| BACKGROUND:
L'Aventure is the culmination of Stephan Asseo's audacious quest to craft world-class wines with unbridled innovation. After establishing a maverick reputation in Bordeaux with Domaine de Courteillac, Stephan sought greater freedom, leading his family on a global search that ended in 1998 in the Willow Creek District of Paso Robles. He fell in love with this unique west side terroir, discerning its fundamental qualities for producing exceptional fruit. The 127-acre estate is a mosaic of hills with varying elevations, complex soils (siliceous and calcareous shale from ancient marine deposits), and excellent water drainage. This challenging yet rewarding environment, with dramatic diurnal temperature swings, ensures long maturation and complex, balanced wines.
The Estate Reserve, formerly known as Estate Cuvée, has always been L'Aventure's flagship wine and the very reason Stephan left Bordeaux for Paso Robles. With the 2022 vintage, they've elevated its name and look, reflecting its status as the best their estate fruit and terroir have to offer—truly the heart of L'Aventure. This powerful blend consists of 55% Syrah, 33% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 12% Petit Verdot, all 100% Estate Grown from L'Aaventure Vineyard with very low yields (1.5-2 tons per acre).
Winemaking involves meticulous manual sorting, 100% destemming for reds, and fermentation in small tanks for individual lot separation. Stephan's aging philosophy primarily utilizes French oak (83% new, 17% 1-year old for 21 months), ensuring rich, soft, and stable tannins with subtle vanilla and toast. They also incorporate clay amphorae and concrete for Rhône blends to enhance vibrancy and freshness. The 2022 vintage was bottled in July 2024, unfined and unfiltered, reflecting a precise, hands-on approach.
The 2022 L'Aventure Estate Reserve presents a beautiful dark purple hue with a great perfume of cassis and black raspberry fruits, intertwined with ground pepper, violets, graphite, and hints of chalky minerality. The nose is complex and inviting, featuring notes of mulberries, black olives, dried herbs, and game meat. The palate is rich, full-bodied, with incredible mid-palate depth and concentration, supported by ripe tannins. It's an incredibly complex and masterfully constructed wine, with energetic acidity, flavors of blackcurrants, cedar, tobacco leaves, and earth, leading to an exceptionally long finish. This wine is drinkable now but will be best from 2028. | |
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