2022 L'Aventure Estate Cuvee
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Tasting notes
Intense cassis and blueberry, olive tapenade, black pepper, sage and rosemary. This is concentrated with slate tannins and a slow build that offers balance and promise of long ageing. Renamed from Estate Cuvée from this vintage. Unfiltered and unfined. Chloe Asseo director, Stephan Asseo owner and winemaker, from the Willow Creek district of Paso Robles.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux
More reviews and scores
The 2022 Estate Cuvée is driven by opaque fruits and toasty, cappuccino-like aromas framed by dried herbs. The palate is opulent and polished, leading to an immensely chewy, grainy finish of harsh tannins. Since my tasting was before the wine's July bottling date, I had the opportunity to taste from both new and one-year-old barrels; the wine from the used wood was substantially more balanced and forgiving on the finish, although these barrels will make up only 18% of the final blend. This was quite instructive given my impressions of the L'Aventure lineup, which, during this tasting, consistently displayed harshly tannic finishes.
Lastly, the flagship 2022 Estate Cuvee is a blend of Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon, and it's one of the more concentrated, powerful wines in the vintage. Darker berries, spice box, tobacco, and graphite all give way to a full-bodied 2022 with a layered, ripe mouthfeel, beautiful tannins, and a great finish. As with most 2022s, it's going to have plenty of up-front appeal.
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.