critic reviews
Juicy hedgerow fruits, chalk, wet stones, blueberry, rose buds and iris, this has a clear underlying freshness that runs throughout the palate, very pretty, while still with the depth and character that is typical of this estate. Unfiltered and unfined, 40% new French oak, 20th anniversary of this wine. Chloe Asseo director, Stephan Asseo owner and winemaker, from the Willow Creek district of Paso Robles.
The 2023 Côte à Côte, celebrating its 20th anniversary bottling, displays a darkly alluring blend of violets, lavender, nuances of crushed stone and citrus-tinged blackberries. This is a pleasure on the palate, seamlessly silken in feel, with polished red and blue fruits ushered across a stream of fresh acidity. It firms up through the finish, long, structured yet energetic, with a saline flourish and an air of sage that lingers. The 2023 Côte à Côte performs like a well-muscled ballerina.