Community Tasting Notes 10

• jcasey555 Likes this wine: 89 points

  October 1, 2023 - Seemed overpriced based upon the tasting. Solid wine, low alcohol but might be asleep; fruit very subdued without and secondary or tertiary flavors evolved.

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• csimm wrote: 94 points

  June 6, 2023 - TOP SHELF WINE WEEKEND: More accessible and blacker fruited than its 2013 sibling served next to it, the 2015 is still just as medium-bodied but offers more mouth-watering fruit, with less of the 2013’s green elements interrupting the expansion. The balance with the 2015 is well distributed throughout the delivery, with a softer grip along the bumpers of the core. Finishes softly succulent and supple. Certainly a more toned-down version of most things coming out of Napa.

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• sfwinelover1 Likes this wine: 97 points

  May 28, 2023 - Best of the World Wine Night (ex-Italy) (The csimm_M Estate): Another relatively late evening, one shot taste. I’ve long been fond of this label (in fact, I think I introduced A_M, the bringer of this, to it), but when I saw this and the ‘13 of this, which I didn’t sample after warnings from several that it wasn’t ready and/or had issues, on the carte, I wondered how their style, which I’d describe as a medium-bodied, cool restraint, not to mention Verite’s frequent tendency to drink better, IMO, with more bottle age (see below), would measure up against the power of the Colgins, Abreu, Harlan and SQNs of the evening; the answer, for this bottle and this taster, was pretty damned well. By the time I got to this, it was drinking with great balance and good integration of its solid structure, blue-black fruit, and classic Verite notes of rocky minerality, anise, leather, dark florals and tobacco. Verites never seem overpowering but are notably persistent, with a depth that only seems to increase with bottle age and air. I’d always been skeptical of drinking these young, but when I tasted at the winery in 2/22, they poured their ‘16 lineup, and with their decanting ablutions, it was drinking immaculately, changing my mind that youthful drinking of them wasn’t wasted. This was consistent with that thought, again, likely subject to much air, as this had already received, and yet, I concur with fellow guest IRBDW that if you sock this way in a reasonable way, you’ll likely be even happier in 5+ years. Rather than seeming undernourished in any way, this provided a sophisticated contrast to the evening’s other entrants, and if it didn’t quite hit my top group of CA Cabs (the Colgins ex-HL, Abreu and Harlan), it was the best of the rest for me of an incredibly strong group including Scarecrow and VV Mag 7. Interesting to contemplate how much of the affect is terroir, how much is much is vinification decisions, like pick time, but hey, we need conversations for our next tasting, right?

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• I'd Rather Be Drinking Wine Likes this wine: 95 points

  May 28, 2023 - Wild and Crazy Memorial Weekend - Sunday (Chris' Castle aka Melissa's Manor): This wine reminds me that while I think 2015 will be a great vintage, wines from that vintage seem to age at a glacial pace, and this is no exception. Couple that with the fact these wines are made for aging, and you have a wine still in its infancy. The fruit is totally the star right now! Pure and deep, with lots of blue and black fruit and a little cherry peering through periodically. You sense the tertiary flavors, but right now they are masked by gobs of fruit with some anise and spice. This is Verite's Bordeaux blend, which, with their Merlot, should be the most approachable wines....and don't get me wrong, the fruit is very remarkable and approachable, but definitely wait on this one! 95 now, but loaded with potential to gain a couple points with some additional cellar age...would wait at least another 5 years on this, and at this rate, perhaps longer.

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• WineBurrowingWombat Likes this wine: 96 points

  May 28, 2023 - Memorial Day Weekend, Day 2: The Great Gatsby: Aromas of dark black fruits with emphasis of small and abundant berries. Nice concentration here.
  
  Palate matches the nose here with the addition of some floral notes.
  
  This showed wayyy better than the '13. I hope they stopped allowing bret after the '13 cause this thing was tasty. Completely bodied the '13.

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Pro Reviews 6

Wine Definition

• Vintage 2015
• Type Red
• Producer Vérité
• Varietal Red Bordeaux Blend
• Designation La Joie
• Vineyard n/a
• Country USA
• Region California
• SubRegion Sonoma County
• Appellation Sonoma County

Community Holdings

• Pending Delivery 9 (1%)
• In Cellars 805 (86%)
• Consumed 125 (13%)

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