critic reviews
This is a lovely wine, with character and intensity. Bitter chocolate, blueberry, coffee, raspberry, sleek and powerful. Unfiltered and unfined. 33% new French oak for ageing, 19% amphora (moved away from entirely oak in 2015), Chloe Asseo director, Stephan Asseo owner and winemaker, from the Willow Creek district of Paso Robles.
The 2022 Cote a Cote is 34% Grenache, 31% Syrah, 30% Mourvedre, 3% Graciano and 2% Viognier aged in a mixture of new and one-year-old French oak, amphora and concrete. The nose is a pleasing combination of herbal, savory and plush, with bramble, black cherry, lavender and anise aromas. The texture is svelte, polished and concentrated, yet it leads to a hard-edged finish driven by a rugged structure of stems and edgy oak tannins. This needs softening and integration and would be best left in the cellar for a few years after release.
The 2022 Côte a Côte is a savory beast, mixing New World fruit with Old World flair, as notes of crushed stone, underbrush, olive and dark chocolate complicate dried blueberries. This is seamlessly silky with juicy acidity and an opulent core of wild berry fruit while maintaining fantastic harmony throughout. A tinge of blood orange adds to the 2022s energetic personality as hints of tart blackberry mingle with sweet tannins, creating a lovely framework. The Côte a Côte is a perfectly balanced blend of 34% Grenache, 31% Syrah, 30% Mourvèdre, 3% Graciano and 2% Viognier.