2016 DAOU Soul of the Lion Cabernet Sauvignon

WSI97 JD98 Also bottled the week before this tasting, the 2016 Soul of a Lion includes more Cabernet Sauvignon than the 2014 and 2015 and is 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Cabernet Franc and the rest Petit Verdot. It’s an incredible achievement and has sensational notes of crème de cassis, graphite, violets, and lead pencil shavings. Made in a pure California, pedal-to-the-metal style, with full body and loads of fruit, it stays balanced, has ultra-fine tannins, and a layered, seamless style that just glides over the palate. Don’t think Paso Robles can make world-class Cabernet Sauvignon? Try this wine.
WA94-96  Slated for bottling in August, the 2016 Soul Of A Lion is another immensely promising example of this Cabernet Sauvignon-dominated cuvée. Tasted from barrel, the wine reveals a deep and complex bouquet of smoky cassis, incense, ripe plums and rich soil. On the palate, it’s full-bodied, layered and complete, with imposing power and savory structure framing a deep core of fruit. There’s more depth and dimension here than in the 2015 rendition, and I suspect it will be even better.
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. 
VIN95 (100% new French oak) Inky ruby. Highly expressive, oak-spiced cherry, black currant and floral pastille aromas are complemented by suggestions of vanilla and licorice. Sweet, seamless and broad on the palate, offering intense dark berry, cherry-vanilla and spicecake flavors and a building mocha note. Shows outstanding focus and appealing sweetness on the strikingly long, juicy finish, which features repeating spiciness, a sexy floral quality and slow-building tannins.