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{ SOMMjournal.com } 93 of the entire Adelaida District from the Viking Vineyard that I will never forget." Added Stacie Hunt, a Los Angeles wine educator and media consultant, "Tasting that Cabernet Franc in the vineyard gave us a clear understanding of the region's majestic scale, equal to some of the mountain heights in Napa . . . shadowing the great Bordeaux blends, but with richness and aromatics unlike anything in Bordeaux." At our next stop, on a 2,200-foot elevation site close to Viking Vineyard, DAOU Vineyards & Winery co-owner/grower/winemaker Daniel Daou gave us a definitive lesson on Paso Robles' recent Cabernet Sauvignon renaissance, while standing in one of his steep mountainside plantings. Said Daou, "André Tchelistcheff once described this spot as 'a jewel of ecological elements.' This soil is 100 percent calcareous clay—same as what you find in Burgundy and Bordeaux. "Except for August, during most of the year our climate is cooler than Napa Valley's," Daou noted. "You can taste the minerality in our wines, but our biggest advantage is we never have to acidify, unlike the vast majority of California Cabernet Sauvignons. On our mountain, we are able to reach very high levels of phenolics rarely seen around the world. For instance, we are seeing bound anthocyanin levels higher than 300 parts per million—something rarely seen with Cabernet. The potential for wines with more intense phenolics is off the charts. Yet we can pick at lower sugars allowing for less alcohol, with more natural acidity." In partnership with his brother Georges, Daniel Daou has dramatically changed the complexion of Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon by not only taking advantage of the spec - tacular terroirs, but also by planting on significantly closer spacing, and by focusing on higher quality clones, particularly the heritage Napa Valley selection known as To Kalon (also identified as U.C. Davis Foundation Plant Services Clone 31), the highly regarded FPS Clone 04, and ENTAV-INRA (Établissement National Technique pour l'Amélioration de la Viticulture) clones from France such as 169, 191, 337, 338, 685, 15 and 412. "Clone selection is especially important because it impacts the size of berries and clus - ter weights," explained Daou. "At one point most of Paso Robles was planted to (FPS) C lone 08, a safer, higher-production choice from U.C. Davis. Clones like To Kalon and 412 give berries and clusters that are smaller; this means higher skin-to-juice ratio, more color and anthocyanin, increased flavor, structure and intensity. "With more clonal diversity, I feel like we're finally reaching a stage where we're tapping the potential of our vineyards. We're producing more high-end Cabernet Sauvignons, but not just that. These are bolder Cabernets that are very much classical in structure, yet distinctive in their own way—not just big, alcoholic California fruit bombs." Following our DAOU vineyard walk, the group enjoyed a dinner in the DAOU winery with wines presented by the present board membership of the Paso Robles CAB Collective. Highlights included an enormously rich, svelte yet sinewy 2010 DAOU "Soul of a Lion" Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as older, more finesseful vintages by Chateau Margene, The rich, svelte and sinewy DAOU 2010 "Soul of a Lion" Cabernet Sauvignon. Mastro's Beverly Hills Jessie Birschbach, CS. Daniel Daou talks Cabernet Sauvignon at DAOU Vineyards & Winery. At DAOU Vineyards & Winery: Daniel Daou, Sommelier Patrick Le Bras, CS, CSW of Newport Harbor Yacht Club, Newport Beach, and Georges Daou get close. PHOTO: RANDY CAPAROSO