L'Aventure Cote A Cote 2017
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Jeb
Dunnuck -
James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The only Grenache-dominated release is the 2017 Côte A Côte, a blend of 48% Grenache, 32% Mourvèdre, and the rest Syrah that spent 14 months in 30% new French oak. It's one sexy red that offers full-bodied richness and depth as well as brilliant notes of blackberries, black raspberries, ground pepper, potpourri, and flowery incense aromas and flavors. This smoking Grenache is elegant, with no hard edges, beautiful purity, and a great finish. It shows how successful Grenache was in 2017 and is a magical wine.
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James Suckling
This is an impressive red offering blackberry and blackcurrant aromas, together with chocolate, walnut, sweet-tobacco and mahogany notes. Black olives, too. Tar. Changes all the time. Tight and polished. It’s full-bodied, yet so fine-grained and caressing in tannins. Lots of alcohol, yet it remains fresh and really lasts for minutes. A glorious wine. Aged in wood, cement and amphora. A blend of 48% grenache, 32% mourvedre and 20% syrah. Better after 2021.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Côte a Côte is a blend of 48% Grenache, 32% Mourvèdre and 20% Syrah. Medium to deep ruby, it explodes with tricolored fruits: peach cobbler, apricot, marionberries, boysenberries and crushed blackberries with accents of dried leaves, saline, blood orange peel, pink peppercorn, cured meats, thyme and dried lavender. Medium to full-bodied and silky, it slowly spreads its wings in the mouth, blossoming into lovely technicolor fruits with a floral vein. It has a pixelated frame and freshness that begs for another sip, finishing long, layered and lifted. This is stunning!
Other Vintages
2021-
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Robert
Parker -
James
Suckling
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Robert
Parker -
James
Suckling - Decanter
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Jeb
Dunnuck
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Jeb
Dunnuck -
James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker - Decanter
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Jeb
Dunnuck -
James
Suckling - Decanter
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Robert
Parker
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Robert
Parker -
Jeb
Dunnuck -
James
Suckling
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James
Suckling
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Robert
Parker
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Robert
Parker
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Robert
Parker -
James
Suckling
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Robert
Parker
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James
Suckling
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James
Suckling
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Robert
Parker
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Robert
Parker
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Robert
Parker
L'Aventure was founded in 1998 by a French winemaker, Stephan Asseo. After Stephan graduated enology school in Burgundy, the Asseo family bought their first estate, Domaine de Courteillac, in the Bordeaux area in 1982. Later, the family purchased additional properties: Chateau Robin and Chateau Fleur-Cardinale in Saint-Emilion. Stephan raised these properties to a level of great quality, while managing some other well-established domaines such as Chateau Guillot-Clauzel in Pomerol and Chateau Corbin in St Emilion.
Stephan saw in the New World a unique opportunity to expand his experience, while gaining more freedom in viticulture and vinification. He began by looking all over California for land, including Napa/Sonoma and Santa Barbara counties, but it was the terroir and climate of Paso Robles that impressed him the most.
L'Aventure is located on the west side of Paso Robles in the Willow Creek District. The 127-acre property with 57 acres planted, is comprised of multiple hills of various elevation and complex soils. Because of its proximity to the ocean, the vineyard has clear warm days and drastic cool nighttime temperatures which increases the time of the grape’s maturation cycle providing fruit that creates a more complex and balanced wine. Stephan’s choice of this lean terroir provides him with the fruit necessary to create wine with a good balance between alcohol and acidity. The resulting wines are full and rich yet well balanced and elegant.
With bold fruit flavors and accents of sweet spice, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre form the base of the classic Rhône Red Blend, while Carignan, Cinsault and Counoise often come in to play. Though they originated from France’s southern Rhône Valley, with some creative interpretation, Rhône blends have also become popular in other countries. Somm Secret—Putting their own local spin on the Rhône Red Blend, those from Priorat often include Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. In California, it is not uncommon to see Petite Sirah make an appearance.
Paso Robles has made a name for itself as a source of supple, powerful, fruit-driven Central Coast wines. But with eleven smaller sub-AVAs, there is actually quite a bit of diversity to be found in this inland portion of California’s Central Coast.
Just east over the Santa Lucia Mountains from the chilly Pacific Ocean, lie the coolest in the region: Adelaida, Templeton Gap and (Paso Robles) Willow Creek Districts, as well as York Mountain AVA and Santa Margarita Ranch. These all experience more ocean fog, wind and precipitation compared to the rest of the Paso sub-appellations. The San Miguel, (Paso Robles) Estrella, (Paso Robles) Geneso, (Paso Robles) Highlands, El Pomar and Creston Districts, along with San Juan Creek, are the hotter, more western appellations of the greater Paso Robles AVA.
This is mostly red wine country, with Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel standing out as the star performers. Other popular varieties include Merlot, Petite Sirah, Petit Verdot, Syrah, Grenache and Rhône blends, both red and white. There is a fairly uniform tendency here towards wines that are unapologetically bold and opulently fruit-driven, albeit with a surprising amount of acidity thanks to the region’s chilly nighttime temperatures.