2013 L'Aventure Estate Cuvée Willow Creek District
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Tasting notes
The 2013 Estate Cuvée is spicy to the core, with an intense burst of incense and cedar spice box giving way to dried strawberries, black cherries and a whiff of ground clove. This is a classy effort with sleek textures, a core of tart wild berry fruits that slowly saturate, enhanced by nuances of Earl Grey and lavender. Adolescent tannins linger, adding a lovely framework of tension as hints of blackberry and cocoa fade slowly. The 2013 Estate Cuvée is still slowly maturing in bottle.
Critic scores
Robert Parker
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Vivid purple. Powerful smoke- and spice-accented aromas of cassis, cherry-vanilla and pipe tobacco, with a cedary nuance building with air. Juicy and sharply focused, offering sappy dark berry liqueur flavors and suggestions of candied rose and mocha. Smooth, slow-building tannins provide grip to the impressively long finish, which leaves boysenberry and floral notes behind.
The top wine of the estate and a blend that was the reason Stephan left Pomerol, the 2013 Estate Cuvee checks in as 43% Syrah, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Petit Verdot that comes all from his estate vineyard. It's locked and loaded with black and blue fruit, crushed rock, licorice and ground herbs, and I wrote that it seemed like it was filtered through a rocky riverbed in my notes. Serious, structured and tight, yet fabulously concentrated and pure, it needs 3-4 years of cellaring and will keep for two decades.
The top wine of the estate and a blend that was the reason Stephan left Pomerol, the 2013 Estate Cuvee checks in as 43% Syrah, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Petit Verdot that comes all from his estate vineyard. It's locked and loaded with black and blue fruit, crushed rock, licorice and ground herbs, and I wrote that it seemed like it was filtered through a rocky riverbed in my notes. Serious, structured and tight, yet fabulously concentrated and pure, it needs 3-4 years of cellaring and will keep for two decades.
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.