Verite La Joie 2005

Professional Ratings

• 100 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
  The myth perpetrated by Old World wine proponents is that California wines don’t age. Those critics need to taste Verité, because these wines are aging far slower than I imagined. The 2005 La Joie (67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc, 7% Petit Verdot and 2% Malbec) tips the scales at 14.7% alcohol. It received the same 18 months in 100% new oak. It is interesting that Pierre Seillan said that he thought the high-elevation vineyards of Sonoma that go into Verité (self-serving, os course) are his greatest sites in the world for Bordeaux varietals. But remember – he’s from Bordeaux! This multidimensional wine, which enjoyed a 4-5 day cool, pre-fermentation maceration, has a provocative bouquet of blackberry, cassis, new saddle leather, Christmas fruitcake, graphite and high-quality unsmoked cigar tobacco. It is profound, extremely full-bodied and massive in the mouth, but not heavy or astringent in any way. This is perfection in a glass, and a tribute to what Sonoma can achieve. Give this wine another 4-5 years, and drink it over the following 30+ years.
• 100 Jeb Dunnuck

  An absolutely awesome wine that tops out my scale, the 2005 La Joie offers a Château Latour-like stature and structure as well as complex notes of blackcurrants, lead pencil shavings, sandalwood, and crushed rocks. Still youthful and vibrant, it’s full-bodied, has off-the-charts purity, ultra-fine tannin, blockbuster length, and a singular, magical character. Feel free to drink bottles today or cellar for just about as long as you’d like. It will probably outlive everyone reading this.

• 100 Decanter

  A stunning wine, one of the most accomplished of the series, made from 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 7% Petit Verdot, and 2% Malbec. 18 months of barrel-ageing in new French oak has given spice and a charcoal note to the blackberry fruit. It has a dense, tightly-wound texture with a mighty, magnificent tannic framework of remarkable heft and power. This is superbly concentrated but also possesses overall harmony - a truly sumptuous wine. Drinking Window 2022 - 2035

  
  

• 94 James Suckling

  Showing complex aromas of dark fruit, pine needles and pine nuts right now. Dried flowers, too. Full-bodied, round and chewy with firm and silky tannins. Always a linear edge running through this.