L'Aventure : Estate Cuvee 2019

A chocolate-dusted nose with liquorice and cool blue fruit aromas. This has density with ripe and chewy fruit on the palate; similar to the other wines in the L'Aventure range, it focuses on cool blue fruits, berries and plums. The texture is smooth, but there are layers of fruit, spice, caramel, sweetness and savouriness with a long finish. The alcohol is high, with a hint of spice on the finish bringing it slightly into focus. A blend of 50% Syrah, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Petit Verdot from 100% estate-grown fruit. Wines are aged for 15 months, 81% in new French oak and 19% in one-year-old French oak, with malolactic fermentation in barrel. No fining and no filtering.

Blackcurrants, crushed stone and lavender with some rosemary. Full-bodied, yet it spirals deep and true on the palate, with creamy tannins and a dark, brooding finish. Provocative on the palate. Asphalt and spice notes. 50% syrah, 35% cabernet sauvignon and 15% petit verdot. Drinkable now or try after 2025, but you should really give this at least another five years in the bottle.

Pure perfection from Paso Robles, the 2019 Estate Cuvee checks in as 50% Syrah, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Petit Verdot that was raised in 81% new French oak. Incredible cassis and blackberry fruits as well as violets, chocolate, graphite, and who knows what else emerge 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.