2020 L'Aventure Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
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Tasting notes
The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve makes itself known with mentholated herb, dark floral, black currant and crushed rock aromas. It's silky and sleek in character, with mineral-tinged black fruits and mounting tannins that slowly saturate toward the close. This finishes with a classic structure, leaving a primary coating of concentration. Sour citrus notes add lovely contrast.
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James Suckling
Jeb Dunnuck
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The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, blended with 5% Petit Verdot, has a deep ruby-purple color and slowly opens to scents of blueberries. cassis, orange peel, aniseed, pencil shavings and savory, meaty undertones. The full-bodied palate is powerful yet velvety, with concentrated, mineral-laced fruits and sparks of fresh acidity highlighting sparks of incense. Seamless and long, it's one of the most successful Cabernets I tasted in the challenging 2020 vintage.
Deep, ripe but racy at the same time with creme de cassis, dark olives, black chocolate and cigar box. Flavorful and full-bodied with really fine-grained tannins. Dimensional and structured. An exuberant, zealous Paso cabernet sauvignon that shows varietal typicity and place. Drink or hold.
The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve (95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot) is a smaller production release that’s brought up in new and one-year-old French oak. Its inky purple color is followed by a gorgeous bouquet of pure crème de cassis, spicy oak, graphite, and hints of espresso, as well as just a touch of chalky minerality. Rich, full-bodied, and concentrated, it brings ripe tannins, a great mid-palate, and one heck of a finish. It's a big, structured, Howell Mountain-like Cabernet Sauvignon that will be long-lived. I was able to look at the 2020s and 2021s from L’Aventure, both solid vintages. In fact, they might have made some of the best wines in Paso in 2020, and the wines are impressive across the board.
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.