A Wine Honoring Family and Fathers
To a father, from his sons
By Don Sonderling
I met Daniel and Georges Daou not long after they moved to Paso Robles, purchased
property in the Adelaida District, and began planning to build a world-class winery.
Our first few tastings took place in a double-wide trailer on their property while vineyards
were being planted and construction of the Tasting Room atop Daou Mountain began.
Over many glasses of wine, Daniel and George shared their incredible story of survival,
determination, and, most of all, family, having emigrated from their native Lebanon
during the Lebanese civil war to France and then to the United States.
Our conversations always focused on Cabernet Sauvignon, Daniel’s passion for the
grape, and the elite wine it could produce in Paso Robles. During one such
conversation, Daniel said his goal was to make a Cabernet Sauvignon that would stand
alongside any other California Cab and show that Paso Robles was not only a world-
class wine region, but also one with terroir and weather capable of growing and
producing world-class Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux grapes.
In Honor of our Father
Daou’s elegant tasting room opened in 2011. By then, my wife, several friends, and I
had become friends with Daniel, and we were invited to visit Daou Mountain for a
special tasting. This wasn’t meant to be a tasting for wine experts or critics, but an event
for people who simply enjoy sharing wine and friendship. We were, however, asked to
bring a 2010 bottle of top-tier cabernet from “another California area,” since this was
going to be a blind tasting against their new, soon-to-be-released flagship cabernet
sauvignon: Soul of a Lion.
This was the wine meant to make a statement. More importantly, this is the wine that
Daniel and Georges were so passionate about it because it was more than an homage to
their father; it was their story and their father’s story, in a bottle. As Daniel describes
Soul of a Lion, it was named “to honor their father, Joseph, a man of immense strength
and courage. They believed their father embodied the ‘king of the jungle,’ facing life’s
hardships, particularly while leading his family through war-torn Lebanon, with a resilient
spirit that inspired his sons’ winemaking dream.”
Soul of a Lion
This April, the 2023 Soul of a Lion, the fourteenth vintage of Daou Vineyards’ well-
established luxury wine, was introduced at a pre-release presentation at TAO Asian Bistro in Los Angeles, California. The first pre-release tour presentation was held in mid-
February, in Paso Robles at Daou Mountain.
Daou’s General Manager and senior winemaker, Jose Alberto Moreira dos Santos,
attended this special event and discussed the wine, aging, the 2023 vintage (which was
awarded 99 points by Tasting Panel Magazine), and Daou’s history, both personally and
professionally.
During the evening, those in attendance were treated not only to elegant food-and-wine
pairings featuring the 2023 vintage but also had the opportunity to compare library
vintages, specifically from 2017 through 2021, alongside the current 2023 release. It’s
going to be quite exciting for wine enthusiasts to see and taste the development of the
2023 vintage, especially as this vintage has been described as one of the finest in many
years.
Having the opportunity at this event to taste several vintages put an exclamation point
on the Soul of a Lion experience. In addition to sampling these wines, it was educational
to literally “taste the difference” between the vintages, which emphasizes not only the
effects of time and vintage but also how well Daou’s Soul of a Lion ages.
Soul of a Lion is not only a Paso Robles luxury Cabernet Sauvignon but also an
homage to Daniel and Georges’ father. What better Father’s Day gift than honoring your
own father? Buy a bottle to enjoy at your Father’s Day meal, and another to give him in
his honor. A special wine for a special person in your life: Soul of a Lion. Cheers to your
father and to his health!
…and a side note:
The blind tasting referred to above, which friends and I participated in, comparing 10
other wines against Soul of a Lion (same vintage, just a different area), was fun and
educational, filled with laughter and discussion during and after the tasting, with
everyone having time to share their impressions as the tasting went on. We all “graded”
the wines, certainly not in the way an expert reviewer would, but as we, just people who
really enjoy wine, would. Soul of a Lion scored the highest.
For additional information about the 2023 Soul of a Lion and to visit Daou Mountain to
experience the Daou brothers’ dream, please visit their website:
WWW.DAOUVINEYARDS.COM Cheers!
Don Sonderling l Freelance Writer
LIVE SIP WRITE
WSET2 | Internation Food, Wine, Travel Writers Association
LA Wine Writers
Cell: 818.321.1554 IG @dsonderling