2015 L'Aventure Cuvée Chloe

Mostly Syrah (66%) with the rest Grenache (44%), co-fermented, the deep garnet-purple colored 2015 Cuvee Chloe has an exuberant nose of black cherries, crushed blackberries and red currants with licorice, dark chocolate and dried Provence herbs nuances, plus a waft of violets. Full-bodied, beautifully concentrated and packed with vibrant black and red fruits, it has a rock-solid backbone of firm, grainy tannins and tons of freshness, finishing with loads of spice, herb and earth layers. Amazing energy. Give it two years in bottle and drink it over the next 25+. 300 cases were made.

One of my favorites in the lineup is the 2015 Cuvée Chloe, which is a co-fermented blend of 66% Syrah and 34% Grenache. The Syrah for this cuvée always comes from the Mcvey Block, which is a cooler, north facing parcel, and the Grenache from an old vine, south facing, warmer slope. Seeing plenty of whole cluster and aging in barrel, it’s reminiscent of a 2010 Chateauneuf du Pape (despite the high Syrah content) and sports a deep purple color as well as sensational notes of blackberries and currants fruits intermixed with melted licorice, graphite/lead pencil, violets and tons of chalky minerality. This is a big, concentrated, beautifully balanced 2015 that needs 2-3 years of bottle age. It will have two decades of overall longevity. 2020-2035. Located in the heart of the appellation, just off highway 46, Stephan Asseo’s l’Aventure Winery is unquestionably in the top 3-4 estates in Paso Robles. While he made just a handful of cuvees in the past, today he releases upwards of eight cuvees in each vintage. In addition, he’s just completed construction on a new cave/winery, and he continues to fine tune the style here, experimenting with amphora and larger barrels, with the goal of getting more elegance and purity into his wines. Looking at the wines reviewed here, the 2015s are certainly rock solid, and show tighter, elegant, and structured personalities. His 2016s are a step up over the 2015s and will be the first vintage completely made in the new cellar. They offer broad, sumptuous profiles, yet with no loss of purity or precision.