2018 L'Aventure Cuvée Les Demoiselles
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Tasting notes
Deep, bright-rimmed purple. Powerful dark berry and cherry cola aromas are complemented by suggestions of vanilla, licorice and exotic spices. Broad and fleshy in the mouth, offering appealingly sweet blackberry, cherry liqueur, candied violet and spice-cake flavors and a hint of dark chocolate. Becomes firmer with air and finishes with excellent clarity, building tannins and impressive, spice-driven persistence.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Josh Raynolds
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The 2018 Cuvée Les Demoiselles is a blend of 62% Mourvèdre, 28% Syrah and 10% Grenache aged in 36% new French oak. Winemaker Stephan Asseo says that the Mourvèdre vines are more than 20 years old now and that he has started picking it a bit riper than he used to. It has a medium to deep ruby-purple color and scents of red, black and blue berry fruits with touches of violet, turned earth and blood orange. The palate is medium to full-bodied, concentrated, layered and surprisingly energetic with a firm, super grainy frame and great freshness, finishing long, uplifted and perfumed. 300 cases produced.
Based on 62% Mourvèdre, 28% Syrah, and 10% Grenache brought up in 40% new French oak (with 10% in amphora), the 2018 Les Demoiselles is more finesse-driven, with medium to full-bodied aromas and flavors of blackberries, spiced meats, peppery herbs, and leather as well as a gorgeous sense of chalky minerality. It shows the pure, balanced style of the vintage and has enough structure to warrant 2-4 years of bottle age.
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.