Jane Anson: 94 Punkte
"A delicious, juicy, fruit-driven wine with a ton of chocolate and liquorice alongside the supple tannins. Lower alcohol than past few years, despite this being a heatwave vintage, but this is still a Californian hug. Small yields, around 30% down, 32ha of land in Paso Robles (up from 25ha), Chloe Asseo director, Stephan Asseo owner and winemaker, from the Willow Creek district of Paso Robles." (07/2025)
Decanter: 94 Punkte
"Black olive tapenade on the nose, quite savoury with dark black fruit aromas, some vanilla and chocolate elements too. Smooth and silky with amazingly high acidity that you don't expect from the aromatic display. Lively and clean, tongue scraping with a long length of almost tart strawberry and wet stones. Biting acidity with tons of mint and minerality. Mouthwatering but not too much, a little clipped on the finish but more due to tension I think at this point. A cooler climate feel to this, definitely not jammy, it has concentration but a fresh aspect to the fruit with pronounced acidity and minerality. Clean and focussed. Something very drinkable to this. Ageing 18 months; 81% in one year old French oak, 19% new with malolactic fermentation in barrels." - Georgina Hindle (07/2025)
The Drinks Business: 94 Punkte
"(Paso Robles, Willow Creek District; 66% Syrah; 26% Cabernet Sauvignon; 9% Petit Verdot; 36% in Y1; 14.6% alcohol; tasted with Swann Dufeu from L’Aventure at CVBG; 1998 was the first vintage here and, since 2008, all the fruit is estate grown). This is defined aromatically by the Syrah. Pure, precise, pixilated and with a pleasing crisp brightness to the raspberry and loganberry fruit. Crushed black pepper. Quite lifted and yet gracious too. Fresh, juicy and quite vivid. More and more defined by the Bordeaux varietals as the wine inhales. Plump, plush and crystalline at first before the grippy, grainy tannins start to engage. Minty and increasingly herbal on the finish which is sapid and juicy. There’s just a hint of dryness right at the very end. An impressive result." - Colin Hay (09/2025)
