L'Aventure : Estate Cuvée 2016
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The typicality of a Californian red wine by l’Aventure
The estate
Qualified in oenology, Stephan Asseo began his winemaking career in the 1980s in Burgundy and at family vineyards in Bordeaux. After having worked in Bordeaux viticulture for 17 years, he decided to venture into new horizons and found his personal paradise in the Paso Robles region (halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles) in California. L’Aventure was borne from these untapped lands in 1998, a winery which name is a reminder that its creation was a real adventure alongside this "instinctive" investment.
The vineyard
With his strong winemaking experience, Stephan Asseo chose, after a rigorous study of the region, the western slopes of the Paso Robles wine region. This steeply sloped vineyard offers a terroir with an exceptional quality, with a mosaic of soils and excellent drainage which provide the perfect conditions for the development and ripening of the grapes.
L’Aventure winery overlooks a 127-acre vineyard (around fifty hectares), near an ocean with an alternation between hot days and cool nights which contributes to the delicious complexity and balance of l’Aventure wines.
The rootstocks used are selected from grape varieties known for their slow ripening process and deep root system. Although the plant density is very high (more than 2000 plants per acre), the vineyard enjoys an irrigation system which contributes to a perfect balance between the quantity of water and exposure to the sun and soil.
L’Aventure winery is recognised for these high-quality wines, with a perfect balance between alcohol and acidity that is combined with an aromatic richness as well as a rare finesse and a beautiful elegance.
Winemaking and ageing
Yields were very low (between 1.5 and 2 tons per acre). Malolactic fermentation in barrels. Ageing for 15 months in French oak barrels (100% new oak).
Blend
The Estate Cuvée 2016 by L’Aventure is the fruit of a blend of Syrah (52%), Cabernet Sauvignon (32%), and Petit Verdot (16%).
Keeping
The Estate Cuvée 2016 by L’Aventure can wait in the cellar until 2031 to unveil its entire aromatic palette.
The 2016 Estate Cuvee reveals a youthful bouquet of crème de cassis, ripe plums, licorice, pencil shavings and anise, framed by a generous application of creamy, spicy new oak. On the palate, it's full-bodied, ripe and heavily extracted, clamping down on the tongue and gums with an impenetrable wall of firm, chewy tannin that makes it hard to read. It's a bit too soon after bottling to truly get a handle on this, so I've given it a hesitant bracketed score. It's a blend of 52% Syrah, 32% Cabernet Sauvignon and 16% Petit Verdot that was matured in 90% new oak.