, allowing these varieties to express themselves at their best and produce premium wines of outstanding intensity and balance.
The human touch: what makes Daou wines so special
Behind a great wine, there is always a great dream. And Daniel Daou's dream has always been to create wines of exceptional quality. The terroir at his disposal is certainly a great advantage, because his philosophy is based on the concept that good wine is made in the vineyard. But the human touch also plays a fundamental role.
The work in the vineyard is strictly manual, to guarantee the pure expression of nature. The enormous respect for the fruits of the earth is also fundamental in the cellar. Daniel follows all the steps with unmatched passion and a strong attention to detail.
The grapes are transported to the cellar in perfect conditions and selected thanks to the use of innovative optical technology. Fermentations occur with native yeasts grown on the estate, and proprietary techniques include continuous phenolic analysis.
The Daou cellar's barrel room includes a selection of the best French barrels. Some are made with bois rosé, a rare fine-grained pink oak aged up to five years. Reserved for his flagship wines, these barrels are finished with Daniel's custom toast, ensuring the complexity of flavor and length in the wine.
Signature wines
While the heart of DAOU’s production is Cabernet Sauvignon, which excels in this beautiful location and reaches its peak expression in Soul of a Lion, the winery produces other acclaimed wines such as the powerful The Pessimist Red and the sophisticated Reserve Chardonnay.
SOUL OF A LION
Considered the flagship wine of the company, Soul of Lion is Daniel Daou's most accomplished work. It is also the most successful wine, the true jewel in the crown of the winery, a wine that achieves extraordinary scores every year, such as the recent 95 points from Robert Parker and 97 from Wine Enthusiast.
It is a powerful, elegant and complex wine, capable of aging for decades. Made with a majority of Cabernet Sauvignon and small additions of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, Soul of a Lion is the pure expression of the character of this terroir and of Daniel's passion. It is intense, bold, rich and extremely balanced, after almost two years in toasted French oak barrels bois rosé. Its name is a tribute to the father of the DAOU brothers, to his courage and resilience, and is a testament to the enormous love and respect towards their family.
THE PESSIMIST
A blend of Petite Sirah, Zinfandel, Syrah, and Lagrein, The Pessimist is a powerful, flavorful red that spends about 10 months in oak before bottling. On the palate it reveals all the fruity exuberance of Californian reds, but with a vein of freshness that balances the overall tasting.
Consistently awarded scores above 90 by Wine Enthusiast magazine over the years, this opulent, full-bodied red is always a safe bet for lovers of bold, characterful wines.
RESERVE CABERNET SAUVIGNON
Made with selected grapes from the finest estate vineyards, the Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve is a perfect example of the potential of this variety in Paso Robles. It is no surprise that it receives high marks every year from critics such as Robert Parker, Jancis Robinson, and Wine Enthusiast magazine. It is a rounded, ripe, and expressive wine that rests for 18 months in 80% new French oak and can beautifully age in the cellar for a decade or more.
RESERVE CHARDONNAY
Another wine much loved by the public and critics, the Reserve Chardonnay is produced with grapes selected from two of the best vineyards of the Paso Robles AVA. It is a generous, rich white with a pleasant mineral vein, which ages 15 months in 50% new French oak and reveals a versatile ability to pair with food.
A sustainable approach to nature and wine
The Daou family has always considered themselves custodians and conservators of their mountain. On the estate, everyone values the exceptional pristine terroir they have at their disposal through sustainable practices in the vineyard, for which they have achieved the SIP (Sustainability in Practice) certification, conscious landscape design that favors biodiversity, and soil composition procedures to ensure full health of their land.
The result is authentic wines, produced with healthy, high-quality grapes that demonstrate commitment, love, and respect for nature.
The Daou Brothers' Footprint in the Paso Robles Region
The great success and critical recognition that DAOU Vineyards has achieved over the years, bringing international fame to the entire region, led to its acquisition by Treasury Wine Estates, which also owns Penfolds, in 2023.
This historic move, given the impressive purchase price of $1 billion for a relatively young winery, is a testament to the Daou brothers' visionary philosophy and a sign of the prospects that await Paso Robles and its wine industry.
DAOU wines: crafting a dream
As often happens in life, the best things are born from the magical combination of different factors. Thus, the perfect alchemy of David's winemaking skills, George's entrepreneurial spirit, and the unique terroir of Daou Mountain are the core of the extraordinary success of this winery, whose wines are acclaimed throughout the world.
It is the realization of a dream that comes true in every glass of wine from the Daou winery and that allows us to discover the great value and outstanding beauty of the Paso Robles region.
Tutto perfetto puntuali e super imballaggio