Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Ripe and sweet fruit aromas of apples, limes and green papaya with some vanilla. Some caramel undertones. Full-bodied, yet tight and compact palate. Flavorful finish. It opens nicely on the finish with lots of wood, vanilla, toffee and ripe-apple flavors. Drink or hold.
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Connoisseurs' Guide
Daou’s rich and outgoing 2019 Reserve Chardonnay immediately impresses with its aromatic breadth and depth and needs no coaxing to reveal layer upon layer of ripe apples, peaches and lovely, toasted brioche sweetness. Running true to its nose with respect to layered richness and fruity largesse on the palate yet beautifully proportioned and just as well-balanced as it is rich, this is a wholly satisfying wine at the moment, its tender age notwithstanding. We would not argue with those who choose to enjoy it in short order, but it is destined to age famously and in no way demands hasty drinking
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2019 DAOU Reserve Chardonnay delivers nicely on the palate and finishes with a bright zing in its finish. TASTING NOTES: This wine shows ripe apple and oak in its aromas and flavors. Enjoy it with shellfish in cream sauces. (Tasted: December 18, 2020, San Francisco, CA)
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
Growing on high elevation bedrock slopes, the vineyards of Paso Robles Willow Creek AVA sit at between 960 and 1,900 feet in elevation.