1998 | Verite | Red

The wines retains a similar lineage with red and black fruit characters and a texture of velvet with undeniable complexity. Full flavors of sweet blackberry, licorice, roasted tobacco and espresso.

Reviews:

• Stephen Tanzer: Superripe, slightly reduced aromas of roasted meat and roasted herbs. Dense, chewy and deep, with compelling flavors of sappy berries and Cuban tobacco.

• Wine Spectator: Dark, rich and chocolaty, with black cherry and blackberry fruit that's deep and concentrated. Gains complexity with mineral, cedar, coffee and tarry notes, turning dry and tannic.

Producer Information

Vérité Winery is a wine producer based in Sonoma County in California. It is most famous for its three Bordeaux-styled blends: La Muse, La Joie, and Le Désir, which have all received 100-point scores from American wine critic Robert Parker over several vintages. Winemaker Pierre Seillan got his start working with Bordeaux varieties at his family's estate in Armagnac. Before moving to the United States, he worked at Château de Targé in Saumur-Champigny in the Loire Valley, and at several châteaux in Bordeaux. Upon meeting California wine pioneer Jess Jackson in the 1990s, Seillan was convinced to move to Sonoma to make Bordeaux blend wines. Vérité sources fruit from the Alexander Valley, Bennett Valley, Knights Valley and Chalk Hill AVAs in Sonoma County. This range of sites provides more than 40 different types of soil, a range of altitudes and several different mesoclimates. Each vineyard block is vinified separately before a final blend for each wine is created. In a slight departure from the standard approach, Seillan made a 100 percent Tannat from Alexander Mountain Estate (which sits on the western Mayacamas Mountains overlooking the Alexander Valley) in 2010, although it appears this wine was a one-off. The three Vérité blends are dominated by a different Bordeaux variety. La Muse is Merlot-based, La Joie is Cabernet Sauvignon-based, and Le Désir is primarily Cabernet Franc. Due to the wines' success with the press, they are only available through a mailing list. The wines are still made by Seillan, although he is now joined by his daughter, Hélène, who has taken over assistant winemaker duties. Jess Jackson died in 2011.

DISCLAIMER** This is a single item listing unless otherwise noted in the description. Retailer advises either in stock or in route to their location. Usually ships within one to four business days. Longer processing times may occur especially around holiday(s). Some items may become backordered or delayed without notice due to demand & will ship out upon arrival. Overseas 700ml products typically have longer processing/transit times. You can always verify product availability by calling 1-888-548-0333. Please refer to our cancellations & returns agreement or reach out to our support team at help@caskcartel.com for any additional questions.

Our dedicated team specializes in creating personalized shopping experiences. If you’re looking for a specific item or collection that isn’t appearing on our marketplace, please reach out to us at concierge@caskcartel.com or fill out the product inquiry form and one of our dedicated team members will be in touch.  Whether it’s a product you’ve experienced while traveling or a rare, hard to find item you’ve been searching for, we have an established global network of retailers with the ability to locate and source the rarest and hardest to find products.