L’AVENTURE, ESTATE CUVÉE, PASO ROBLES, CALIFORNIA, 2019

Overview of the Wine
L’Aventure was founded in 1998 by a French winemaker, Stephan Asseo. After Stephan graduated enology school in Burgundy, the Asseo family bought their first estate, Domaine de Courteillac, in the Bordeaux area in 1982. Later, the family purchased additional properties: Chateau Robin and Chateau Fleur-Cardinale in Saint-Emilion. Stephan raised these properties to a level of great quality, while managing some other well-established domaines such as Chateau Guillot-Clauzel in Pomerol and Chateau Corbin in St Emilion.

Stephan saw in the New World a unique opportunity to expand his experience, while gaining more freedom in viticulture and vinification. He began by looking all over California for land, including Napa/Sonoma and Santa Barbara counties, but it was the terroir and climate of Paso Robles that impressed him the most.

L’Aventure is located on the west side of Paso Robles in the Willow Creek District. The 127-acre property with 57 acres planted, is comprised of multiple hills of various elevation and complex soils. Because of its proximity to the ocean, the vineyard has clear warm days and drastic cool nighttime temperatures which increases the time of the grape’s maturation cycle providing fruit that creates a more complex and balanced wine. Stephan’s choice of this lean terroir provides him with the fruit necessary to create wine with a good balance between alcohol and acidity. The resulting wines are full and rich yet well balanced and elegant.

Grape / Blend
50% Syrah, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Petit Verdot

Origin
Paso Robles, California

Winemaker’s Tasting Notes

After searching for over a year, the St. Emilion native fell in love with the unique terroir of Paso Robles and built L’Aventure Winery to pursue his ideals as a winemaker. L’Aventure’s flagship Estate Cuvee (a blend of Cabernet and Syrah) has incredible track record 94-98 point scores each vintage since 2002. Robert Parker has reported that Asseo “continues to go from strength to strength, producing a fabulous portfolio of wines that makes L’Aventure one of the bright, shining reference points for the region. This is one of the California Central Coast superstars, and the wines are worth every cent.”

100 Points – Jeb Dunnuck
Pure perfection from Paso Robles, the 2019 Estate Cuvee checks in as 50% Syrah, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 15% Petit Verdot that was raised in 81% new French oak. Incredible cassis and black berry fruits as well as violets, chocolate, graphite, and who knows what else emerges from the glass, and it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a concentrated yet weightless mouthfeel, building tannins, and a great finish. It’s more seamless and approachable than the more backward, structured 2018 and will have two decades of prime drinking.

97 Points – Vinous
Opaque ruby. A highly complex, expansive bouquet evokes smoke-accented black and blue fruits, oak spices, incense, mocha and potpourri. Sappy, sharply delineated cassis, blueberry and cherry preserve flavors show energetic mineral lift and betray no rough edges. In an ample but lively style, finishing smoky and wonderfully long, with a resonating cherry note and chewy tannins that sneak in late.

97 Points – James Suckling
The pure currant and blackberry aromas are so bright and vivid. Very aromatic. Lots of pure fruit. It’s full-bodied with tension and focus, because the tannins are fine-grained and give form and energy to the wine. They are very long already. I think three or four years will really bring this red into its own. Blend of syrah, cabernet sauvignon and petit verdot. Try after 2024, but hard to not drink now.

96 Points – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate 
The 2019 Estate Cuvée, a blend of 50% Syrah, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Petit Verdot, has a deep ruby-purple color and fragrant aromas of cassis, licorice, dried roses, leather and youthful new oak spice. The full-bodied palate is silky and uplifted, with fine, savory accents and a very long, mineral-driven finish. It deserves another 3-5 years in bottle and will be long lived in the cellar.

Product size: 750ml