I wanted a red wine that could stand alone after homemade GF peach pie; this was it: dense, sweet black fruit, nicely resolved tannins, and delicious to the last drop. Opened for an hour or so but should have decanted, as that would have taken care of the sediment: not so much sediment, but there is no benefit in ruining the final sips with black crud!
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My dinner companion requested “red, rich, and deep”; I obliged with this: the most flavorful iteration of Petit Verdot that I know. Popped and decanted. Very full-bodied, ripe, and on the slightly sweet side, but quite delicious. Drink or hold; should last at this level for a few years.
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Massive, ripe, and deep, tongue-coating. The L'Aventure style. I'd opened this and had a glass and a half and it showed well, even if I felt I had to try to coax something buried out of it through aggressive aeration. I made a mistake of capping and putting back in the cellar for a week without suctioning. It was still "good" but took on more of the soy, balsamic, brown sugar that can pop up in these very ripe, rich, high abv wines. Some may actually like these attributes, but I thought it came across a bit burnt. Anyway, not my typical style, but a hedonistic wine for those looking for a very nice bigger-is-better wine against rich roasted meats.
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Fantastic wine. I do like the 10 better, but this is great. Everything that was said is very true. I think the secondary flavors played a bigger factor in this than most L'Aventure wines. It's really right up my alley.
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Super Dark visually and almost thick. Heavy legs and nose of spice and slight vanilla. Still had slight tannin and alot of fruit. Good wine but not as good as when tasted at first release at the winery. Would drink now as I could see this wine getting almost candied with more age.
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This wine was smooth and powerful, with a long finish. Better than when first tasted 2 years earleir. Lot's of dark fruit with depth and structure and fine tannins. Fantastic
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Second bottle. Dark ink and heavy in the glass. Nose of dark chocolate, tar, blackberry, coffee and cedar. Secondary cigar smoke. Full body and a monolith of dark, bitter chocolate, black fruit and burnt toast on the palate. Secondary coffee. Long finish. This wine was a crowd pleaser at a dinner a year ago, but didn't show well tonight. Very high quality, but too over-the-top, dense and monolithic.
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Very enjoyable bottle of wine. Dark purple in color, big wine. I drank this bottle with a friend since I was returning to Paso Robles and was immediately told to buy more. Unfortunately L'Aventure didn't make the Le Grande Verdot in 2009, but the 2010 is in the works.
L'Aventure makes a great bottle across the board, and this is no exception. Already looking forward to the 2010.
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this a big wine, with tons of structure. Nice dark fruit but needs cellar time to settle down, it's excellent DNA will insure that time will be very kind to this wine.
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Dark, reflective garnet/purple with medium/heavy viscosity in glass. Black fruit, chocolate, bramble, flint and hints of tropical fruit on the nose. Same goes for the palate, with superbly layered slabs of dark, fleshy fruit, chocolate and spices. Secondary floral, coffee and hide. Long, lush finish with velvety grip from the tannin. Devine!
1/27/2023 - Justin B Likes this wine: 94 Points
Great nose and smooth finish. Drink now.
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8/14/2022 - aif wrote: 88 Points
Fairly one note and SCREAMING Paso Robles. Slightly past it’s prime now with dusty blackberry and a thick, syrupy balsamic property to it.
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7/11/2020 - rogerr Likes this wine: 93 Points
Still drinking well but not a thrilling as it was years ago. Who knows where this is going as it is a unique (and rare) blend from Stephan.
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6/8/2020 - prism wrote: 93 Points
I wanted a red wine that could stand alone after homemade GF peach pie; this was it: dense, sweet black fruit, nicely resolved tannins, and delicious to the last drop. Opened for an hour or so but should have decanted, as that would have taken care of the sediment: not so much sediment, but there is no benefit in ruining the final sips with black crud!
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1/10/2018 - prism wrote: 93 Points
My dinner companion requested “red, rich, and deep”; I obliged with this: the most flavorful iteration of Petit Verdot that I know. Popped and decanted. Very full-bodied, ripe, and on the slightly sweet side, but quite delicious. Drink or hold; should last at this level for a few years.
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9/1/2016 - tward wrote:
Massive, ripe, and deep, tongue-coating. The L'Aventure style. I'd opened this and had a glass and a half and it showed well, even if I felt I had to try to coax something buried out of it through aggressive aeration. I made a mistake of capping and putting back in the cellar for a week without suctioning. It was still "good" but took on more of the soy, balsamic, brown sugar that can pop up in these very ripe, rich, high abv wines. Some may actually like these attributes, but I thought it came across a bit burnt. Anyway, not my typical style, but a hedonistic wine for those looking for a very nice bigger-is-better wine against rich roasted meats.
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7/10/2016 - Bob & Sue Atlanta wrote: 97 Points
Outstanding! Never expected this. Greatest L'Aventure to date rivaling the 2006 estate. Would love to have more of this.
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3/27/2016 - bskough Likes this wine: 94 Points
Fantastic wine. I do like the 10 better, but this is great. Everything that was said is very true. I think the secondary flavors played a bigger factor in this than most L'Aventure wines. It's really right up my alley.
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2/26/2016 - mattdathan Likes this wine: 94 Points
Awesome!
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2/1/2014 - West Coast Wine Likes this wine: 90 Points
Super Dark visually and almost thick. Heavy legs and nose of spice and slight vanilla. Still had slight tannin and alot of fruit. Good wine but not as good as when tasted at first release at the winery. Would drink now as I could see this wine getting almost candied with more age.
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4/5/2013 - Kabala_X9 Likes this wine: 95 Points
This wine was smooth and powerful, with a long finish. Better than when first tasted 2 years earleir. Lot's of dark fruit with depth and structure and fine tannins. Fantastic
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1/7/2012 - christophee wrote: 86 Points
Second bottle. Dark ink and heavy in the glass. Nose of dark chocolate, tar, blackberry, coffee and cedar. Secondary cigar smoke. Full body and a monolith of dark, bitter chocolate, black fruit and burnt toast on the palate. Secondary coffee. Long finish. This wine was a crowd pleaser at a dinner a year ago, but didn't show well tonight. Very high quality, but too over-the-top, dense and monolithic.
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10/1/2011 - saki846 wrote:
Very enjoyable bottle of wine. Dark purple in color, big wine.
I drank this bottle with a friend since I was returning to Paso Robles and was immediately told to buy more. Unfortunately L'Aventure didn't make the Le Grande Verdot in 2009, but the 2010 is in the works.
L'Aventure makes a great bottle across the board, and this is no exception.
Already looking forward to the 2010.
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8/8/2011 - brigcampbell wrote:
this a big wine, with tons of structure. Nice dark fruit but needs cellar time to settle down, it's excellent DNA will insure that time will be very kind to this wine.
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7/22/2011 - Justin B wrote: 94 Points
Agree with previous TN's. Great wine and very indulgent!
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12/11/2010 - christophee Likes this wine: 95 Points
Dark, reflective garnet/purple with medium/heavy viscosity in glass. Black fruit, chocolate, bramble, flint and hints of tropical fruit on the nose. Same goes for the palate, with superbly layered slabs of dark, fleshy fruit, chocolate and spices. Secondary floral, coffee and hide. Long, lush finish with velvety grip from the tannin. Devine!
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8/20/2010 - rogerr wrote: 96 Points
Tasted on multiple occasions. Each time this was a knockout. This is not a food wine. It is a decadent pleasure wine.
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7/19/2010 - kanab ram wrote:
Squid ink, chocolate, mineral with nice blue fruit component. Dense, plush and very layered. Extremely refined for the varietal. Stunning.
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