2006 Vérité Le Désir

95 POINTS

Wine Enthusiast

Extremely tannic at the age of five years, and that astringency accentuates the dryness, making the wine austere and distant. It has a dense, complex core of blackberries, coated with immaculately fine, sweet oak. Feels important and dramatic, but too young. Begs to be housed in a good cellar for a good eight years.

94 POINTS

Stephen Tanzer - Vinous

Bright ruby-red. Black fruits, licorice and cedar on the nose. Broad and round but backward, with a distinctly medicinal reserve to the flavors of black fruits, menthol and smoke. The middle palate is currently dominated by the wine's spine and yet the very long finish is lush and sweet. The least obviously minerally of these three 2006s today, but offers great potential.

94 POINTS

Erin Brooks - Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The 2006 Le Desir, a blend of 49% Cabernet Franc, 41% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Malbec, is offering a fine balance of concentrated fruit and mature savoriness. It has a deep garnet color and singular aromas of Morello cherries, mint chocolate, coffee grounds, aniseed and black truffles. The palate is still muscular, with gently chewy tannins, fresh acidity, intense fruits and complex savory layers on the finish. It will continue to evolve in bottle over the next decade.

94 POINTS

Erin Brooks - Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The 2006 Le Desir (900 cases) is a combination of Cabernet Franc (49%), Merlot (41%), Cabernet Sauvignon (8%), and Malbec (2%). The most forward and complex of this trio at present, it offers up sumptuous aromas of fruitcake, black fruits, pain grille, chocolate, earth, and truffles. The complex aromatics are followed by a wine with an inky/ruby/purple hue, excellent fruit, dense, full-bodied flavors, and softer tannins and more accessibility than its siblings. It should be drinkable in 2-3 years, and keep for 25 thereafter. With Bordeaux winemaker Pierre Seillan in charge, owner Jess Jackson has clearly positioned Verite as one of the two or three flagship wines in his impressive empire. These cuvees represent California versions of Bordeaux appellations, with the Merlot-dominated La Muse very Pomerol-like, the Cabernet Sauvignon-dominated La Joie a hypothetical California version of a Medoc, and the St.-Emilion look-alike, the Merlot and Cabernet Franc blend, Le Desir. These wines are fashioned from the finest Sonoma vineyard sites owned by Jackson, and are meant for long-term aging. In 2007, the Bordeaux varietals (Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Petit Verdot) grown in California’s North Coast exhibit sweet tannins as well as superb fragrance and purity. Yet, Verite’s wines are among the more structured, dense, and powerfully backward of the vintage. Available through Vin Lux Fine Wines, tel.(866) 462-4641; Fax (866) 853-1707; www.vinluxfinewines.com

94 POINTS

Erin Brooks - Robert Parker Wine Advocate

Composed of 49% Cabernet Franc, 41% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec, this is one of the more monolithic Le Desirs produced. Although an outstanding effort, in the company of some of the great vintages, it comes across as a one trick pony. Though there is plenty of fruit and body as well as good size, power and an aging potential of 10-15 years, it lacks charm and complexity at this stage of its evolution.

Stephen Tanzer - Vinous

(50% cabernet franc, 40% merlot, 8% cabernet sauvignon and 2% malbec) Good full ruby. Black fruit aromas lifted by violet, pepper and fresh herbs. At once thick and weightless, with a high-toned quality and pungent minerality to the impressively concentrated medicinal blackberry and licorice flavors. This wonderfully silky blend finishes with tactile, broad tannins, compelling sweetness, and superb lingering black fruit perfume. This one will do some major damage in a tasting of top St. Emilion wines a decade hence.