6992666558546
$479.99
99 points Parker - limited
In an historic moment, wine critic Robert Parker, Jr., of The Wine Advocate recently announced 98-99 point scores for Vérité’s three blends, Le Désir, La Joie and La Muse. Limited.
99 Jeb Dunnuck: 99 Points Jeb Dunnuck: "Lastly, the 2017 Le Desir is 80% Cabernet Franc, with the balance mostly Merlot mixed with a splash of Malbec. It has a wonderful Cabernet Franc floral character as well as awesome black raspberry, cedarwood, forest floor, violets, rose petals, new leather, and who knows what else. Incredibly complex, it takes lots of air to show at its best and is medium to full-bodied, has a bright spine of acidity, fabulous tannins, and a great, great finish. The elegance of this wine paired with its richness and depth is something to behold. It’s another damn near perfect wine from this estate, and to see this quality from a challenging vintage like 2017 boggles the mind. Hats off to the father-daughter team of Pierre and Hélène Seillan."
98 Points Robert Parker: "What was the secret to achieving such impressive ripeness for Cabernet Franc in 2017? Pierre Seillan's daughter and one day successor, Helene, told me: “We make a lot of passes through the Cabernet Franc blocks—more than the other varieties. We drop any fruit that is not ripening at the same pace. We don’t pull out too much leaves, we need those for the ripening.” Blended of 80% Cabernet Franc, 17% Merlot and 3% Malbec, the 2017 Le Désir has a medium to deep garnet-purple color. It comes galloping out of the glass with all the grace and precision of a thoroughbred, sporting notions of kirsch, potpourri, warm plums and wild blueberries plus hints of chocolate box, cardamom and star anise. The medium-bodied palate (just 13.9% alcohol) is at once powerful and wonderfully elegant, with firm, very fine-grained, exquisitely ripe tannins and bold freshness supporting the red and blue fruit layers, finishing with incredible length and depth. Wow!"
Robert Parker: ...I suppose the arguments against giving perfect scores far outnumber those for giving them, but after 37 years of tasting just about everything of quality that’s been produced, I believe I’m in a position to recognize truly world-class efforts that are as complete and compelling as good wine can be. And if that’s the case, then why hold back? I realize that it creates possibly unreal expectations among readers, and there is the argument that nothing really is perfect. But if a wine is as good as you think it can be made, then I have no reservations about offering accolades to those rare wines. When one considers the winemaking effort that goes into producing these cuvées of Vérité, from Bordelais Pierre Seillan, the fastidious attention to detail and the use of only the crème de la crème of fruit from some of the finest vineyards in the Jackson family empire, the results are not that surprising. All of these wines, basically, are aged in 100% new French oak, given 3-4 day cold pre-fermentation, cold macerations, treated like spoiled children during élevage, and bottled with no fining or filtration. The entire philosophy is that La Muse is the Right Bank Pomerol look-alike from Vérité, La Joie the Medoc-like clone, and Le Desir a St.-Emilion in the style of Ausone...These are legendary wines of great extract, richness and potential of longevity and complexity. No compromises are made and the credit goes certainly to the Jackson family for supporting the efforts of winemaker Pierre Seillan."
Vérité produces wines without compromise, wines that reflect the terroir in which they are grown. The name Vérité comes from the French word for truth. The wines are a combination of old-world experience and new-world fruit. Vigneron Pierre Seillan, Vérité’s first and only winemaker, is a man who understands and appreciates the importance of the land. He is intimately involved in every step of the winegrowing process from bud break to bottling.
$22.99
New release! Utilizing different fruit sources mostly throughout Sonoma County (but also neighboring counties of Marin and Mendocino), the BloodRoot winemakers created a Pinot Noir blend that effortlessly melds cool, coastal Pinot elegance with the velvety polish of culty high-end Pinot producers.
93 Points Wine Enthusiast: "The Bloodroot Pinot Noir is a secret collaboration between several wine product makers with great vineyard sourcing who have come together here to make a masterful, value-minded blend. The majority of the grapes come from Russian River Valley, with others from Sonoma Coast, Marin, Anderson Valley and Bennett Valley. Tea, earth, stone and herb tones enliven a core of cranberry and rhubarb, offering length and depth. The tannins are velvety smooth and seductive."
BloodRoot is a secret collaboration between acclaimed winemakers. This group has deep contacts and vineyard sourcing which they knew they would create great wines for relatively modest prices. This group is also masterful at creating blends. They're the chefs that could walk into your house tonight and make a Michelin-starred meal out of anything you have in your fridge and pantry. They want to be anonymous because they have other projects where their wines sell for 4-5x as much money with scores from critics in the 95-100 point range.
$27.00
93 Points WS
Always one of the favorite California Zins we carry.
93 Points Wine Spectator: "Plump and luscious, this is jam-packed with fruit. Lively blackberry, pepper and other spice box aromas lead to ripe and rich flavors of black raspberry, caramel and licorice. There are more complex Zinfandels, but few that are more enjoyable to drink. Drink now through 2027."
Wine Enthusiast: "You could use this as a teaching tool for classic Sonoma County Zinfandel. It's full-bodied, dry and spicy, with briary flavors of wild berries, mocha, tobacco, leather and exotic spices. More importantly, it's absolutely delicious. The grapes come from Seghesio's best vineyards in the Alexander and Dry Creek valleys. An astonishing value."
$37.00
95 Points
Gary Farrell makes some of the finest Chardonnay and Pinot Noirs coming out of the Russian RIver Valley. Highly recommended.95 Points - limited
95 Points Wine Enthusiast "Editor's Choice": "This wine offers such tremendous value and quality - it should be on everyone’s go-to list for Russian River Valley Chardonnay. Lime, fig and grapefruit rind flavors ride along a lifted character of crushed stone texture and bright acidity. This wine is impressive from the detailed start to the lengthy finish."
The Gary Farrell Russian River Ranches is a layered and complex Chardonnay that brings together fruit from several of the winery's favorite Russian River Valley vineyard sites. Anchored by the naturally balanced character of Westside Farms and intriguing floral and stone fruit notes from Bacigalupi Vineyard, the wine's great concentration and structure derive from the nearby Rochioli and Allen vineyards. Olivet Lane Vineyard, featuring the Wente clone, adds refreshing citrus tones and excellent acidity.