2022 Daou 'Reserve' Cabernet Sauvignon Paso Robles
A heady nose delivers fruit-forward aromas of blackberry, raspberry and plum with traces of licorice, thyme, vanilla and cherry. The palate is beautifully balanced, showing layers of black fruit and chocolate-covered blueberry with underlying herbal, cedar and mineral complexity. Exquisitely rounded tannins imbue the finish with stature and length.
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.
James Suckling
Fruit- and spice-driven, with aromas of blackberry compote, cigar box, cloves and violets. The palate is full-bodied with seamless tannins and integrated acidity, showing notes of blood plums, blueberries and graphite. Very fresh and balanced, with an underlying elegance that suggests it will age for years to come. Drink or hold.
Wine Advocate
The 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve is a barrel sample of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon and 23% Petit Verdot maturing for 16 months in 50% new French oak and is due to be bottled in the spring of 2024. The nose offers wild berry fruit streaked with graphite and nuances of truffle, forest floor and oak spices. The full-bodied palate is highly concentrated and floral, with approachable, clay-textured tannins, satisfying bursts of acidity and a long, perfumed finish.