DAOU – world-class wines in pursuit of perfect phenolics

Family-owned DAOU Vineyards in Paso Robles, California, has long demonstrated a passion for sustainable viticulture, terroir and relentless pursuit to establish themselves as the new benchmark for Californian Cabernet Sauvignon. When Star Wine List of the Year International Final was celebrated in Stockholm on 19 June, DAOU presented the category Best Short List.

The two brothers Georges and Daniel Daou set forth to find an unrivaled terroir for producing Cabernet Sauvignon, a quest that led them to a place of foretold greatness: DAOU Mountain. Decades earlier, legendary winemaking authority Andre Tchelistcheff recognized the terroir as “a jewel of ecological elements.”

DAOU Mountain, with its calcareous clay soils and steep slopes of up to fifty-six percent, stands alone at an elevation of 2,200 feet, rising from the heart of the Adelaida District in the rugged coastal range west of Paso Robles.

This soil, famously found in Saint-Émilion and the right bank of Bordeaux, is composed of clay with a calcareous and limestone subsoil perfect for growing Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux varieties. This is the soil Georges and Daniel sought when they searched around the world for their dream vineyard.

The mountain is cooled by the Pacific Ocean, fourteen miles away, and gentle breezes that flow over the Templeton Gap. One of the things that make their terroir so special is that it is blessed with extraordinary phenolic output.

Phenols are natural compounds that come from grape skins and seeds. Tannins are the most familiar family of phenols, as wine drinkers know a “tannic” wine when they taste one. However, there are other families of phenols whose influence is more subtle but no less vital. These include “free anthocyanins” and “bound anthocyanins.” Collectively, these phenolic compounds drive the visual, textural, structural and sensory qualities of a red wine. Studies conducted on DAOU Mountain indicate that the phenolic levels produced here are among the very highest of any site in the winemaking world. The team at DAOU see it is a gift - and a responsibility.

“There is a power within this Mountain we call home. It is a power that can turn mere raindrops and roots into extraordinary wines that will endure for decades. Imagine achieving the perfect mouthfeel, structure and color year after year while still allowing for the individual expression of terroir and vintage. This is a phenolic possibility that has been largely unexplored in the wine industry, and that we are vigorously pursuing with every scientific resource available. The results are already evident in our wines, and it will only get better,” says Daniel Daou.

For this reason, Daniel Daou has deployed an unprecedented array of analyses and technologies combined with his own sensory evaluation to precisely guide phenolic development from the vine through fermentation. This intensive union of sensory and science ultimately allows Daniel to meet his vision for each wine which express their terroir while achieving consistent color, tannin and mouthfeel.

DAOU’s most powerful and complex wine, Soul of a Lion is one of the highest phenolic and awarded Cabernet Sauvignons in the world. Year after year.