2012 L'Aventure Cuvée Les Demoiselles
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I was also able to taste the 2012 Les Demoiselles with Stephan for this report. It’s a unique blend of 80% Mourvèdre and 20% Syrah that was brought up in 40% new barrels. Still youthful and vibrant, it offers classic notes of ripe red and black fruits, new leather, underbrush, and ample earthy/mineral-like notions. This full-bodied, layered, beautifully texture effort has opened up beautifully since release and is drinking great today. It has at least another decade or longevity. 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.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Jeb Dunnuck, Wine Advocate
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Another smoking effort is the 2012 Cuvee Les Demoiselles, which is 80% Mourvedre and 20% Syrah that was aged in 40% new French oak. It sports an inky purple color to go with brilliant notes of black cherry, earth, licorice and big minerality on the nose. One of the more tight, backward and reserved 2012s from the estate, it has full-bodied richness and superb concentration, but needs another year or three to open up and flesh out. It should have an easy 12-15 years of overall longevity. Unfortunately, there are only five barrels of this to go around. This was another incredible lineup by winemaker Stephan Asseo, and both his 2012s and 2013s are at the top of the vintage. Looking at the 2012s, this vintage reminds Stephan of 2004, and the wines show incredible purity, as well as blockbuster levels of depth and richness. The tannin quality here is also off the charts, and this is what puts his 2012s a notch above the 2013s. For the reds, we started the tasting with 2013s from barrel. At the moment, the 2013s have more obvious tannin structure, yet they don’t lack for fruit or texture either. It will be interesting to see how these continue to develop in barrel. Either way, both of these vintages deserve a place in your cellar and it will be thrilling stuff to follow these wines over the coming decade or longer. Tel. (805) 227-1588; www.aventurewine.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.