Verite 2019 "Le Desir" Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma County

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. 100 Points Robert Parker: "The Verité 2019 Le Désir is just as stunning as the first time I tasted it from bottle. It's pure and layered, with alluring scents of Morello cherries, dried mushrooms, cigars, sage and aniseed wafting from the glass. The palate strikes a fine balance of concentrated fruit, loads of powdery tannins, and energetic bursts of fresh acidity. It has a deep core of concentrated, perfumed fruit with the first faint touches of umami character and a long finish driven by floral and iron tones. I can't get enough of this wine!" 98 Points Jeb Dunnuck: "The Verité 2019 Le Desir is based on Cabernet Franc, with the remainder 8% Merlot, 5% Malbec, and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon. It is complex and layered, with hints of saddle leather, pencil shavings, tangy red cherry, and blackcurrant. The palate is full and elegantly structured, with mocha, red plum, and turned soil. This is an incredible wine with lots of underlying tension that will be a pleasure to revisit if afforded the opportunity. Drink over the next 20 or more years." 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.