A complex and inviting nose of mulberries, black olives, dried herbs and game meat. The palate is full-bodied with chalky tannins and energetic acidity, showing notes of blackcurrants, cedar, tobacco leaves and earth. The flagship wine of the estate that was once called Estate Cuvee, but from 2022 onward is named the Estate Reserve. Made from a blend of 55% syrah, 33% cabernet sauvignon and 12% petit verdot. Incredibly complex and masterfully constructed. Drinkable now, but best from 2028.
Renamed due to confusion in the market (largely in the export market), the 2022 Estate Reserve checks in as 55% Syrah, 33% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Petit Verdot that will spend 18 months 70% new French oak. It has a beautiful dark purple hue as well as a great perfume of cassis and black raspberry fruits, ground pepper, violets, graphite, and hints of chalky minerality. It's rich, full-bodied, has beautiful mid-palate depth and concentration, ripe tannins, and a great finish. It’s going to be one of the longer-lived wines in the vintage.
Crayon, blueberry, cool and fresh notes on the nose - expressive - some florality and soft dried herb accents. So perfumed with milk chocolate too. Round and filling, tannins are plentiful but so integrated and give the sense of structure without overpowering - slightly chewy but no dryness. There’s definitely spice and this ends with a touch of bitterness alongside some really salty minerality - oyster shell and graphite. Great complexity and sense of building to this wine - so pure, crystalline, detailed and pixelated. Still young, a little tightly coiled with tension but there's amazing potential. Lots of liquorice, clove, aniseed and mint. Ageing 12 months; 83% new oak, 17% one year with malolactic fermentation in barrel. No fining or filtering.
Classy from the first tilt of the glass, the 2022 Estate Reserve wafts up with an enticingly rich bouquet of crushed blackberries and raspberries complicated by dried roses, violets and a hint of ashen stone. Textures of crushed velvet are matched by an elegant mix of red berry fruits and autumnal spices. Super-fine tannins frame the finish as the 2022 tapers off with minty freshness and a subtle tinge of balsamic spice. The balance here is remarkable, especially for the vintage.
91-93 The 2022 Estate Cuvée is driven by opaque fruits and toasty, cappuccino-like aromas framed by dried herbs. The palate is opulent and polished, leading to an immensely chewy, grainy finish of harsh tannins. Since my tasting was before the wine's July bottling date, I had the opportunity to taste from both new and one-year-old barrels; the wine from the used wood was substantially more balanced and forgiving on the finish, although these barrels will make up only 18% of the final blend. This was quite instructive given my impressions of the L'Aventure lineup, which, during this tasting, consistently displayed harshly tannic finishes.
Winery Notes
The Estate Reserve, formerly known as Estate Cuvée, has always been our flagship wine and ultimately the reason why Stephan left Bordeaux to make wine in Paso Robles.
With the 2021 vintage, we celebrated its 20th anniversary with our iconic dark blue label. With the 2022 vintage, we decided it was time to start a new chapter and elevate the name, the look and the feel. We wanted the wine to stand out from our lineup while still respecting the elegance, simplicity and timeless design of our brand.
The name “Estate Reserve” is not a big change from its original; however, it reflects everything that this wine represents, as it is the best our estate fruit and terroir have to offer. It is the heart of L’Aventure.
