DAOU Vineyards

DAOU Vineyards is the most dramatic and ambitious estate in Paso Robles — a hilltop property at 2,200 feet of elevation in the Adelaida District that was identified by founders Daniel and Georges Daou as a site capable of producing Cabernet Sauvignon to rival the world's best. Since the brothers acquired the property in 2007, the winery has redefined what is possible at the high end of Paso pricing, with the flagship Soul of a Lion Cabernet now considered one of California's elite reds.

The estate's calcareous limestone soils and significant elevation produce wines of unusual structure for the region — the Cabernets show ripe fruit but also serious acidity and tannin, with cellaring potential measured in decades rather than years. Beyond the flagship reds, DAOU produces an exceptional Cabernet Franc, a small-production Chardonnay, and a series of single-vineyard reserves available only through the winery.