Dark blackish inky purple colored, full bodied, concentrated forward rich blackberry and black raspberry fruits are accented by blue notes, floral, licorice, hints of espresso, smoke and black tea with a long tannin laced finish.
This wine is worth the money ;too late to buy more, but I am sure that the current vintages are equally good. It is just a well balanced wine, some nice soft tannins, and good structure, with the right amount of acidity.
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I've bought 26 bottles of '04 Optimus. The first twenty four bottles from the two cases were amazing, with the last bottle consumed 4 months ago. Great value to price ratio. Tonight I drank one of two bottles bought on auction at K&L Wines. Although I've had good experiences before with K&L, this was clearly a disappointment. Something was wrong with this great bottle, and the problem was after bottling and distribution, most likely in the storage conditions between initial purchase and auction. Be aware about other K&L auctions.
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Dark jammy fruit (cassis & plum), tobacco, eucalyptus, cocao. Black pepper, cedar, lighter red fruit, and intense tomato can on the palate. Drinking beautifully right now.
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With the relative high price, my expectation were higher, and the wine fail to deliver. Adjusting expectations to a lower level and tasting it again, the wine is quite OK with good concentration and balance. It lacks some depth to merit a higher score. Mature now.
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Very dark red-purple color with a 1mm clear meniscus. PNP, drank 2 glasses over 2 hours. I was somewhat disappointed in how this performed, with alcohol showing on the nose and palate this was also rather acidic. It did get better over 30 minutes or so, but never to where I was really satisfied. Nose is high toned, alcohol, port like, black fruits, a little boysenberry, meaty, oak. The palate shows blackberry liqueur, some blue fruit, sour, full bodied, heat, spice, and oak on the medium finish. We'll see if this gets any better on day two, but I'm not holding my breath.
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The first of three bottles purchased at release. This was double decanted back into the cleaned bottle leaving a substantial sediment and bottle crusting. It was served an hour later with venison tenderloin. On first pour, this was a disappointment. It did not display the lush ripe fruit aromatics and flavors that I was expecting. The color was a good deep red with a purple hue and it felt very solid in the mouth. The acidity was adequate and the tannins were essentially resolved but there just wasn't much of interest here. It didn't seem flawed, just "blah". I can't really comment further about a wine that was such a disappointment and it is hard to believe that it is over the hill after reading other reviews. I will wait a few months and try another bottle with a more extended airing.
6/22/2014 UPDATE Decanted for 45 minutes with a considerable sediment. Pretty much a repeat of the previous bottle. Another disappointment, but thankfully our last bottle of this.
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The 04 still has alot of time left to enjoy. Opened and drank over 3 nights. Somewhat acidic early on but by day three it hit its stride. Not memorable but good. its nose of Blackberry, Cinnamon, and Mineral. It taste of extractted Blackberry. The body is Medium/Full. The wine has a decent finish. I'll drink the next bottle in two years.
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A huge improvement from the 2005 Pharoahmoans. Big blueberry fruit, great body, and still a lot of tannin on the back. This could go another couple of years, if not 5-10, easy. Good stuff!
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The wine looks Inky colored. The legs are Fast. It smells like Raspberry, Blackberry, and Vanilla. It tastes like Chocolate, Coffee, and Blackberry. The body is Full. The wine has Smooth texture. The wine finishes Long.
Overall a decent Paso Robles which will hold another 5-10 years.
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Have to go with the previous score on this bottle. It was very good to be sure but I can tell my palate has moved back toward old world style. No need to open any more fruit bombs for awhile.
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A splash 30 min decant did the trick to mellow down the grainy tannins and acid. Very nice texture, rounding up the flavours very well. Full bodied, yet balanced and well contained. Nice cabernet flavours, counterbalanced by the darks fruits from the syrah. The oak was there to offer yet another layer of flavour to the wine and was well hidden. A very delicious wine. Very nice now, though I suspect it will take on more matured notes with another 1 or 2 years.
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nose wasn't as explosive as it once was, and the wine has mellowed out somewhat over the last couple of years. Perhaps its more polished, if slightly more muted. Had with short ribs.
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Opened & drank without decanting, big bordeaux glasses though. Incredibly dense & inky, still quite tannic but well balanced, with lots of tea, leather, earth, graphite, pencil shavings, tobacco... these almost overpowered the fruit, which was all dark & black berries. Noticeable alcoholic heat on the nose, but not really on the palate. Dense & chewy. Syrah and Petite Verdot very firmly in evidence. Pretty spectacular, with clearly a lot of aging potential still there - plenty of fruit & acid backbone left.
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--- COLOR: Opaque purple w/garnet rim NOTE: Nice boysenberry jam, tobacco, dried leaves, cinnamon & dark cocoa powder in nose, just a faint whiff of heat. Mouth is Med+ of boysenberry syrup (a la Knott's), hints of orange oil, a little more tannic cinnamon & dried leaves. It's like Granville brioche french toast with Knott's boysenberry syrup slathered all over, minus the butter. If the butter was in this wine it would hit a 94+ rating. Interesting how food dictates my scores. Finish is fairly tannic, a little drying, but the fruit holds its own against savory herbal notes. Better than the 2006, especially after a 24 hour decant. Lots of stuffing here and could go a few more years.
DECANT: 24 hours GLASS USED: Bordeaux TASTE: 9.0 COST: 31 VALUE: 7.5 PREVIOUSLY TASTED: 05/09 TRY AGAIN: now - 2013 PAIRING: Inquiries can be addressed to troypeterson@usa.net ---
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Initially had strong whiffs of alcohol while eventually blew off. A very rich nose, the Syrah was the most dominant but it had a nice underlying load of dark fruit from the Cabernet. The oak added a nice layer or aromatics to the nose as well.
The taste a little off balance and disjointed within the first half hour, but with sufficient time, it started getting together. From the nose, I had expected a very big and rich wine but it didn't taste as big and heavy as the nose suggested; still a full bodied wine but not to the extent I had expected. My friends had noted how refined and balanced this was. The richness was structured within a very elegant palate. Loads of fruit, cool minerals, tobacco, graphite and some dried greens. A very delightful wine that shows the quality of the fruit and skill of the maker, assuming you give it enough air.
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Wow no reviews on the 04 and this is a stunner. Floral, super perfume, spice, pepper and raspberry. Concentrated, no heat and multi-layered finish that is long. Buy!
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medium plus opacity reddish purple. Nose, very reserved, m- inten. A touch hot. Rose perfume, loads of cracked graphite, cedar, tons of pencils. Black peppercorns, menthol, crushed black raspberry. Palate: m- superfine tannin, m+ acid, m+ body, thinner than just a year ago when this thing was a beast...this bottle is not flawed. Med flav intens. Vanilla, huge crushed rock minerality, red apple core, kalamata olive juice, sandalwood and strawberry. M+ finish, I overdecanted this wine, giving it too much credit from its monstrous showing one year ago. Dont do as I did, decant this wine for an hour and no more. aegisepolis@hotmail.com
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Minneapolis Wine Club Mixed Bag of Higher End Reds: Nice showing and little heat as the last bottle had. Dark purple with blackberries, floral, coffee, cinnamon, and oak. Medium tannins and medium finish. Nice coffee bean character on the finish. Solid wine.
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Wow! For a $40 wine this was amazing. Layered black fruit that had great balance and complexity and a finish that went on and on. Did not want this bottle to end and wish I had bought more.
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Tief purpurrot; extrem extraktreich, fast viskös am Glas; intensive, holzwürzige Nase mit Erde, Tabak, Holznoten, etwas Kakao und Gewürzen; am Gaumen nach viel Luft süßlich-aromatische Beerenfrucht, gepaart mit Tabak, Schokolade und feinem, reichlich, aber hintergründigem Tannin; toller, langer Abgang; am Beginn seiner Trinkreife!
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14.9% ABV. Briefly splash decanted. Deeply colored, mostly opaque. Tannin wood, red currant nose. Closed. Full-bodied. Chewy. Red and black currant. Fine tannin. Some cocoa. Good, but needs more time. I've yet to have a L'aventure that I thought didn't need more time...Drink em young or let them lie down a long time. Should have consulted CT beforehand.
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Better than before. Raspberry, cherry, oak, and spice on the nose, with nice tannin structure and a long finish. A couple of year has done this wine a lot of good.
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Very earthy nose of black fruit and some pepper. In the mouth, somewhat chalky, with sweet black currant and blackberry fruit, earth and some dusty, slightly drying tannins. Checking other TNs, I dumped this into a decanter for quicker evolution, which helped considerably. The fruit emerged over the next hour, and the tannins integrated nicely. I think this wine would benefit from another couple years of bottle age, otherwise, I recommend 3-4 hours decant.
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This wine has always been an enigma to me! Check out my whole Optimus story/review: http://corksandcaftans.wordpress.com/2009/03/27/special-birthday-edition-wine-review-2004-laventure-optimus/
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Wow, this wine looks, smells and tastes like it was just bottled. Deep dark blackish purple, nose of limestone, clean oak and tart pomegranate fruit with a helathy dose of graphite. Still pretty closed, lots of tannic struture up front with some nice tart pomegranate fruit on the mid palate and then a wall of tannins on the finish. Throwing quite a bit of fine sediment.
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Don't bother opening this for at least 5+ years unless you enjoy eating fruit before it has ripened. Tart, Sour Sour. Fresh Clean Nose of Strawberry and Plumb Stew with hint of menthol. Fruit is super tart and tightly wound with flavor of cranberry and pomegranate.
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The color is thick inky black, turning to purple only at the very edges.
Right after opening the nose is surprisingly closed, blackcurrant and herbs, but not overwhelming. Twenty minutes later and the smells are coming forward. Blackcurrant jam, plums, eucalyptus, and molasses.
Huge on the palate, jammy with just a little tobacco, followed by vanilla and oak. Big big big. Tannins were big, too, sweet and smooth, but very drying.
Night Two
Again, rather a closed nose giving out blackcurrant and some sweeter vanilla-tinged blue- and blackberries.
On the palate blackcurrants again dominate. Now, though, there is nothing green at all. Instead, it is jammy fruit, vanilla, and sweet smooth tannins. Tannins are still incredibly powerful. After the finish, after the wine is gone, an aftertaste echo offer some promise for the future, giving hints of violets and lilac.
This clearly need a lot of cellar time to integrate the wood and soften the tannins. Will the near "fruit bomb" quality ratchet down and allow the more complex florals and maybe more come through? I would guess "yes," but can't make any promises. That said, this is darned good right now and even more promising for the future.
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This wine was very tight if not completely closed off. Looking back at my tasting notes I must wonder how long those bottles had been open. This wine needs a couple of more years before it is ready to go; a shame that this bottle was opened too soon.
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Wow, this was really good. Dark black fruit, a little bit of black olive, but not in a bad way, bacon fat...Excellent! Actually blew the 01 Relentless out of the water.
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Good wine, not a great wine. Still not quite ready- very tart- tasted a lot of cherry fruit. Will try again in the future and will decant. Drank wine with roasted chicken in a cider molasses glaze and gourment white cheddar mac and cheese.
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Cracked it open next to a barolo at Capitale grille and it blew it away... dense bold, huge... reminicent of caymus... who knows maybe we got a perfect bottle. Overall a best of a wine...
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Big bold nose of black currants, blackberry, vanilla....medium to full bodied but beats you up on the massive tannic finish. This needs time but could be really good after a few years of bottle age.
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Rich, dark fruit of plums, blackberry, and blueberry with some soft tannins a shot of acidity on the finish. Good without food and was a big hit at a business dinner as our first bottle.
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Binny's California Night (Highland Park): nose: big bold nose with tons of dark fruit. some blackberry, black currant jam, and unfortunetly heat on the nose. After the initial attack on teh nose, getting some of that burnt rubbing alcohol effect on the nose too
taste: pretty tight and tannic with lots of sour cherry and cranberry on the mouth
overall: big mouth inverting tannins and leaves a long finish. This needed more air time at the tasting, but what can you do. There was a lot of promise on this one like my last notes, but just picked the wrong time of the tasting to have it
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Smooth tannins that complemented a variety of Mediterranean appetizers and a seafood dish described as a seafood paella minus the rice. We all loved it which is why I ordered a case from Napa Cabs.
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EARLIER BOTTLE FLAWED...THIS WAS FANTASTIC. Ingore my last review. I was bothered by intense dryness but I had another bottle that was great. It is drinking beautifully now. Has the balance and finess for a few years of aging. No dry tannins just supple, fine tannins and the complex shined.
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Very dry wine. Fruit is explosive, but what is going on with that scarry mid-pallet dry thing? After an hour it turned to mildly dry and the complex fruit really expanded. With food it really sang. I'll have to drink another soon to be sure the fruit will outlast the dry tannin structure.
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Great fruit, though still a bit young, will be explosive with a few years; nice long finish, a little tart but bursting with cherries and hint of mocha, just a touch hot (which you can tell will mellow with some age), a nice mix of old and new world
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14.9% alcohol. 57% Syrah, 35% Cabernet, 8% Petit Verdot. Opened and served without decanting. Rich and dense aromas of blackberry, espresso, pain grillé, and a touch of scorched earth. On the palate, ripe plum, blackberry, espresso, smoke and wet earth. Full bodied. Firm tannins. I am particularly impressed with the acidity of this wine, which comes through more prominently than earlier vintages and helps to cut through some of the sweetness of the young fruit. Although quite delicious now, it seems almost predatorial to be enjoying this wine so early. I will probably wait another 2-3 years before trying another bottle. 91+ points.
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12/4/2020 - KarpeDiem wrote:
Still holding on, but at the end of its life.
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4/1/2020 - rmcnees Likes this wine: 92 Points
Dark blackish inky purple colored, full bodied, concentrated forward rich blackberry and black raspberry fruits are accented by blue notes, floral, licorice, hints of espresso, smoke and black tea with a long tannin laced finish.
https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2020/04/laventure-optimus-paso-robles-red-blend.html
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11/1/2019 - Enovicki wrote: 91 Points
Still holding on but probably near the end of the window.
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8/6/2018 - SurLie wrote:
Delicious as of August 2018. Earthy and bold.
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4/10/2017 - wineandski wrote: 92 Points
This wine is worth the money ;too late to buy more, but I am sure that the current vintages are equally good. It is just a well balanced wine, some nice soft tannins, and good structure, with the right amount of acidity.
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11/18/2016 - TJK Likes this wine: 95 Points
Soft and special. Gorgeous supple dark flavors. Nice complexity.
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6/5/2016 - dabovino wrote: 94 Points
Wow this wine is so well developed. Earthy, dark ripe fruit. It really has turned into fantastic wine with age.
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1/10/2016 - TJK Likes this wine: 95 Points
Incredible. Classic aged CDP profile. great nuances of smoke and meat.
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11/28/2015 - TJK Likes this wine: 93 Points
Wow! This was incredible. Still drinking at its prime. Like velvet in the mouth. savory flavors with great finish.
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4/20/2015 - McRASta wrote:
I've bought 26 bottles of '04 Optimus. The first twenty four bottles from the two cases were amazing, with the last bottle consumed 4 months ago. Great value to price ratio. Tonight I drank one of two bottles bought on auction at K&L Wines. Although I've had good experiences before with K&L, this was clearly a disappointment. Something was wrong with this great bottle, and the problem was after bottling and distribution, most likely in the storage conditions between initial purchase and auction. Be aware about other K&L auctions.
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2/6/2015 - bvanbower Likes this wine: 90 Points
Drinking really well! Stefan Asseo is a great winemaker!
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1/2/2015 - behm0027 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Dark jammy fruit (cassis & plum), tobacco, eucalyptus, cocao. Black pepper, cedar, lighter red fruit, and intense tomato can on the palate. Drinking beautifully right now.
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11/7/2014 - mhewitt wrote: 92 Points
Still drinking great at 10 years. Sorry it's my last bottle.
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9/28/2014 - KristianT wrote: 88 Points
With the relative high price, my expectation were higher, and the wine fail to deliver. Adjusting expectations to a lower level and tasting it again, the wine is quite OK with good concentration and balance. It lacks some depth to merit a higher score. Mature now.
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7/5/2014 - mattdathan Likes this wine: 92 Points
Wonderfully integrated and smooth, but still with solid structure. Lovely!
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4/20/2014 - rocknroller wrote: 88 Points
Very dark red-purple color with a 1mm clear meniscus. PNP, drank 2 glasses over 2 hours. I was somewhat disappointed in how this performed, with alcohol showing on the nose and palate this was also rather acidic. It did get better over 30 minutes or so, but never to where I was really satisfied. Nose is high toned, alcohol, port like, black fruits, a little boysenberry, meaty, oak. The palate shows blackberry liqueur, some blue fruit, sour, full bodied, heat, spice, and oak on the medium finish. We'll see if this gets any better on day two, but I'm not holding my breath.
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11/25/2013 - VTCellarDweller Does not like this wine:
The first of three bottles purchased at release. This was double decanted back into the cleaned bottle leaving a substantial sediment and bottle crusting. It was served an hour later with venison tenderloin.
On first pour, this was a disappointment. It did not display the lush ripe fruit aromatics and flavors that I was expecting. The color was a good deep red with a purple hue and it felt very solid in the mouth. The acidity was adequate and the tannins were essentially resolved but there just wasn't much of interest here. It didn't seem flawed, just "blah". I can't really comment further about a wine that was such a disappointment and it is hard to believe that it is over the hill after reading other reviews. I will wait a few months and try another bottle with a more extended airing.
6/22/2014 UPDATE
Decanted for 45 minutes with a considerable sediment. Pretty much a repeat of the previous bottle. Another disappointment, but thankfully our last bottle of this.
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3/28/2013 - tc from santee Likes this wine: 90 Points
The 04 still has alot of time left to enjoy. Opened and drank over 3 nights. Somewhat acidic early on but by day three it hit its stride. Not memorable but good. its nose of Blackberry, Cinnamon, and Mineral. It taste of extractted Blackberry. The body is Medium/Full. The wine has a decent finish. I'll drink the next bottle in two years.
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3/20/2013 - 3daywinereview.com wrote: 92 Points
Nice wine with blackberries, smoke, spices and minerals. A bit hot but not greatly deterring the wine. Medium finish and good with steak.
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12/15/2012 - RPerro Likes this wine: 92 Points
A huge improvement from the 2005 Pharoahmoans. Big blueberry fruit, great body, and still a lot of tannin on the back. This could go another couple of years, if not 5-10, easy. Good stuff!
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12/8/2012 - Klugi Wine wrote: 92 Points
The wine looks Inky colored. The legs are Fast. It smells like Raspberry, Blackberry, and Vanilla. It tastes like Chocolate, Coffee, and Blackberry. The body is Full. The wine has Smooth texture. The wine finishes Long.
Overall a decent Paso Robles which will hold another 5-10 years.
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11/23/2012 - BMG Wine wrote: 90 Points
HAve to be honest and say that though this was very good, I liked the Miraflores Syrah better.
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10/28/2012 - BMG Wine wrote: 92 Points
Have to go with the previous score on this bottle. It was very good to be sure but I can tell my palate has moved back toward old world style. No need to open any more fruit bombs for awhile.
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8/12/2012 - sorenpind wrote: 91 Points
Can easily sit another 3-5 years - surprisingly youthful
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8/8/2012 - CarpeVinoDiem wrote: 91 Points
Decanted 1 hr.
No notes taken.
Clean cork, very little micro sediment.
Good dark '05 color.
Body 3% milk mouth weight.
Big blueberry, cedar, vanilla, and snapy tannins.
Got better and smoother over the next hour.
The best L'Aventure I have had so far.
While not 98 pts like it got from some source, still solid and imressive.
91 pts.
With food.
Now or within 3 yrs.
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6/5/2012 - rmodak wrote: 90 Points
Still quite youthful with purple color, deep blackberry, olive and mineral laden. Firm tannins provide ample structure for additional aging.
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3/21/2012 - BMG Wine wrote: 92 Points
Even better with more age. Seamless.
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3/17/2012 - sfqwino wrote: 91 Points
A splash 30 min decant did the trick to mellow down the grainy tannins and acid. Very nice texture, rounding up the flavours very well. Full bodied, yet balanced and well contained. Nice cabernet flavours, counterbalanced by the darks fruits from the syrah. The oak was there to offer yet another layer of flavour to the wine and was well hidden. A very delicious wine. Very nice now, though I suspect it will take on more matured notes with another 1 or 2 years.
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2/12/2012 - BMG Wine wrote: 91 Points
Dense and delicious. It has gained an elegance that elevates the wine to a new level. I wasn't crazy about it when it first came out but now...WOW!
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2/1/2012 - www.jasonskitchen.com wrote: 91 Points
nose wasn't as explosive as it once was, and the wine has mellowed out somewhat over the last couple of years. Perhaps its more polished, if slightly more muted. Had with short ribs.
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12/17/2011 - kbhiggins wrote: 88 Points
Nice blend of syrah and cab. Well balanced.
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10/4/2011 - silbakor wrote: 91 Points
Opened & drank without decanting, big bordeaux glasses though. Incredibly dense & inky, still quite tannic but well balanced, with lots of tea, leather, earth, graphite, pencil shavings, tobacco... these almost overpowered the fruit, which was all dark & black berries. Noticeable alcoholic heat on the nose, but not really on the palate. Dense & chewy. Syrah and Petite Verdot very firmly in evidence. Pretty spectacular, with clearly a lot of aging potential still there - plenty of fruit & acid backbone left.
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9/18/2011 - Arkind wrote: 92 Points
Excellent wine. Popped and poured. Great finish. Almost as good as the 07.
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7/1/2011 - tp096255 wrote: 90 Points
---
COLOR: Opaque purple w/garnet rim
NOTE: Nice boysenberry jam, tobacco, dried leaves, cinnamon & dark cocoa powder in nose, just a faint whiff of heat. Mouth is Med+ of boysenberry syrup (a la Knott's), hints of orange oil, a little more tannic cinnamon & dried leaves. It's like Granville brioche french toast with Knott's boysenberry syrup slathered all over, minus the butter. If the butter was in this wine it would hit a 94+ rating. Interesting how food dictates my scores. Finish is fairly tannic, a little drying, but the fruit holds its own against savory herbal notes. Better than the 2006, especially after a 24 hour decant. Lots of stuffing here and could go a few more years.
DECANT: 24 hours
GLASS USED: Bordeaux
TASTE: 9.0
COST: 31
VALUE: 7.5
PREVIOUSLY TASTED: 05/09
TRY AGAIN: now - 2013
PAIRING:
Inquiries can be addressed to troypeterson@usa.net
---
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5/16/2011 - ikileo wrote:
Florence & Tuscan Holiday; 5/9/2011-5/16/2011 (Florence & Tuscany): Popped and poured. Drunk discretely at the market from Chianti clinking glasses. Bottle breathed for 2 hours. No formal notes.
Initially had strong whiffs of alcohol while eventually blew off. A very rich nose, the Syrah was the most dominant but it had a nice underlying load of dark fruit from the Cabernet. The oak added a nice layer or aromatics to the nose as well.
The taste a little off balance and disjointed within the first half hour, but with sufficient time, it started getting together. From the nose, I had expected a very big and rich wine but it didn't taste as big and heavy as the nose suggested; still a full bodied wine but not to the extent I had expected. My friends had noted how refined and balanced this was. The richness was structured within a very elegant palate. Loads of fruit, cool minerals, tobacco, graphite and some dried greens. A very delightful wine that shows the quality of the fruit and skill of the maker, assuming you give it enough air.
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4/17/2011 - Justin B wrote: 92 Points
Definitely the best I've tasted of the '04 Optimus. Lots of air and some patience were rewarded.
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3/24/2011 - 3daywinereview.com wrote: 94 Points
Wow no reviews on the 04 and this is a stunner. Floral, super perfume, spice, pepper and raspberry. Concentrated, no heat and multi-layered finish that is long. Buy!
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11/30/2010 - shaferguy91 wrote: 90 Points
Popped and poured.
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10/17/2010 - GETRENNT wrote: 91 Points
medium plus opacity reddish purple. Nose, very reserved, m- inten. A touch hot. Rose perfume, loads of cracked graphite, cedar, tons of pencils. Black peppercorns, menthol, crushed black raspberry.
Palate: m- superfine tannin, m+ acid, m+ body, thinner than just a year ago when this thing was a beast...this bottle is not flawed. Med flav intens. Vanilla, huge crushed rock minerality, red apple core, kalamata olive juice, sandalwood and strawberry. M+ finish, I overdecanted this wine, giving it too much credit from its monstrous showing one year ago. Dont do as I did, decant this wine for an hour and no more. aegisepolis@hotmail.com
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10/5/2010 - Cloverstudio wrote: 91 Points
Great complex nose. Still young. It opened up after a couple of hours. Nice.
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9/18/2010 - 3daywinereview.com wrote: 91 Points
Minneapolis Wine Club Mixed Bag of Higher End Reds: Nice showing and little heat as the last bottle had. Dark purple with blackberries, floral, coffee, cinnamon, and oak. Medium tannins and medium finish. Nice coffee bean character on the finish. Solid wine.
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9/17/2010 - rocknroller wrote: 92 Points
Minneapolis Wine Club does Big Reds (Braemer Golf Course): Tasted blind. Dark purple color. black fruits with cedar, pepper, spice, and later a nice earthy component. nice tannins, well balanced. 92+pts.
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8/23/2010 - UROMD wrote: 89 Points
not that impressive, maybe some more decanting would have helped
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7/16/2010 - Schiffy wrote: 94 Points
Wow! For a $40 wine this was amazing. Layered black fruit that had great balance and complexity and a finish that went on and on. Did not want this bottle to end and wish I had bought more.
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4/2/2010 - winestem wrote: 92 Points
Just a terrific meritage! Delicious deep core of dark fruits and a beautiful finish that keeps the tongue tingling. Kudos to Stephan Asseo!
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3/23/2010 - wurzel68 wrote: 92 Points
Tief purpurrot; extrem extraktreich, fast viskös am Glas; intensive, holzwürzige Nase mit Erde, Tabak, Holznoten, etwas Kakao und Gewürzen; am Gaumen nach viel Luft süßlich-aromatische Beerenfrucht, gepaart mit Tabak, Schokolade und feinem, reichlich, aber hintergründigem Tannin; toller, langer Abgang; am Beginn seiner Trinkreife!
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9/26/2009 - OneLastSyrah wrote: 90 Points
14.9% ABV. Briefly splash decanted. Deeply colored, mostly opaque. Tannin wood, red currant nose. Closed. Full-bodied. Chewy. Red and black currant. Fine tannin. Some cocoa. Good, but needs more time. I've yet to have a L'aventure that I thought didn't need more time...Drink em young or let them lie down a long time. Should have consulted CT beforehand.
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8/6/2009 - winelovr2001 wrote: 90 Points
Better than before. Raspberry, cherry, oak, and spice on the nose, with nice tannin structure and a long finish. A couple of year has done this wine a lot of good.
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7/22/2009 - RPerro wrote: 92 Points
Very earthy nose of black fruit and some pepper. In the mouth, somewhat chalky, with sweet black currant and blackberry fruit, earth and some dusty, slightly drying tannins. Checking other TNs, I dumped this into a decanter for quicker evolution, which helped considerably. The fruit emerged over the next hour, and the tannins integrated nicely. I think this wine would benefit from another couple years of bottle age, otherwise, I recommend 3-4 hours decant.
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7/6/2009 - rwb5150 wrote: 85 Points
This wine has always been an enigma to me! Check out my whole Optimus story/review:
http://corksandcaftans.wordpress.com/2009/03/27/special-birthday-edition-wine-review-2004-laventure-optimus/
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7/2/2009 - shaferguy91 wrote: 90 Points
Decanted 1 hour.
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4/4/2009 - jreis wrote:
Wow, this wine looks, smells and tastes like it was just bottled. Deep dark blackish purple, nose of limestone, clean oak and tart pomegranate fruit with a helathy dose of graphite. Still pretty closed, lots of tannic struture up front with some nice tart pomegranate fruit on the mid palate and then a wall of tannins on the finish. Throwing quite a bit of fine sediment.
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3/28/2009 - sbwino wrote: 87 Points
Don't bother opening this for at least 5+ years unless you enjoy eating fruit before it has ripened. Tart, Sour Sour. Fresh Clean Nose of Strawberry and Plumb Stew with hint of menthol. Fruit is super tart and tightly wound with flavor of cranberry and pomegranate.
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11/29/2008 - dhonig wrote: 89 Points
Night One
The color is thick inky black, turning to purple only at the very edges.
Right after opening the nose is surprisingly closed, blackcurrant and herbs, but not overwhelming. Twenty minutes later and the smells are coming forward. Blackcurrant jam, plums, eucalyptus, and molasses.
Huge on the palate, jammy with just a little tobacco, followed by vanilla and oak. Big big big. Tannins were big, too, sweet and smooth, but very drying.
Night Two
Again, rather a closed nose giving out blackcurrant and some sweeter vanilla-tinged blue- and blackberries.
On the palate blackcurrants again dominate. Now, though, there is nothing green at all. Instead, it is jammy fruit, vanilla, and sweet smooth tannins. Tannins are still incredibly powerful. After the finish, after the wine is gone, an aftertaste echo offer some promise for the future, giving hints of violets and lilac.
This clearly need a lot of cellar time to integrate the wood and soften the tannins. Will the near "fruit bomb" quality ratchet down and allow the more complex florals and maybe more come through? I would guess "yes," but can't make any promises. That said, this is darned good right now and even more promising for the future.
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11/11/2008 - Atomic Punk wrote: 89 Points
This wine was very tight if not completely closed off. Looking back at my tasting notes I must wonder how long those bottles had been open. This wine needs a couple of more years before it is ready to go; a shame that this bottle was opened too soon.
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10/22/2008 - tskrueger wrote: 90 Points
Tight at first, but opened up beautifully as the night went on.
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10/11/2008 - jeff nowak wrote:
i had high hoes for this wine, i.e. might be something i actually liked. no. over manipulated/ death by oak.
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10/11/2008 - kstoddard wrote: 83 Points
Fall Gala Tasting Event (Backstreet Wine Salon, Phoenix): Blackberry and blackcurrant. Has lots of oak and alcohol. Monolithic. I liked this wine much better in the past. Either off or I'm not in the mood for it.
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8/2/2008 - goofy Yno wrote: 91 Points
nice big smokey nose with blackberry. good full mouth, blackberry long finish.
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7/9/2008 - tskrueger wrote: 92 Points
Wow, this was really good. Dark black fruit, a little bit of black olive, but not in a bad way, bacon fat...Excellent! Actually blew the 01 Relentless out of the water.
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6/28/2008 - vinole wrote: 91 Points
Consistent with previous note.
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5/26/2008 - VinoPKM wrote: 88 Points
Good wine, not a great wine. Still not quite ready- very tart- tasted a lot of cherry fruit. Will try again in the future and will decant. Drank wine with roasted chicken in a cider molasses glaze and gourment white cheddar mac and cheese.
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3/21/2008 - www.jasonskitchen.com wrote: 93 Points
Cracked it open next to a barolo at Capitale grille and it blew it away... dense bold, huge... reminicent of caymus... who knows maybe we got a perfect bottle. Overall a best of a wine...
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2/14/2008 - msebor wrote: 89 Points
Deep purple color. Dark berries on the nose. Blackberries and light spices. Needs time.
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1/27/2008 - winelovr2001 wrote: 88 Points
Good fruit and tannin structure, but an extremely short finish made this wine forgettable.
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1/26/2008 - KeithAkers wrote: 90 Points
Binny's winter warm up (Binny's Highland Park, highland park IL): nose: nice big and full nose with toasted oak, mocha, and dark cherry. also getting some pine forrest notes and black currants
taste: real good structure. Toasted oak, mocha, vanilla, and lots of dark fruit
overall: really good wine. Nice body and well balanced. The finish is a bit quick, but this has some very good tannin structure for aging
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1/6/2008 - shaferguy91 wrote: 90 Points
Decanted 2 hours.
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12/24/2007 - cck wrote: 88 Points
Probably drank a bit too early. Nice bold flavors but this lacked the polish I was expecting.
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12/23/2007 - sosgoodjhu wrote: 91 Points
Big bold nose of black currants, blackberry, vanilla....medium to full bodied but beats you up on the massive tannic finish. This needs time but could be really good after a few years of bottle age.
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12/4/2007 - vinole wrote: 91 Points
Rich, dark fruit of plums, blackberry, and blueberry with some soft tannins a shot of acidity on the finish. Good without food and was a big hit at a business dinner as our first bottle.
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11/29/2007 - KeithAkers wrote: 88 Points
Binny's California Night (Highland Park): nose: big bold nose with tons of dark fruit. some blackberry, black currant jam, and unfortunetly heat on the nose. After the initial attack on teh nose, getting some of that burnt rubbing alcohol effect on the nose too
taste: pretty tight and tannic with lots of sour cherry and cranberry on the mouth
overall: big mouth inverting tannins and leaves a long finish. This needed more air time at the tasting, but what can you do. There was a lot of promise on this one like my last notes, but just picked the wrong time of the tasting to have it
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11/14/2007 - KeithAkers wrote: 93 Points
nose: huge dark explosive nose with sour cherry, blackberry, some black currant, and some pine forrest notes too. Real big nose that is fun to smell
taste: huge attack on the mouth. Dark Cherry, huge amounts of black currant, and a bit of raspberry and black berry
overall: really smooth and some real nice polish to this. Real quality finish that just coats your mouth. a real quality wine
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11/13/2007 - Surfside wrote: 93 Points
Smooth tannins that complemented a variety of Mediterranean appetizers and a seafood dish described as a seafood paella minus the rice. We all loved it which is why I ordered a case from Napa Cabs.
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10/15/2007 - dino_mike wrote: 90 Points
EARLIER BOTTLE FLAWED...THIS WAS FANTASTIC. Ingore my last review. I was bothered by intense dryness but I had another bottle that was great. It is drinking beautifully now. Has the balance and finess for a few years of aging. No dry tannins just supple, fine tannins and the complex shined.
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10/9/2007 - dino_mike wrote: 84 Points
Very dry wine. Fruit is explosive, but what is going on with that scarry mid-pallet dry thing? After an hour it turned to mildly dry and the complex fruit really expanded. With food it really sang. I'll have to drink another soon to be sure the fruit will outlast the dry tannin structure.
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8/19/2007 - ptheimer wrote: 91 Points
Great fruit, though still a bit young, will be explosive with a few years; nice long finish, a little tart but bursting with cherries and hint of mocha, just a touch hot (which you can tell will mellow with some age), a nice mix of old and new world
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5/26/2007 - amateurwino wrote:
Couldn't get a good read due to palate fatigue, but didn't seem great to me. $44 at USQ.
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5/24/2007 - Paul Lin wrote: 91 Points
14.9% alcohol. 57% Syrah, 35% Cabernet, 8% Petit Verdot. Opened and served without decanting. Rich and dense aromas of blackberry, espresso, pain grillé, and a touch of scorched earth. On the palate, ripe plum, blackberry, espresso, smoke and wet earth. Full bodied. Firm tannins. I am particularly impressed with the acidity of this wine, which comes through more prominently than earlier vintages and helps to cut through some of the sweetness of the young fruit. Although quite delicious now, it seems almost predatorial to be enjoying this wine so early. I will probably wait another 2-3 years before trying another bottle. 91+ points.
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10/15/2005 - kstoddard wrote: 91 Points
Barrel sample
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