This comes off as big and brash, with a mid-palate that wants to desperately go deeper but is stifled by the sense of booze and grainy grippiness. Crunchy blackberry seeds, chocolate cake batter, and…
Similar to my note on January 4, 2022 (more info than you probably need to know in that note), the Estate Cuvee shows much more complex and reachable than the bruiser boy Côte-à-Côte. Where the…
Composed of 50% Syrah, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 15% Petit Verdot, the 2019 L'Aventure Estate Cuvée is quite a purring black panther of a wine, even without the benefit of a decant or extended air.…
A big-boned GSM (34%, 32%, 34%) that comes in hard and fast with purple and black berries that are all octaned-up and smoking with a core that is chockfull with gushing midnight ripe fruit and meaty…
Still an abrasive showing, with the crunchy blackberry and Chambord martini flavors never hitting any sort of desirable glide; the alcohol is constantly hacking rough edges into the flavor expansion.…
Blackberry compote, blueberry skin, black cherry, ripe black and purple plum, wet limestone, asphalt, railroad tie, and spices (clove and cardamom). Beautifully built, with frame and flavor…
Showing the earthy side of Cabernet Sauvignon at this stage. Notes of wild and dust-covered plum, red and black cherry, and dry soil and sedimentary rock. The plum and cherry dominate throughout the…
An even more integrated and overall improved animal than when I last had this wine two years ago. This took a couple of hours of decanting to open up, but once it did it kicked out beautifully deep…
Still needs another year or two to fully come together. It's a bit stuffed-up currently, with a bitter component that is creating a higher register effect; the core fruit is displaying in more wild…
Blackberry seed, purple plum, red licorice, black tea, underbrush, pencil shavings, and some blue river rock. An interesting array of flavors, if not stunted a bit by a more linear delivery and…
Previous notes from a few months ago still apply. Needed a decent decant (2+ hours) before it really started to come alive and lose some of that firm grip it was exhibiting on PnP. Still good advice…
A pleasant surprise with this wine. Notes of black and red raspberry, red cherry, kirsch, red licorice, garrigue, and hints of chalky limestone. Medium-bodied and a littler linear on the back end,…
Similar to my previous note. This needed about two hours to open up and be...well...less stubborn and boring. It kinda reminded me of a pouty little snot kid sitting by himself on a stool in some…
Previous notes apply. This performed pretty well this time around. Delivered some nice fruit with decent drive. Still not a blockbuster, but drinking fine now. 93 points.
Possibly one of the best Estate Cuvees from L'Aventure that I've had. PnP had a good deal of dark, pure fruit and mineral flavors surrounded by a tight, encompassing grip. After about 30-45 minutes…
Same notes as last year. Some fruity, dark black cherry notes dominated more than I remember from my prior experience. It's good, but it doesn't make me want to race right out and buy more…
Same notes as last year. Could do with another year in the bottle, but drinking pretty darn well now. This was bested by a 2012 Lewis Syrah. Both were good (and tasted similar on the initial PnP),…
PnP was tight and a bit off-putting. Linear flavors of purple and red fruit. A total of 2 hours in the decanter allowed for some more focused and flavorful notes to emerge. Some deeply pitched…
Young but fairly approachable given its youth. Tight purple and red berry, black raspberry, deep black cherry, kirsch, stone, and some alcohol flavors. A lot of potential, but only in third gear at…
About what I expected from the Estate Cuvée, with more broad shoulders than the Cote a Cote, but with a little less focus at this point in its infancy. The young Syrah components are most evident,…
This and the Estate Cuvée were the top wines in the lineup, with the Cote a Cote probably inching ahead with the best concentration and mid-palate overall. The sweet tannins were in perfect balance…
