2015 L'Aventure Cuvée Les Demoiselles

Composed of 60% Mourvèdre and 40% Syrah, the 2015 Demoiselles Proprietary Red reveals a medium to deep garnet-purple color and exudes gorgeous blackberry pie and blueberry compote with an earthy undercurrent of fertile loam, charcoal and underbrush, plus a touch of anise. Full-bodied, concentrated and broody at this youthful stage, it gives glimpses at the dark fruit and earthy layers that lie ahead, framed by firm, ripe tannins and finishing with a lingering peppery lift.

The 2015 Les Demoiselles is a 60/40 split of Mourvèdre and Syrah, all from estate vineyards, that was brought up in barrel. This inky colored beauty offers fabulous notes of blackberries, peppery herbs, violets and hints of wet gravel. It’s fresh and focused, which is very much in the style of the vintage, yet has a stacked mid-palate, ripe tannin and serious length. Drink it anytime over the coming 10-15 years. 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.