I don’t know. Maybe I’m just too old to appreciate high end cabs. Even at 20 years old (and don’t tell me this is over the hill) it just doesn’t seemed balanced enough to provide enjoyable drinking. Good, but not worthy of cult-type prices.
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Opened for 25 min And then double decanted for 15 min and consumed within 1.5 hours with Filet Mignon.
We tasted it on min 25 before decanting and it was super acidic and light weigh, around min 10 the acidity went down a bit. About 40-50 min in the wine gained weight, and complexity. This is a very Bordeaux king of wine that is still drinking well but IMO is already declining.
Drink up!
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great bottle with plenty time still to wait The wine looks garnet colored. The legs are medium. There is light sediment in the bottle. The body is full. The wine finishes long. The wine has low acidity.
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Dinner w/new friends in Jax (Friend's house): I was pretty excited about getting to try this wine as usually the Le Desir ends up being my favorite when we try multiple Verite and we haven't had one this old I don't think before. This is a very good wine, but it's still just a baby and needs a lot more years I think whereas the '99 La Joie was in a bit more of the drinking window. Had a bit more complexity and a bit more age to it. Give this time.
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Very bright and high in acidity, it's in a good harmony right now, body is medium+, the nose is floral, Pauillac style. Decanted for a short 10 minutes and then consumed in a 1 hour spam with Pizza, meatballs and spaghetti. The finish is very pleasant, no presence of the greenery pepper we normally get from lower end Cab Francs.
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Tight, backwards still, took 4 hours to display any real nose. Palate had tight young fruit and spicey dry tannins that never really hit that "worth the money" spot. Shoot for the $$ I can immediately think of 30 wines I would rather have purchased: - Any Auguste Clape Cornas - Any 1996 Barolo - Any 2000 left bank Bordeaux - 2006 Mandala - 2014 La Joie - 1989 La Chappelle - 2015 Montebello Cab - 1996 La Jota - Jonata La Sangra - Any 90's Tolmach - Any Christoph Baron - bla bla bla yes I wasted my money
If you come to this expecting a lot of typical Cab Franc I think you'll be surprised or frustrated. To me this showed a lot more merlot characteristics, and was no less fine for that. Fabulous sweet spice and red berry on the nose. Clove, mace, a little pepper, and some cinnamon along with a ton of red berries (esp cassis) on the palate. Definitely has the edge over the 2003 La Joie I had recently, fwiw. Loved it. Near maturity.
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First red drank at New Year's at Tryons and very impressive. My second consecutive Merlot based wine that I've enjoyed a lot. Good flavors and depth without all that tannic mess to deal with. Seismic shift coming?
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Tasted over two days. Showing the opulence of the 2002 vintage. Whereas the 2006 vintage Le Désir put my mind to Beychevelle, this vintage was reminiscent of the Ducru-Beaucalliou house style, and the 2003 wine from that chateau in particular. Pure velvety texture, broad shouldered and well framed, with ample red fruits, spice box, tobacco, and hints of smoke. Still young. 93-94.
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Tasted blind. The most generous wine from the outset in a difficult flight of 4. Perfumed, cinnamon, raspberry, old barrel, good acidity, a bit lactic and smelly. Kind of getting a Duero vibe here. Didn't really positively evolve in the glass and seems somewhat mature. Not getting any Franc here, oh well.
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Tasted blind. Some greenness on the nose, along with crushed rock and berry. Someone said cinnamon, which now that I smell it, really shows beautifully-like a simmering cinnamon stick. Spicy, cherry cola notes. Soft finish. A little one-dimensional. Young? No idea on region.
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Wine, Steak, and Olympics (Home (Noe st)): Medium plus ruby, hint of red at the rim. Moderate intensity nose of blackberry, tart red cherry, blackcurrant, 85% valrhona chocolate, very faint pyrazines (ripe stewed bell peppers). Dried roses. Lithe but with some heavy cough syrup. Feels 14% (actually 14.1%). Medium body, elevated alcohol, elevated acid, medium tannins - fine. It does seem very cab franc-like, but quite ripe. Initially 8.5-9. Over time it integrated well - very cab franc - some blackcurrant but mostly stewed sweet bell pepper, black olive, brown olive. Lots of complexity on the nose is emerging. Many shades of fruit ripeness within a small band, reminds me of the lyndenhurst. Moderate plus finish. 91
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Last of 4 bottles. Decanted for over an hour. Consistent with my other notes. Perfect with a bone-in ribeye. Some sweetness from the fruits, lots of acid to cut through the meat. Drink soon.
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Decanted for 6 hours. Nose is rich with earth and almost like a bordeaux, but the palette is flat and uninteresting. I assume this is way too young and I will not open another bottle for at least 5 years.
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Popped and poured. Wonderful aroma of cedar, tar and some meat. Fruit is very minimal. Really firm acid, very soft tannins and some blue fruits. Fairly long finish.
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Simply Lovely! Tasted like a mature Bordeaux. Feminine, like a Margaux, balanced in every respect. This was a pleasant surprise from CA. My gut tells me that since the tannins are fully integrated ( with a 2 hour decant) there is no reason to wait on this wine- fully mature.
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Decanted 2 hours before dinner, then taken to restaurant and served immediately. Better showing than with a short decant last month. Wonderful wine with food. Drink now and enjoy.
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Decanted for about 1/2 hour. Secondary aromas were trying to come out...probably would have if decanted longer. Fruit is all resolved. The amount of tannins and acid make this bottle seems younger than 13 years old. Silky, smooth, long finish. Will definitely decant my other bottles longer.
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Liked this wine quite a bit, even more so on the second day, even though it was never really too big even on the open. Very broad flavor profile that spreads out across the back of the tongue. Red fruits and cola flavors dominate. There is a lot going on here and it's difficult to pick out all the components but the overall package is very nice. Probably at or very close to its peak and I would prefer to drink now rather than hold.
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A let down from the bottle I opened about 3 years ago. This bottle seemed in a transitional period and needed another 3-5years to develop some pleasant secondary characteristics that Verite can achieve.
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Still very young. Improved over two hours. Long even tannins. Lacks a lot of fruit up front, but balanced in the middle. Parker said to drink by 17, but this wine has many more years than that.
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Ok so not as great as it was when I first had it in 2005. Much less exuberant. Still a terrific hedonistic glass of wine. Less overt fruit now but a lovely minerality. Drink up
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Deep purple in color, dense with moderate concentration. This is still very fresh and young tasting. Fruit and tannins are in perfect balance. First experience with this wine and will seek more from this producer.
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No fruit to speak of. Kind of thin on the palate. Not offensive, just nothing memorable, certainly for the price. I purchased two bottles from winery and feel like I held them entirely too long. Hopefully I just hit this bottle during a dumb phase.
The wine pours a very viscous deep purple with an inky color. Very long legs, evident of the 14.1% ABV and the insane amount of glycerin in this juice. The nose is extremely concentrated with a heady aroma of cherries, burnished leather, earth and truffles. The structure is well balanced and tannins well integrated, almost velvety, with a noticeable viscosity in the wine. On the palate, the wine demonstrated a focused bevy of crushed fruits, stewed blackberries and a tinge of smokiness. There is some sweetness to boast as well. Finish is long and lingers for more than half a minute. Acidity is barely perceptible as the jammy sweetness perpetuates.
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What an astonishingly hedonistic wine this is. Deep ruby core and perfect clarity. On the nose emerge intense aromas of mint leaf, tobacco and raspberry followed on the palate by delightfully structured layers of cassis, chocolate and fig, This is a perfectly balanced wine packed with lush, juicy tannins, soft texture, and an amazing 40 second+ finish. A very special effort that should continue to age gracefully for the next twenty years.
Really an elegant wine. Paired great with filet mignon and butter poached lobster. Subtle. Balanced. Notes of cocoa powder, pencil shavings and eucalyptus. Silky smooth. Medium finish. We let this guy breathe for about 3.5 hours prior to drinking. Best adjective for this wine really is"balanced". Lovely.
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Delicious, paired with Cheese Course and followed the 97 Valdicava Riserva. A tad better than the Valdicava. Rich, slightly herbaceous from the Cab Franc.
Big win with nose of pure expresso & mocha, on the pallet dark fruits with some smoke and coffee w/ hints of earth. Decanted and drank over 6 hours, I expect this wine was opened a bit early and will develop more with 3-5 years. Tasted very young overall with good grip and acid, more what you might expect from a 4 year old wine. Excellent!
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After decanting for 1.5 hours, it opened up in the glass after another 45 minutes. Bold and edgy at first to a rich smooth full bodied taste. Rock star wine!
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DarinC is right, decant. Hits its stride at 2-2 1/2 hrs for me. Nice blend of chocolatey merlotand floral cab franc. Served with pork roast, porcinis, and truffled pasta.
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Very complex nose of currant, smoke, plums, dark cherries, and various herbs. Medium to full body with great concentration and purity of fruit. Definitely decant 1-2hrs first to open up the palate. Every sip reveals subtle nuances and complexities. Plenty of structure left. This can be drunk now with plenty of air or held 5+ yrs. This style of winemaking is rare in Napa.
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Deep ruby colour. Nose has medium intensity with sweet aromas of ripe black plummy fruit, licorice, black cherry and a vegetal nuance. Creamy oak very well integrated in both nose and palate. The wine has dense structure with high quality ripe tannins and velvety texture. Aromas of ripe fruit, chocolate and licorice dominate the almost full bodied palate, acidity is there to balance. Nice wine which can keep for a long time, since it was youthful, but is lovely to drink now if not exciting.
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Dark ruby. Remarkable purity of fruit, with a blackberry-mint-eucalypt and dark cherry combination that reminded me of a cool-climate (like Adelaide Hills) aussie shiraz. Medium to full bodied, nicely textured, with silky tannins, rich and vibrant fruit and high acidity. Very long aftertaste.
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Back, Back in the USofA (StrEat Restaurant, Austin, Texas): More earth and tart red fruit here. Aromas of cedar/eucalyptus, baking spice, red and purple flowers. “Bloody in a good way” said one somme. The fruit is concentrated, the mouthfeel is creamy, but the shortness of finish stood out, just as with the 2002 “La Joie.” Some rim variation noted.
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Dark coloring, with good nose. I didnt decant, which this wine needs. A bit soft, perhaps in a dumb phase. Have more, so hoping a decant and/or more time will help.
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Decanted for 35 minutes. The wine is very young and needs decanting to open up. Maybe 10yr too early. More fwd than an equivalent bdx, this is St Emilion style of the 3 verite wines. Very dark colour. Good amount of oak on the nose & red fruit. Well balanced on the palate with good density and vibrancy but fort he money it lacks the va va voom we have to say. For sure you will like it but then u remember the price tag and it makes you wonder. Well made wine not over extracted slighlty more oak than needed.
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Dark ruby. Great scents of dark fruit on the nose along with some minerality. Slightly disjointed notes of cassis, cherry and pepper with a hint of heat on the finish. Very good wine which I'm sure will evolve tremendously given enough time. 50+9+9+17+8=93
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New world wine with old world tendencies. Big, but not too big, complexity and restraint. Red fruit, earth, tobacco. Drinking well now, but will continue to develop. Very nice wine.
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Not full-bodied or heavy, silky, the tannins and oak were fully subsumed. Soft plum and blackberries, but the cab franc element was very prevalent with a marked green element just this side of overbearing. Others at the table found it crossed that line. More Bordeaux than California, which was a little surprising, but nice nonetheless.
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This was the first of these I have opened and it just blew me away. More pomerol than Pomerol. Rich smoky velvety wine that holds up to long contemplation and lasts several days in the bottle without delclining. It's going to be very hard to stay away from the rest of these and I don't think that I'll even try. They're too good right now.
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Outstanding wine...Extreamly silkyyyy and lush...Awesome aromatics of Dark and red fruit along with a hint of tobacco, wood. and chocalate..This wine leans towards a new world style but by no means is over the top...On the palate there is lush red and dark fruit, dark chocalate..and herbs..On the backend you get just a hint of toasty oak..Superb balance and structure..Good mouth watering acidity...firm fine grained sweet tannins..Very nice long lasting finish..If I was blind tasting this wine no doubt I would think this is a right bank bordeaux..A wonderfull wine with a great future but is drinking well now..I am glad to have 2 left in my cellar, it will be tough to stay away..
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Saturday Tasting Group (Knightsbridge Wine Shop (Northbrook, IL)): Opened for five hours. Outstanding bottle. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed this New World gem, despite their affection towards Old World juice as a whole. Loads of extraction showing awesome dark blackberries, burnt caramel and toasted wood on the nose. The palate is super focused showing rich opulent dark fruit, mocha, leather and dark toffee. Long finish topping out at 45 seconds. Superb balance. This is both ready to drink or can be forgotten for ten years. I don't believethat one can go wrong purchasing a Verite bottling for $100.
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Decanted and consumed over a few hours. Shut down? Not a perfect bottle? There's fruit, but there's a tart bitterness that feels like the acids are out of whack. Needs time?
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Designed to drink like a St emilion, this blend is wonderful, but would not be mistaken for french.....a dark/ruby color tantilized and the nose is rich with dark berries, tar, and herbs. the mid palate is new world, with a lovely fruit and berry intesiity that screams california, the tar and sage are wonderfully integrated with rich tannin structure. The finish is well over 90 seconds and just keeps coming in waves. A really lovely wine and beautifully crafted. put this in the expensive but worth it bucket.
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Over-hyped indeed. Decanted 3-1/2 hours. Medium body. Black fruits. The fruit was too subtle for the acid structure. Went down easier with red meat. Not very pleasant as a stand alone glass.
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Medium ruby color, the 2002 Le Desir showed aromatic notes of dark fruits and caramel. Beautiful balance and sweet tannins were evident on the palette; however, an extra 2-3 years of cellaring could help resolve some extra acidity/bitterness on the end of the long finish.
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Toasted french oak. Blackcurrant, blackberry, chocolate and tobacco. Rich and concentrated. Possesses a long powerful finish with some secondary complexity. Firm tannins. Mouthwatering acidity. A very well made wine with a great future ahead of it.
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At Mark's Las Olas w Steve & Joyce Rapaport, Justin & Janet Mannes, and Marlene Beck. Followed the 02 Turley Pesenti. The Mannes, Steve and Ellen preferred the Turley. I preferred the Le Desir, for its herbal more austere finish, and obvious potential. The nose is still restrained. I double decanted the wine, and used the Vinturi aerator on half the bottle, as I wasn't satisfied with the unaerated wine, nor the fully aerated sample. I think this was the best balanced approach. Will wait at least a year to try the next one.
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This was my favorite of the 3 Verite 2002's. I thought all were stunningly good, but this was my favorite. This one was made to compete with the wines from St. Emilion. Highest percentage of the wine is Merlot, followed by Cabernet Franc. As with the other two Verite wines, outstanding structure and great aging potential. A great nose of limestone, cranberry, earth, minerals and on the palate black fruit, tobacco, earth, mineral and dark roasted coffee bean. This one in my opinion should have a very long life ahead of it. If I end up getting 6 bottles of this one, I will open the first one in 2015, and then one every 5 years after. Will this wine last until the year 2040+? Hard to say, but from the tannin, structure and acidity, and being much closer to a St. Emilion than a new world wine, and the winemaker being from Bordeaux, I think it just might do it. 98 points.
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At Pastis w Joshua, Jamie and Stephan. I had double decanted and areated this wine last week w Vinturi aerator, for dinner w Specarelli's (Never touched it, then.) Used Presevino to store it. Ellen has a glass mid-week,which I tasted, It was exceptional and optimal then, even better than the Seilan dinner at DUO. Ellen loved it last night. I enjoyed it, but I didn't pair it well, Escargot, and then Calamari w Chorizo.
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OH MY GOD! This may be the wine of the year to me. From a foot away an Incredible deep nose Violets, Berry, Chocolate. Medium body, dark translucent black color. Lovely in the mouth dark fruit, some oak sweet tannin. I know this is expensive but it is up there.
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3/3/2024 - Lax4 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Medium body wine, lighter in color. Still tasting great with a higher level of acidity. Aerated for 30 minutes and decanted. Some sediment.
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11/12/2023 - Lax4 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Aerated, heavy sediment. Still full of flavor and color
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3/17/2023 - levinml wrote: 91 Points
I don’t know. Maybe I’m just too old to appreciate high end cabs. Even at 20 years old (and don’t tell me this is over the hill) it just doesn’t seemed balanced enough to provide enjoyable drinking. Good, but not worthy of cult-type prices.
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7/31/2022 - gteran76 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Opened for 25 min And then double decanted for 15 min and consumed within 1.5 hours with Filet Mignon.
We tasted it on min 25 before decanting and it was super acidic and light weigh, around min 10 the acidity went down a bit. About 40-50 min in the wine gained weight, and complexity. This is a very Bordeaux king of wine that is still drinking well but IMO is already declining.
Drink up!
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3/1/2022 - Ryerye Likes this wine: 97 Points
great bottle with plenty time still to wait
The wine looks garnet colored. The legs are medium. There is light sediment in the bottle. The body is full. The wine finishes long. The wine has low acidity.
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11/11/2021 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Dinner w/new friends in Jax (Friend's house): I was pretty excited about getting to try this wine as usually the Le Desir ends up being my favorite when we try multiple Verite and we haven't had one this old I don't think before. This is a very good wine, but it's still just a baby and needs a lot more years I think whereas the '99 La Joie was in a bit more of the drinking window. Had a bit more complexity and a bit more age to it. Give this time.
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4/15/2020 - gteran76 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Very bright and high in acidity, it's in a good harmony right now, body is medium+, the nose is floral, Pauillac style. Decanted for a short 10 minutes and then consumed in a 1 hour spam with Pizza, meatballs and spaghetti. The finish is very pleasant, no presence of the greenery pepper we normally get from lower end Cab Francs.
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11/10/2018 - Fractalage Likes this wine: 92 Points
Tight, backwards still, took 4 hours to display any real nose.
Palate had tight young fruit and spicey dry tannins that never really hit that "worth the money" spot.
Shoot for the $$ I can immediately think of 30 wines I would rather have purchased:
- Any Auguste Clape Cornas
- Any 1996 Barolo
- Any 2000 left bank Bordeaux
- 2006 Mandala
- 2014 La Joie
- 1989 La Chappelle
- 2015 Montebello Cab
- 1996 La Jota
- Jonata La Sangra
- Any 90's Tolmach
- Any Christoph Baron
- bla bla bla yes I wasted my money
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10/6/2018 - Empirate wrote: flawed
Badly corked
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3/5/2018 - sbeeks Likes this wine: 94 Points
Still spectacular. Great fruit, like velvet in the mouth, typical of a Pomerol style wine.
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1/27/2018 - JJYoyo Likes this wine: 94 Points
If you come to this expecting a lot of typical Cab Franc I think you'll be surprised or frustrated. To me this showed a lot more merlot characteristics, and was no less fine for that. Fabulous sweet spice and red berry on the nose. Clove, mace, a little pepper, and some cinnamon along with a ton of red berries (esp cassis) on the palate. Definitely has the edge over the 2003 La Joie I had recently, fwiw. Loved it. Near maturity.
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12/31/2017 - levinml wrote: 94 Points
First red drank at New Year's at Tryons and very impressive. My second consecutive Merlot based wine that I've enjoyed a lot. Good flavors and depth without all that tannic mess to deal with. Seismic shift coming?
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12/26/2017 - Lax4 wrote: flawed
the bottle was flawed and quickly declined in taste and had more of a brown red color.
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4/25/2017 - Motz wrote: 94 Points
Tasted over two days. Showing the opulence of the 2002 vintage. Whereas the 2006 vintage Le Désir put my mind to Beychevelle, this vintage was reminiscent of the Ducru-Beaucalliou house style, and the 2003 wine from that chateau in particular. Pure velvety texture, broad shouldered and well framed, with ample red fruits, spice box, tobacco, and hints of smoke. Still young. 93-94.
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3/6/2017 - andtheodor wrote: 90 Points
Tasted blind. The most generous wine from the outset in a difficult flight of 4. Perfumed, cinnamon, raspberry, old barrel, good acidity, a bit lactic and smelly. Kind of getting a Duero vibe here. Didn't really positively evolve in the glass and seems somewhat mature. Not getting any Franc here, oh well.
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3/4/2017 - Doc90 wrote: 91 Points
Tasted blind. Some greenness on the nose, along with crushed rock and berry. Someone said cinnamon, which now that I smell it, really shows beautifully-like a simmering cinnamon stick. Spicy, cherry cola notes. Soft finish. A little one-dimensional. Young? No idea on region.
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8/12/2016 - RajivAyyangar wrote: 91 Points
Wine, Steak, and Olympics (Home (Noe st)): Medium plus ruby, hint of red at the rim. Moderate intensity nose of blackberry, tart red cherry, blackcurrant, 85% valrhona chocolate, very faint pyrazines (ripe stewed bell peppers). Dried roses.
Lithe but with some heavy cough syrup. Feels 14% (actually 14.1%).
Medium body, elevated alcohol, elevated acid, medium tannins - fine. It does seem very cab franc-like, but quite ripe.
Initially 8.5-9.
Over time it integrated well - very cab franc - some blackcurrant but mostly stewed sweet bell pepper, black olive, brown olive. Lots of complexity on the nose is emerging. Many shades of fruit ripeness within a small band, reminds me of the lyndenhurst. Moderate plus finish.
91
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12/25/2015 - grafighter Likes this wine: 93 Points
Last of 4 bottles. Decanted for over an hour. Consistent with my other notes. Perfect with a bone-in ribeye. Some sweetness from the fruits, lots of acid to cut through the meat. Drink soon.
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12/12/2015 - shutto1992@gmail.com wrote: 90 Points
Decanted for 6 hours. Nose is rich with earth and almost like a bordeaux, but the palette is flat and uninteresting. I assume this is way too young and I will not open another bottle for at least 5 years.
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10/31/2015 - grafighter Likes this wine: 93 Points
Popped and poured. Wonderful aroma of cedar, tar and some meat. Fruit is very minimal. Really firm acid, very soft tannins and some blue fruits. Fairly long finish.
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9/27/2015 - Mike V wrote: 92 Points
Good but not like the first bottle 10 years ago. Drink up
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9/23/2015 - Highlander wrote:
Simply Lovely! Tasted like a mature Bordeaux. Feminine, like a Margaux, balanced in every respect. This was a pleasant surprise from CA. My gut tells me that since the tannins are fully integrated ( with a 2 hour decant) there is no reason to wait on this wine- fully mature.
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9/16/2015 - BCharlieG wrote: 90 Points
dumb phase. non expressive. actually very odd to me. don't open.
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6/20/2015 - grafighter Likes this wine: 93 Points
Decanted 2 hours before dinner, then taken to restaurant and served immediately. Better showing than with a short decant last month. Wonderful wine with food. Drink now and enjoy.
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5/9/2015 - grafighter Likes this wine: 93 Points
Decanted for about 1/2 hour. Secondary aromas were trying to come out...probably would have if decanted longer. Fruit is all resolved. The amount of tannins and acid make this bottle seems younger than 13 years old. Silky, smooth, long finish. Will definitely decant my other bottles longer.
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5/3/2015 - Topper wrote: 93 Points
Liked this wine quite a bit, even more so on the second day, even though it was never really too big even on the open. Very broad flavor profile that spreads out across the back of the tongue. Red fruits and cola flavors dominate. There is a lot going on here and it's difficult to pick out all the components but the overall package is very nice. Probably at or very close to its peak and I would prefer to drink now rather than hold.
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4/11/2015 - DarinC wrote: 89 Points
A let down from the bottle I opened about 3 years ago. This bottle seemed in a transitional period and needed another 3-5years to develop some pleasant secondary characteristics that Verite can achieve.
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3/28/2015 - andrewdl Likes this wine: 95 Points
Awesome, as always.
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8/23/2014 - ChicagoScot Likes this wine: 95 Points
Killer juice that has a bold Bordeaux style with an elegant finish -- one of my favorite wineries in Napa.
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8/13/2014 - sjdoc wrote: 94 Points
Still very young. Improved over two hours. Long even tannins. Lacks a lot of fruit up front, but balanced in the middle. Parker said to drink by 17, but this wine has many more years than that.
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7/8/2014 - Mike V wrote: 93 Points
Ok so not as great as it was when I first had it in 2005. Much less exuberant. Still a terrific hedonistic glass of wine. Less overt fruit now but a lovely minerality. Drink up
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6/13/2014 - meatbomb013 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Deep purple in color, dense with moderate concentration. This is still very fresh and young tasting. Fruit and tannins are in perfect balance. First experience with this wine and will seek more from this producer.
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4/21/2014 - wdb001 wrote: 88 Points
No fruit to speak of. Kind of thin on the palate. Not offensive, just nothing memorable, certainly for the price. I purchased two bottles from winery and feel like I held them entirely too long. Hopefully I just hit this bottle during a dumb phase.
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3/23/2014 - emzee.mc wrote: 95 Points
The wine pours a very viscous deep purple with an inky color. Very long legs, evident of the 14.1% ABV and the insane amount of glycerin in this juice. The nose is extremely concentrated with a heady aroma of cherries, burnished leather, earth and truffles. The structure is well balanced and tannins well integrated, almost velvety, with a noticeable viscosity in the wine. On the palate, the wine demonstrated a focused bevy of crushed fruits, stewed blackberries and a tinge of smokiness. There is some sweetness to boast as well. Finish is long and lingers for more than half a minute. Acidity is barely perceptible as the jammy sweetness perpetuates.
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3/5/2014 - Wineguy76 Likes this wine: 98 Points
What an astonishingly hedonistic wine this is. Deep ruby core and perfect clarity. On the nose emerge intense aromas of mint leaf, tobacco and raspberry followed on the palate by delightfully structured layers of cassis, chocolate and fig, This is a perfectly balanced wine packed with lush, juicy tannins, soft texture, and an amazing 40 second+ finish. A very special effort that should continue to age gracefully for the next twenty years.
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2/14/2014 - ageverett Likes this wine: 94 Points
Really an elegant wine. Paired great with filet mignon and butter poached lobster. Subtle. Balanced. Notes of cocoa powder, pencil shavings and eucalyptus. Silky smooth. Medium finish. We let this guy breathe for about 3.5 hours prior to drinking. Best adjective for this wine really is"balanced". Lovely.
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11/15/2013 - markellen.foodies@gmail.com Likes this wine: 93 Points
Decanted for 1 hr. Good eucalyptus notes.
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4/2/2013 - markellen.foodies@gmail.com Likes this wine: 94 Points
Double Blind @ Le Provencal; 4/2/2013-4/3/2013 (266 Miracle Mile, Coral Gables, FL): The wine looks Garnet colored. The legs are Medium. It smells like Blackberry, Raspberry, and Bell Pepper. The body is Full. The wine has Polished texture. The wine finishes Long. Mark's wine(me).
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1/12/2013 - markellen.foodies@gmail.com Likes this wine: 94 Points
Delicious, paired with Cheese Course and followed the 97 Valdicava Riserva. A tad better than the Valdicava. Rich, slightly herbaceous from the Cab Franc.
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7/30/2012 - RWINO wrote: 96 Points
Big win with nose of pure expresso & mocha, on the pallet dark fruits with some smoke and coffee w/ hints of earth. Decanted and drank over 6 hours, I expect this wine was opened a bit early and will develop more with 3-5 years. Tasted very young overall with good grip and acid, more what you might expect from a 4 year old wine. Excellent!
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5/3/2012 - ChicagoScot wrote: 94 Points
After decanting for 1.5 hours, it opened up in the glass after another 45 minutes. Bold and edgy at first to a rich smooth full bodied taste. Rock star wine!
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4/11/2012 - suttonri wrote: 93 Points
DarinC is right, decant. Hits its stride at 2-2 1/2 hrs for me. Nice blend of chocolatey merlotand floral cab franc. Served with pork roast, porcinis, and truffled pasta.
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1/28/2012 - DarinC wrote: 94 Points
Very complex nose of currant, smoke, plums, dark cherries, and various herbs. Medium to full body with great concentration and purity of fruit. Definitely decant 1-2hrs first to open up the palate. Every sip reveals subtle nuances and complexities. Plenty of structure left. This can be drunk now with plenty of air or held 5+ yrs. This style of winemaking is rare in Napa.
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8/25/2011 - Stefanos T. wrote: 92 Points
Deep ruby colour. Nose has medium intensity with sweet aromas of ripe black plummy fruit, licorice, black cherry and a vegetal nuance. Creamy oak very well integrated in both nose and palate. The wine has dense structure with high quality ripe tannins and velvety texture. Aromas of ripe fruit, chocolate and licorice dominate the almost full bodied palate, acidity is there to balance. Nice wine which can keep for a long time, since it was youthful, but is lovely to drink now if not exciting.
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8/25/2011 - Yiannis wrote: 92 Points
Dark ruby. Remarkable purity of fruit, with a blackberry-mint-eucalypt and dark cherry combination that reminded me of a cool-climate (like Adelaide Hills) aussie shiraz. Medium to full bodied, nicely textured, with silky tannins, rich and vibrant fruit and high acidity. Very long aftertaste.
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6/11/2011 - austinwinesalon wrote:
Back, Back in the USofA (StrEat Restaurant, Austin, Texas): More earth and tart red fruit here. Aromas of cedar/eucalyptus, baking spice, red and purple flowers. “Bloody in a good way” said one somme. The fruit is concentrated, the mouthfeel is creamy, but the shortness of finish stood out, just as with the 2002 “La Joie.” Some rim variation noted.
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4/8/2011 - AccaDacca wrote: 90 Points
Dark coloring, with good nose. I didnt decant, which this wine needs. A bit soft, perhaps in a dumb phase. Have more, so hoping a decant and/or more time will help.
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3/15/2011 - Papies wrote: 92 Points
Decanted for 35 minutes. The wine is very young and needs decanting to open up. Maybe 10yr too early.
More fwd than an equivalent bdx, this is St Emilion style of the 3 verite wines. Very dark colour. Good amount of oak on the nose & red fruit. Well balanced on the palate with good density and vibrancy but fort he money it lacks the va va voom we have to say. For sure you will like it but then u remember the price tag and it makes you wonder. Well made wine not over extracted slighlty more oak than needed.
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1/26/2011 - taipanli wrote: 93 Points
Dark ruby. Great scents of dark fruit on the nose along with some minerality. Slightly disjointed notes of cassis, cherry and pepper with a hint of heat on the finish. Very good wine which I'm sure will evolve tremendously given enough time. 50+9+9+17+8=93
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11/22/2010 - toddjerry wrote: 92 Points
New world wine with old world tendencies. Big, but not too big, complexity and restraint. Red fruit, earth, tobacco. Drinking well now, but will continue to develop. Very nice wine.
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6/21/2010 - 3daywinereview.com wrote: 94 Points
Minneapolis Wine Club does Bordeaux; 6/20/2010-6/24/2010 (Kevin's House): Super wine! Nose of tobacco, minerals, black pepper, cherry and earth. Palate and finish are concentrated and balanced wine. Decanted 4 hours prior to tasting.
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6/19/2010 - rocknroller wrote: 94 Points
Minneapolis Wine Club: Bordeaux and Bordeaux Blends (Kevin and Vicki's): cedar, cassis, dark fruit, palate also shows spice, dust, great concentration, with some bright cherries and cinnamon. oak and mocha on the finish, nice tannins. great balance, long finish, great wine
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11/29/2009 - Mike Toast wrote: 93 Points
burnt ember nose
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9/21/2009 - ChrisR wrote: 92 Points
Not full-bodied or heavy, silky, the tannins and oak were fully subsumed. Soft plum and blackberries, but the cab franc element was very prevalent with a marked green element just this side of overbearing. Others at the table found it crossed that line. More Bordeaux than California, which was a little surprising, but nice nonetheless.
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8/10/2009 - Topper wrote: 94 Points
This was the first of these I have opened and it just blew me away. More pomerol than Pomerol. Rich smoky velvety wine that holds up to long contemplation and lasts several days in the bottle without delclining. It's going to be very hard to stay away from the rest of these and I don't think that I'll even try. They're too good right now.
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8/9/2009 - vinopa wrote: 97 Points
Outstanding wine...Extreamly silkyyyy and lush...Awesome aromatics of Dark and red fruit along with a hint of tobacco, wood. and chocalate..This wine leans towards a new world style but by no means is over the top...On the palate there is lush red and dark fruit, dark chocalate..and herbs..On the backend you get just a hint of toasty oak..Superb balance and structure..Good mouth watering acidity...firm fine grained sweet tannins..Very nice long lasting finish..If I was blind tasting this wine no doubt I would think this is a right bank bordeaux..A wonderfull wine with a great future but is drinking well now..I am glad to have 2 left in my cellar, it will be tough to stay away..
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6/6/2009 - psmith wrote:
Big dark fruits and graphite notes. Firm, granular structure. Young. Flashy wine. Very nice.
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6/6/2009 - beezer6 wrote: 95 Points
Saturday Tasting Group (Knightsbridge Wine Shop (Northbrook, IL)): Opened for five hours.
Outstanding bottle. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed this New World gem, despite their affection towards Old World juice as a whole.
Loads of extraction showing awesome dark blackberries, burnt caramel and toasted wood on the nose.
The palate is super focused showing rich opulent dark fruit, mocha, leather and dark toffee.
Long finish topping out at 45 seconds. Superb balance. This is both ready to drink or can be forgotten for ten years.
I don't believethat one can go wrong purchasing a Verite bottling for $100.
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5/11/2009 - mmasterson wrote:
Decanted and consumed over a few hours. Shut down? Not a perfect bottle? There's fruit, but there's a tart bitterness that feels like the acids are out of whack. Needs time?
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4/4/2009 - huntly wrote: 94 Points
very consistent with previous note. Clearly a wine that needs a bit of air. don't rush it.
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10/18/2008 - huntly wrote: 94 Points
Designed to drink like a St emilion, this blend is wonderful, but would not be mistaken for french.....a dark/ruby color tantilized and the nose is rich with dark berries, tar, and herbs. the mid palate is new world, with a lovely fruit and berry intesiity that screams california, the tar and sage are wonderfully integrated with rich tannin structure. The finish is well over 90 seconds and just keeps coming in waves. A really lovely wine and beautifully crafted. put this in the expensive but worth it bucket.
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9/28/2008 - HenryW wrote: 88 Points
Nice dark fruited nose. Palate, however, is rather subdued and the oak is quite prominent on the finish.
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9/14/2008 - markellen.foodies@gmail.com wrote: 92 Points
Decanted for 3 hours. Drank very well. Ellen doesn't care for Cab Franc herbal notes.
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7/18/2008 - Phin wrote: 93 Points
Over-hyped indeed. Decanted 3-1/2 hours. Medium body. Black fruits. The fruit was too subtle for the acid structure. Went down easier with red meat. Not very pleasant as a stand alone glass.
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2/16/2008 - NAA2586 wrote: 93 Points
Medium ruby color, the 2002 Le Desir showed aromatic notes of dark fruits and caramel. Beautiful balance and sweet tannins were evident on the palette; however, an extra 2-3 years of cellaring could help resolve some extra acidity/bitterness on the end of the long finish.
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12/28/2007 - jivey wrote: 93 Points
Smoke, tar, cedar, tobacco dark fruits. Huge mouth feel and mouth watering tannins on a complex finish.
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12/26/2007 - kstoddard wrote: 93 Points
Toasted french oak. Blackcurrant, blackberry, chocolate and tobacco. Rich and concentrated. Possesses a long powerful finish with some secondary complexity. Firm tannins. Mouthwatering acidity. A very well made wine with a great future ahead of it.
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11/30/2007 - buckeye76 wrote: 95 Points
RICH FRUIT IN THE NOSE AND FLAVOR, BLACKBERRIES, CURRANTS, AND BLACK CHERRIES. NICE COMPLEXITY AND A MEDIUM TO LONG FINISH. ELEGANT WINE
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11/3/2007 - markellen.foodies@gmail.com wrote: 93 Points
At Mark's Las Olas w Steve & Joyce Rapaport, Justin & Janet Mannes, and Marlene Beck. Followed the 02 Turley Pesenti. The Mannes, Steve and Ellen preferred the Turley. I preferred the Le Desir, for its herbal more austere finish, and obvious potential. The nose is still restrained. I double decanted the wine, and used the Vinturi aerator on half the bottle, as I wasn't satisfied with the unaerated wine, nor the fully aerated sample. I think this was the best balanced approach. Will wait at least a year to try the next one.
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10/27/2007 - Danny Joe wrote: 92 Points
Decanted for three hours. Great drank ruby/garnet color. Nice nose of tobacco. Dark red fruits and leather. Wonderful wine.
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10/5/2007 - davidrh1 wrote: 98 Points
Sublime
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8/13/2007 - Renegade wrote: 98 Points
This was my favorite of the 3 Verite 2002's. I thought all were stunningly good, but this was my favorite. This one was made to compete with the wines from St. Emilion. Highest percentage of the wine is Merlot, followed by Cabernet Franc. As with the other two Verite wines, outstanding structure and great aging potential. A great nose of limestone, cranberry, earth, minerals and on the palate black fruit, tobacco, earth, mineral and dark roasted coffee bean. This one in my opinion should have a very long life ahead of it. If I end up getting 6 bottles of this one, I will open the first one in 2015, and then one every 5 years after.
Will this wine last until the year 2040+? Hard to say, but from the tannin, structure and acidity, and being much closer to a St. Emilion than a new world wine, and the winemaker being from Bordeaux, I think it just might do it. 98 points.
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3/31/2007 - markellen.foodies@gmail.com wrote: 92 Points
At Pastis w Joshua, Jamie and Stephan. I had double decanted and areated this wine last week w Vinturi aerator, for dinner w Specarelli's (Never touched it, then.) Used Presevino to store it. Ellen has a glass mid-week,which I tasted, It was exceptional and optimal then, even better than the Seilan dinner at DUO.
Ellen loved it last night. I enjoyed it, but I didn't pair it well, Escargot, and then Calamari w Chorizo.
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12/21/2006 - Employee500 wrote:
Terrific nose, but not much going on inside....needs time?
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12/3/2006 - WineForRob wrote: 96 Points
Very classy wine. Good mix of red and dark fruits. Tannins blended perfectly on the finish.
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7/11/2006 - markellen.foodies@gmail.com wrote: 92 Points
Pierre Seillan (Vigneron K-J: Verite(Napa); Tenuta di Arceno Arcanum(Tuscany); and Ch.'s Lassegue and Vignot(St Emillon) (DUO, Miami): Decanted for 3 hours. Served after the Le Joie with the Beef Wellington. Paled in comparison, but still an exceptional wine that needs time to evolve. Promising bouquet and solid mouth feel, with a moderate lingering finish. On its own it would have shined. The Verite's were definitely the class of the evening.
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6/16/2005 - Mike V wrote: 96 Points
OH MY GOD! This may be the wine of the year to me. From a foot away an Incredible deep nose Violets, Berry, Chocolate. Medium body, dark translucent black color. Lovely in the mouth dark fruit, some oak sweet tannin. I know this is expensive but it is up there.
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