L’Aventure 2013 Estate Cuvee

The top wine of the estate and a blend that was the reason Stephan left Pomerol, the L’aventure 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.

In 2013, the L’aventure 2013 Estate Cuvee is fabulous. Layers of dark blue and black fleshed fruit meld into grilled herbs, smoke, new leather, violets and lavender.

A virtually seamless, opulent Paso Robles wine, the 2013 Estate Cuvée impresses for its supple, resonant texture and impeccable overall balance.

The deep, expressive finish is especially beautiful. The Estate Cuvée is 43% Syrah, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Petit Verdot.

The most densely colored of all wines in a vintage of great extraction; Estate Cuvee exhibits a powerful perfume of anise, lavender candies, and dark fruit, with smoky accents in the background. The attack is impressive, with a velvety mouthfeel from start to finish. Rich, robust blue and black fruit, with hints of cocoa, big, but with soft resolved tannins, give a “total” palate experience in the finish.

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.