2009 L'Aventure Optimus, 6-bottle Lot, Wood Case

L’Aventure is a 127-acre estate in Paso Robles. It was established in 1996 by Stephan Asseo, a native of France who studied oenology in Burgundy and later started estates in Bordeaux. He started his winery on the central California Coast in order to be more innovative with blends than the strict French AOC regulations allowed. L’Aventure’s first commercial vintages were in the late 1990s. Flagship wines include Optimus and Estate Cuvee, both of which are Cabernet Sauvignon/Syrah blends. Robert M. Parker Jr. has written that “Asseo continues to go from strength to strength, producing a fabulous portfolio of wines that makes L’Aventure one of the bright, shining reference points for the region. This is one of the California Central Coast superstars…”

Central Coast AVA is a huge wine producing area that extends from Santa Barbara County in the south to San Francisco in the north. With more than 100,000 vineyard acres, it includes parts of six counties near the Pacific Ocean. Nearly 20 smaller AVAs lie within the Central Coast AVA. Central Coast earned appellation status in 1985. Included in the appellation are parts of the counties of Contra Costa, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz. Nearly every grape varietal grown in California is grown somewhere in the Central Coast AVA, though Chardonnay accounts for nearly 50% of the entire wine grape crop.