Vérité Estate Vérité La Joie 2018 750ml

Tasting like a great bottle of Château Lafite, the 2017 La Joie is based largely on Cabernet Sauvignon and brought up, I suspect, in mostly new French oak. Deep ruby/purple, with a heavenly bouquet of crème de cassis, lead pencil, cedarwood, graphite, and tobacco, it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, an incredible sense of elegance and purity, building tannins, and a great, great finish. This majestic, regal Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon is going to require a decade of cellaring to hit maturity (although it’s far from unapproachable today) and will see its 50th birthday in fine form. I followed this bottle for three days and it never showed a hint of oxidation. This is easily my wine of the vintage in 2017. (Jeb Dunnuck)

The 2012 La Joie, which is a blend of 76% Cabernet, 12% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot, blew me away. A profound effort, with 55% of it coming from Hillsides in Alexander Valley, 31% from Knights Valley and the balance from Chalk Hill, the wine shows great minerality, oodles of crème de cassis fruit, incense, licorice, crushed rock, and a provocative full-throttle mouthfeel. A wine of great intensity, purity and equilibrium, this definitely begs for 4–7 years of bottle aging and should drink well for at least 30+ years.

Blackberries, black mushrooms, violets, flowers, and dark tobacco. Black truffle, too. Full-bodied, yet in check and pretty. The fine tannins frame the wine perfectly. Really long and focused. Seamless. Elegance with power. This will age incredibly well, but already so gorgeous to try. 76% cabernet sauvignon, 9% merlot, 7% cabernet franc, 5% petit verdot and 3% malbec. Try after 2026, but attractive now.

A blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot, the 2015 La Joie features a very deep purple-black color and almost electric nose of crushed blackcurrants, ripe black cherries and mulberries with sparks of raspberry pie, wild blueberries, unsmoked cigars, charcuterie and crushed stones. Medium to full-bodied and charged with the most amazing energy, the youthful, vibrant black-fruited palate is framed by very firm, very finely grained tannins and wonderful freshness, finishing with lingering crushed stones and earth layers. 4,000 cases produced. (Lisa Perrotti-Brown)

A blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Cabernet Franc, 10% Merlot and 4% Petit Verdot, the 2017 La Joie has a very deep garnet-purple color. It opens a little closed and broody, giving glimpses of blackcurrant cordial, espresso, charcoal and black truffles to begin, before blossoming out to a whole array of preserved black and blue fruits, dusty soil, crushed rocks and iron ore scents plus a waft of roses. The medium to full-bodied palate is built like a brick house, with firm, grainy tannins and a lively backbone supporting the muscular fruit, finishing very long and mineral laced. The alcohol weighed in at just 13.9% this year (14% on the label), making for a particularly elegant but no less impactful La Joie! 2,500 cases were made.

Lastly, the 2018 La Joie does everything right and offers a Château Lafite-like style in both its aromatics and its elegant, seamless mouthfeel. Gorgeous blackcurrants, lead pencil shavings, damp earth, unsmoked tobacco, and woodsmoke nuances all develop with time in the glass and this is one of those wines that offers something new every time you come back to the glass. Rich, medium to full-bodied, perfectly balanced, and incredibly elegant, it has ripe, polished, yet substantial tannins, remarkable purity of fruit, and a thrilling finish. Give bottles 4–5 years and it will keep for 30 years or more.

Composed of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot and 3% Malbec, the 2018 La Joie displays an opaque purple-black color, slowly unfurling to offer profound notes of crème de cassis, preserved plums and boysenberries, with hints of rare beef, pencil lead, black olives and lilacs, plus touches of fertile loam and crushed rocks. The medium-bodied palate has jaw-dropping elegance and poise, featuring a solid backbone of firm, very fine-grained tannins and bold freshness to support the intense mineral-laced black fruit layers, finishing long with loads of savory and floral sparks. Simply breathtaking!

The 2014 La Joie exudes freshness, energy and intensity. Black cherry, plum, licorice, lavender espresso and expressive spiced notes are all beautifully delineated in the glass. Raspberry jam, wild flowers, mint and gently spiced notes are laced into the super-expressive, silky finish. A final kick of Cabernet Sauvignon intensity adds lift in the 2014 La Joie, Vérité’s Cabernet Sauvignon-based blend. (Antonio Galloni)

This is a beautiful cabernet sauvignon-based red with blackcurrants, blueberries and a light mint character. Full-bodied, firm and tight with a compressed fruit structure and polished tannins. Extremely long and focused. A beautiful wine. Mostly cabernet sauvignon. Drink in 2021.

The 2014 La Joie has a spicy black purple color and a big, sweet kiss of camphor, black truffle, pen ink, blackcurrants and unsmoked cigar tobacco, followed by layers of fruit and glycerin in an opulent, beautifully savory, pure and multidimensional wine. The final blend Seillan produced in 2014 was 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. This is a compellingly great effort once again. It should be given 2–5 years of bottle age, then drunk over the following three decades.

The estate’s Cabernet Sauvignon dominated release is the 2014 La Joie. It’s an incredible wine based on 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and the balance Petit Verdot. Reminding me of a top vintage of Ducru-Beaucaillou (the 2010?) with its classic Cabernet character, it offers thrilling notes of crème de cassis, exotic flowers, liquid rock-like minerality, and graphite and lead pencil nuances. Deep, concentrated, and backward, it has perfect balance, good acidity, and an undeniable Bordeaux-like weight and texture. Nowhere near primetime, it needs 5–7 years of cellaring and is going to keep for three decades.

Vérité’s 2015 La Joie is deep, powerful and structured, with tons of Cabernet savoriness running through a core of intense, dark fruit. Grilled herbs, leather, menthol and licorice all develop in the glass. Sumptuous and yet also structured, La Joie is another winner from Vérité. (Antonio Galloni)

The 2017 La Joie is another gorgeous wine in this lineup. Deep, pliant and nuanced, the 2017 is impeccably balanced. Silky and plush, La Joie is especially refined in 2017, and that complements its mid-weight structure so nicely. Hints of rose petal, lavender, mint and blood orange add brightness. The 2017 is a stunning wine by any measure. (Antonio Galloni)

Dark cherries, smoke, graphite, licorice, menthol and plums are some of the notes that open up in the 2012 La Joie. Here the flavors are bold, intense and incisive, with notable freshness and intensity. Give this large-scaled Cabernet Sauvignon-based red another few years in bottle. The finish alone is striking. (Antonio Galloni)

The 2018 La Joie exudes class from the very first taste. Firm underpinnings of structure provide a gorgeous framework that wraps around a core of intense dark fruit. Lavender, sage, mint and grilled herb accents exalt the aromatic intensity of Cabernet Sauvignon.

A bright and extroverted style, with cherry, cassis and damson plum notes streaking through, lined with fresh savory and violet details along the way. The pure finish shows a lively iron streak. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2026. 3,254 cases made. (James Molesworth)

Features a bright savory note up front, followed by a mix of cherry, blackberry and plum puree flavors. The well-roasted cedar edge winds up lingering longest in the end. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2023. 3,800 cases made. (James Molesworth)