L'Aventure
About L'Aventure
Founded 20 years ago by Stephan Asseo, this Paso Robles estate has benefited from its founders time in Bordeaux where he developed a penchant for elegantly powerful wine that displayed a refined personality. Jeb Dunnuck has even described L'Aventure as "undoubtedly one of the Central Coast's superstars and one of the references in California."
| Product Name | Region | Qty | Score | Price | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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California | 1 | 95 (JD) |
Inc. GST
SG$1,134.04 |
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Jeb Dunnuck (95)The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve (95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot) is a smaller production release that’s brought up in new and one-year-old French oak. Its inky purple color is followed by a gorgeous bouquet of pure crème de cassis, spicy oak, graphite, and hints of espresso, as well as just a touch of chalky minerality. Rich, full-bodied, and concentrated, it brings ripe tannins, a great mid-palate, and one heck of a finish. It's a big, structured, Howell Mountain-like Cabernet Sauvignon that will be long-lived. |
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California | 1 | 98 (WA) |
Inc. GST
SG$798.93 |
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Wine Advocate (98)A massive, gorgeously rich and decadent version of this cuvee, the 2014 Estate Cuvee (50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Syrah and 15% Petit Verdot) is reminiscent of a 2005 Pomerol with its huge bouquet of cassis, toasted spice, graphite, damp earth and leafy herb aromas and flavors. Thick, full-bodied, unctuous and palate-saturating, yet still with purity and grace, it's an insanely good Bordeaux blend (or close) from Paso Robles that will have two decades of overall longevity. |
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California | 2 | 99 (JD) |
Inc. GST
SG$892.03 |
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Jeb Dunnuck (99)A wine that flirts with perfection is the 2016 Estate Cuvée, which is 52% Syrah, 32% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the balance Petit Verdot, all of which spent 15 months in new French oak. Deep ruby/purple-colored, with a masculine bouquet of crème de cassis, graphite, liquid rock-like minerality, and lead pencil shavings, it reminds me of a top 2010 Pomerol with its opulence, power, and purity. Hitting the palate with full body, a layered, seamless, multi-dimensional texture, and present yet polished tannins, this beauty is one of the finest examples of this cuvée yet produced. Give bottles 2-3 years and it will keep for 15+. |
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California | 4 | 98 (JD) |
Inc. GST
SG$770.39 |
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Jeb Dunnuck (98)The flagship 2017 Estate Cuvée (49% Syrah, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 21% Petit Verdot) spent 15 months in 90% new French oak, and I certainly blew the barrel review on this wine. It offers a brilliant bouquet of crème de cassis, crushed violets, lead pencil, chocolate, and a rocking sense of minerality. Deep, full-bodied, concentrated, and seamless on the palate, it's about as polished and sexy as they come in the vintage. |
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California | 1 | 100 (JD) |
Inc. GST
SG$826.61 |
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Jeb Dunnuck (100)The 2018 Estate Cuvee checks 45% Syrah, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Petit Verdot brought up in 90% new French oak. Tasting like the straight Cab, yet with more sex appeal, it offers a huge nose of crème de cassis, white flowers, crushed stone, graphite, and crushed flowers. This carries to a full-bodied, gorgeously textured red with incredible balance, no hard edges, a thrilling mid-palate, and a great, great finish. It's going to benefit from 5-6 years of bottle age and keep for upwards of two decades or more. Hats off to winemaker Stephan Asseo on another incredible wine, as well as, I suspect the wine of the vintage. |
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California | 2 | 100 (JD) |
Inc. GST
SG$921.46 |
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Jeb Dunnuck (100)Pure perfection from Paso Robles, the 2019 Estate Cuvee checks in as 50% Syrah, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 15% Petit Verdot that was raised in 81% new French oak. Incredible cassis and black berry fruits as well as violets, chocolate, graphite, and who knows what else emerges from the glass, and it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a concentrated yet weightless mouthfeel, building tannins, and a great finish. It’s more seamless and approachable than the more backward, structured 2018 and will have two decades of prime drinking. |
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California | 1 | 100 (JD) |
Inc. GST
SG$925.41 |
|||||
Jeb Dunnuck (100)Pure perfection from this talented team, the 2021 Estate Cuvee checks in as 50% Syrah, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 20% Petit Verdot that was raised in 80% new French oak. Absolutely incredible aromatics of crème de cassis, blueberries, violets, ground pepper, and graphite give way to a full-bodied red with a seamless, elegant mouthfeel, ultra-fine tannins, a deep, layered mid-palate, and that rare mix of power and elegance that's so hard to come by. It shows the pure, layered, elegant style of the vintage, and this beauty offers pleasure today yet will ideally be given 3-4 years in the cellar, and it will evolve for two decades at a minimum. |
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California | 1 | 92 (VN) |
Inc. GST
SG$512.71 |
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Vinous (92)Bright violet. Potent aromas of ripe red and blue fruits, floral pastilles, woodsmoke and minerals develop a spicy nuance in the glass. Sweet and fleshy on the palate, offering intense black raspberry and boysenberry flavors that become livelier with air. The very long, sharply focused finish features supple tannins and subtle, lingering notes of ripe red berries and candied rose. |
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California | 1 | 93 (DC) |
Inc. GST
SG$473.47 |
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Decanter (93)Tobacco, tar, dark chocolate, floral touches, bitter blood orange, scrubland herbs - so much going on the nose, really aromatic and expressive in a dark, sticky way. Gorgeously lifted and lively, full of bright and crunchy red fruits that you're just not expecting after the nose, this is direct but it has a pristine quality to it. Tannis are fine and the whole taste is just so clean. Juicy, mouthwatering and joyful, really bright and playful, I love the whole lifted tone, almost verging on tangy and sour but just keeps the depth. You get a bit of saltiness too on the finish. I like this a lot, especially the touch of metallic, iron-filing, blood on the finish. Characterful. The first vintage to use an optical sorted at harvest. Ageing 14 months in French oak (65% new and 35% in one year old). |
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| Product Name | Region | Qty | Score | Price | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
California | 1 | 95 (JD) |
In Bond
SG$981.00 |
|||||
Jeb Dunnuck (95)The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve (95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot) is a smaller production release that’s brought up in new and one-year-old French oak. Its inky purple color is followed by a gorgeous bouquet of pure crème de cassis, spicy oak, graphite, and hints of espresso, as well as just a touch of chalky minerality. Rich, full-bodied, and concentrated, it brings ripe tannins, a great mid-palate, and one heck of a finish. It's a big, structured, Howell Mountain-like Cabernet Sauvignon that will be long-lived. |
|||||||||
|
|
California | 1 | 98 (WA) |
In Bond
SG$670.00 |
|||||
Wine Advocate (98)A massive, gorgeously rich and decadent version of this cuvee, the 2014 Estate Cuvee (50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Syrah and 15% Petit Verdot) is reminiscent of a 2005 Pomerol with its huge bouquet of cassis, toasted spice, graphite, damp earth and leafy herb aromas and flavors. Thick, full-bodied, unctuous and palate-saturating, yet still with purity and grace, it's an insanely good Bordeaux blend (or close) from Paso Robles that will have two decades of overall longevity. |
|||||||||
|
|
California | 2 | 99 (JD) |
In Bond
SG$757.00 |
|||||
Jeb Dunnuck (99)A wine that flirts with perfection is the 2016 Estate Cuvée, which is 52% Syrah, 32% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the balance Petit Verdot, all of which spent 15 months in new French oak. Deep ruby/purple-colored, with a masculine bouquet of crème de cassis, graphite, liquid rock-like minerality, and lead pencil shavings, it reminds me of a top 2010 Pomerol with its opulence, power, and purity. Hitting the palate with full body, a layered, seamless, multi-dimensional texture, and present yet polished tannins, this beauty is one of the finest examples of this cuvée yet produced. Give bottles 2-3 years and it will keep for 15+. |
|||||||||
|
|
California | 4 | 98 (JD) |
In Bond
SG$645.00 |
|||||
Jeb Dunnuck (98)The flagship 2017 Estate Cuvée (49% Syrah, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 21% Petit Verdot) spent 15 months in 90% new French oak, and I certainly blew the barrel review on this wine. It offers a brilliant bouquet of crème de cassis, crushed violets, lead pencil, chocolate, and a rocking sense of minerality. Deep, full-bodied, concentrated, and seamless on the palate, it's about as polished and sexy as they come in the vintage. |
|||||||||
|
|
California | 1 | 100 (JD) |
In Bond
SG$695.00 |
|||||
Jeb Dunnuck (100)The 2018 Estate Cuvee checks 45% Syrah, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Petit Verdot brought up in 90% new French oak. Tasting like the straight Cab, yet with more sex appeal, it offers a huge nose of crème de cassis, white flowers, crushed stone, graphite, and crushed flowers. This carries to a full-bodied, gorgeously textured red with incredible balance, no hard edges, a thrilling mid-palate, and a great, great finish. It's going to benefit from 5-6 years of bottle age and keep for upwards of two decades or more. Hats off to winemaker Stephan Asseo on another incredible wine, as well as, I suspect the wine of the vintage. |
|||||||||
|
|
California | 2 | 100 (JD) |
In Bond
SG$784.00 |
|||||
Jeb Dunnuck (100)Pure perfection from Paso Robles, the 2019 Estate Cuvee checks in as 50% Syrah, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 15% Petit Verdot that was raised in 81% new French oak. Incredible cassis and black berry fruits as well as violets, chocolate, graphite, and who knows what else emerges from the glass, and it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a concentrated yet weightless mouthfeel, building tannins, and a great finish. It’s more seamless and approachable than the more backward, structured 2018 and will have two decades of prime drinking. |
|||||||||
|
|
California | 1 | 100 (JD) |
In Bond
SG$790.00 |
|||||
Jeb Dunnuck (100)Pure perfection from this talented team, the 2021 Estate Cuvee checks in as 50% Syrah, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 20% Petit Verdot that was raised in 80% new French oak. Absolutely incredible aromatics of crème de cassis, blueberries, violets, ground pepper, and graphite give way to a full-bodied red with a seamless, elegant mouthfeel, ultra-fine tannins, a deep, layered mid-palate, and that rare mix of power and elegance that's so hard to come by. It shows the pure, layered, elegant style of the vintage, and this beauty offers pleasure today yet will ideally be given 3-4 years in the cellar, and it will evolve for two decades at a minimum. |
|||||||||
|
|
California | 1 | 92 (VN) |
In Bond
SG$409.00 |
|||||
Vinous (92)Bright violet. Potent aromas of ripe red and blue fruits, floral pastilles, woodsmoke and minerals develop a spicy nuance in the glass. Sweet and fleshy on the palate, offering intense black raspberry and boysenberry flavors that become livelier with air. The very long, sharply focused finish features supple tannins and subtle, lingering notes of ripe red berries and candied rose. |
|||||||||
|
|
California | 1 | 93 (DC) |
In Bond
SG$373.00 |
|||||
Decanter (93)Tobacco, tar, dark chocolate, floral touches, bitter blood orange, scrubland herbs - so much going on the nose, really aromatic and expressive in a dark, sticky way. Gorgeously lifted and lively, full of bright and crunchy red fruits that you're just not expecting after the nose, this is direct but it has a pristine quality to it. Tannis are fine and the whole taste is just so clean. Juicy, mouthwatering and joyful, really bright and playful, I love the whole lifted tone, almost verging on tangy and sour but just keeps the depth. You get a bit of saltiness too on the finish. I like this a lot, especially the touch of metallic, iron-filing, blood on the finish. Characterful. The first vintage to use an optical sorted at harvest. Ageing 14 months in French oak (65% new and 35% in one year old). |
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