2016 L'Aventure Optimus
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Tasting notes
Moving to the wines from bottle and starting with the 2016 Optimus, which is always a great introduction into the wines of this estate, it’s a blend of 50% Syrah, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 20% Petit Verdot that spent 14 months in 60% new barrels. This full-bodied, rich yet also elegant and lively red gives up a big, sweet nose of crème de cassis, toasted spice, licorice, and graphite. With good acidity and impressive finesse and elegance as well as richness, it’s a no-brainer purchase to drink over the coming 7-8 years. Consistently thrilling wines come from l’Aventure, which is run with incredible talent and passion by St. Emilion native Stephan Asseo. His 2016s are incredible efforts, and the 2017 more Rhône blends are certainly in the same ballpark. Due to the heat spikes at harvest, Bordeaux varieties were much more difficult and hit or miss.
Critic scores
Average Score
William Kelley, Wine Advocate
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
Brilliant violet. Ripe dark berries, licorice, woodsmoke and candied violet on the deeply perfumed, spice-accented nose. Concentrated but lively as well, offering intense blackberry, cassis, cola and spicecake flavors that show impressive delineation and back-end lift. A very long, sappy finish features slow-building tannins, a hint of mocha and lingering smokiness.
A blend of 50% Syrah, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Petit Verdot that checks in at 15.4% alcohol, the 2016 Optimus reveals a lavish bouquet of crunchy berries, anise and creamy new oak. On the palate, it's full-bodied, spicy and richly tannic, with generous, oak-influenced flavors and a crunchy core of fruit. The finish is long and youthfully chewy. Bottled barely one month before I tasted it, this is already quite expressive and should begin to drink well after just a few years. The Optimus is Asseo's longest-running cuvée, realizing an ambition to blend Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon he nurtured in his native Bordeaux.
A blend of 50% Syrah, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Petit Verdot that checks in at 15.4% alcohol, the 2016 Optimus reveals a lavish bouquet of crunchy berries, anise and creamy new oak. On the palate, it's full-bodied, spicy and richly tannic, with generous, oak-influenced flavors and a crunchy core of fruit. The finish is long and youthfully chewy. Bottled barely one month before I tasted it, this is already quite expressive and should begin to drink well after just a few years. The Optimus is Asseo's longest-running cuvee, realizing an ambition to blend Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon he nurtured in his native Bordeaux. May 2018, www.robertparker.com
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.