2023 L’ Aventure, Optimus Cuvée, Estate Grown, Willow Creek District, Paso Robles.
The dark purple/garnet hued Optimus Cuvée by Stephan Asseo’s L’Aventure winery is opulent and loaded with rich, dense and spicy fruit all wrapped in sweet French oak, and while hedonistic, this wine again shows fine balance and finessed details, making it sexy and rewarding on the palate. As this Cuvée always has, it is a blend of mainly Syrah, along with roughly equal parts Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot, with a nose of dark spring flowers, smoky graphite, black olives and vanilla with creme de cassis, boysenberry and blueberry which all continue on the expansive palate, intensely mouth filling and full of youthful vigor and grip, though the tannins are lush and sweet. There is a touch of peppery spice, sandalwood and fine cigar wrapper that appear in the background and the finish has more black currant and tarry licorice notes that linger on and on. The cool year helped add a touch more lift and fresh acidity, making the wine that much more balanced and appealing, especially with hearty or meaty cuisine. Asseo, who’s been making wine since 1982, established himself in Bordeaux and his family later purchased Chateau Fleur Cardinal and Chateau Robin in the Cotes de Castillion, before leaving France to start a new in Paso Robles.
As mentioned here many times, winemaker Stephan Asseo is from Pomerol and was a Bordeaux winemaker Saint Emilion before pursuing his own American Dream, moving lock, stock and barrel to the wilds of Paso Robles in the mid ’90s, this transition was a huge culture shock for him and his family, but they have since thrived in their new home and his wines show his happiness and passion in full glory. The L’ Aventure Optimus Cuvée was crafted from all estate grown grapes, set on limestone, with a final blend of 54% Syrah, 23% Cabernet Sauvignon and 23% Petit Verdot, which were all de-stemmed and fermented in separate lots before blending and aging. This wine, according to the winery, saw 14 months in barrel with winemaker Stephan Asseo selecting 63% one time used French Oak and 37% new wood for the 18 month elevage, with the Malolactic Fermentation taking place in barrel, it was bottled unfined and unfiltered. The L’ Aventure lineup includes a Rosé, a 100% Roussanne bottling, a wine I always beg for when visiting the tasting room, Côte a Côte (Grenache, Mourvedre & Syrah) Rhône blend, the mighty Estate Cuvee (Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Petit Verdot), and an Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, plus a tiny collection of micro lot red blends that go to the mailing list only. I highly recommend a visit to L’ Aventure, if you are going to Paso Robles, and I suggest this wine as a great way to start with their wines.
($68 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive