2021 L'Aventure Estate Cuvee
Estimated value
Buying options
Tasting notes
The 2021 Inspiracion is rich and intense, with an alluring bouquet of blood orange, rose petals, incense and cedary spice. Cashmere-like on the palate, it soothes the senses with its soft and giving nature as ripe wild berry fruit and crisp mineral tones penetrate deeply, adding grip toward the close. Plum sauce mingles with savory herbs and a bitter twang of dark chocolate as this finishes staining, structured and long. This is a flat-out stunning, co-fermented blend of 49% Grenache, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Syrah and 6% Grenache Blanc. Fabulous. (EG)
Critic scores
Average Score
Erin Brooks, Wine Advocate
Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux
More reviews and scores
Inky plum colour, medium to full intensity. Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot dominant for the first 10 minutes in the glass, with sleek silky tannins, bilberry, blackcurrant, cocoa bean, espresso, fennel, then as it relaxes the floral red roses, white pepper and raspbery leaf of Syrah arrive. Beautiful concentration coupled with pummice stone minerality, will reward ageing but everything is in place to give pleasure straight away. Excellent quality. The 20th anniversary of the flagship Estate Cuvée - and the last one under this name, as it will be changing to Estate Reserve as of the 2022 vintage. 90% new oak for ageing. Winemaker Chloé Asseo.
The 2021 Estate Cuvée sports a blue label signifying its 20th anniversary. It's darkly floral and stoney upon opening with notes of dusty sage, black earth and currants. This is deeply textural, velvety and supple, like molten chocolate. It flows across the palate, saturating with its intense red and black fruits while taking on graphite mineral tones and hints of exotic spice. Classically structured and long, this leaves a pleasantly bitter tinge and licorice under an air of violet inner florals. Bury the 2021 Estate Cuvée deep in the cellar.
The 2021 Estate Cuvée (a 20th-anniversary edition) is composed of 50% Syrah, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Petit Verdot. Its aromas are highly complex and pure! Chocolate-covered cherry and crushed blueberry scents are complemented by wafts of thyme, sage, vanilla, dark spices and savory tones, plus soaring violet perfume. The full-bodied palate is polished and effortlessly balanced, offering powdery tannins, a bright spine of acidity and a tremendously long finish laced with spice and floral perfume. This elegant, expressive blend will be long lived in the cellar.
About the producer
L’Aventure is one of the leading wine estates in Paso Robles, California. It was founded by Stephan Asseo and his wife Beatrice who left their native France in 1997 in search of a place to make wine without the restrictions of France’s appellation system.