2013 Verite Le Desir Red Wine Sonoma County

"The 2013 Le Desir represents 2,500 cases. This is the softest of the three wines in 2013, and this blend of 61% Cabernet Franc, 23% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Malbec emerges with more than half of the cuvée coming from Hillsides in Alexander Valley, 37% from Chalk Hill and the rest tiny dollops from Bennett Valley and Knights Valley. Opaque purple, like its siblings, the wine is showing incredible floral, blueberry and espresso notes, exotic Asian spices, velvety texture, a supple, multilayered mouthfeel and incredible finish, with incense and licorice. This is magnificent young wine, with a good 40-50 years of upside potential. Pierre Seillan is justifiably proud of what he has achieved, and his first vintage of Vérité was only 1998, but they go from strength to strength. The 2013s are the pinnacle of what Vérité has produced, and probably all wines that will be better at age 25 or 35 than they are showing today, but they are simply the essence of a vineyard site, a vine and a philosophy of no compromise. 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. Drink through 2065." - RP Review Date: October 2015

"The 2013 Le Désir is once again alluring. Le Désir is quite powerful and intense, but it also has fairly soft contours for the year. Dark cherry, plum, smoke, chocolate, mocha, licorice and cloves are all pushed forward. Energetic and explosive, the 2013 is going to need at least a few years in bottle to settle down, but it has plenty to offer. I tasted the 2013 from tank just prior to bottling." - Antonio Galloni Review Date: February 2016