97 Points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate - The 2018 Soul Of A Lion is an incredible Cabernet Sauvignon, made exclusively from free-run juice, blended with 15% Cabernet Franc and 10% Petit Verdot and aged 22 months in 100% new French oak. Opaque ruby-purple in color, the nose opens slowly, segueing from graphite and tobacco leaves, to violets and blue fruit preserves, to cinnamon, potpourri and dark spices. The palate is seamless and cashmere-like, with expansive, pure, mineral-laced fruits enlivened by a burst of freshness that highlights the perfectly ripe fruit character this vintage. The finish is very long, offering violet perfume and iron tones that linger in the mouth. This is a gorgeous wine that combines unique personality with expert craftsmanship. It drinks well now but has all it needs for a long life in the cellar.
96 Points Wine Enthusiast - A creamy black-cherry aroma is balanced by toasted herbs and roasted coffee bean on the nose of this impressive bottling. There's a firm structure to the dense palate, and the flavors are expertly cohesive, combining herbs and savory meat with blueberry and blackberry.
96 Points Jeb Dunnuck - Checking in as 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot that’s still resting in new barrels, the 2018 Soul Of A Lion has a dark, dense bouquet of crème de cassis, chocolate, violets, tobacco, and cedar pencil. This gives way to a beautiful, powerful, full-bodied wine that has building yet attractive tannins, a rounded texture, good freshness, and a great finish. 94-96+
Blend: Cabernet Sauvignon 75%, Cabernet Franc 15%, Petit Verdot 10%
The 2018 Soul of a Lion is the kind of awe-inspiring, age-worthy Cabernet Sauvignon that Georges and Daniel envisioned when they first began researching the terroir of DAOU Mountain. This wine displays all the hallmarks of its cooler growing season—richness, elegance and balance. A dark, purple-black hue foreshadows the experience to come. Intense aromas of lilac, violet and spice swirl amid a deep, complex bouquet. The palate bursts with prodigious flavors of blueberry, boysenberry, plum, vanilla bean and chocolate-covered cherry, all underlain by striking minerality. Silky, integrated tannins unwind into an impossibly long finish, revealing both the power and finesse of its DAOU Mountain provenance.
