2016 Vérité "La Collection" | 3 Flaschen

"The 2016 La Muse is a brooding, somber wine, just as it was en primeur. Black cherry, gravel, savory herbs, smoke, game, licorice and incense add a real feeling of gravitas that comes through in the wine's tannic heft. La Muse is often more showy when it is young, but the 2016 is going to require quite a bit of patience." - Antonio Galloni (01/2020) 

"The 2016 La Joie soars out of the glass with stunning Cabernet Sauvignon red berry fruit, wild flowers, mocha, spice and mint. Elegant and refined, with striking depth, La Joie is pure and total finesse in 2016. It is one of the most sublime, nuanced wines I have tasted from Vérité." - Antonio Galloni (01/2020) 

"Cabernet Sauvignon takes center stage in the 2016 Le Désir. Graphite, menthol, lavender, spice, pine, dried herbs and licorice give the 2016 striking aromatic depth to match its mid-weight personality. Elegant and nuanced, but with plenty of richness, the 2016 has a ton to offer." - Antonio Galloni (01/2020)

"This is a fabulous, merlot-based red with blackberries, blueberries and rust. Ink, too. Medium to full body, round tannins and a juicy finish. 93 per cent merlot with the rest in cabernet franc and malbec. Drink after 2021." (02/2019) 

"Wonderful purity of cabernet on the nose with blackcurrants and fresh lavender. Full body, with ultra-fine tannins and great beauty in the texture and flavors. It changes all the time. Extremely complex. 84 per cent cabernet sauvignon, 11 per cent merlot and five per cent petit verdot. So approachable, but needs at least three to four years to come together completely." (02/2019) 

"Aromas of dust, currants and black olives. Full body and round, chewy tannins. This is soft and round textured. Juicy and flavorful at the end. Try after 2022." (02/2019)

"Including the highest percentage of Merlot (at the moment anyway), the 2016 La Muse checks in as 93% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, and the balance Malbec that spent 15-16 months in roughly 90% new French oak. This magical wine shows how good Merlot (and Sonoma) can be and offers extraordinary notes of crushed violets, spring flowers, scorched earth, graphite, black cherries, and crème de cassis. As elegant and seamless as they come, it’s full-bodied, perfectly balanced, has an incredible spine of acidity and tannins, and a finish that won’t quit. It has the class and purity to drink well even today, but it’s not going to hit prime time for at least another decade and will keep for 3-4 decades. Bravo!" (06/2019) 

"Another perfect wine is the 2016 La Joie, which is 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot sourced all from the estate vineyards in the Pocket Peak portion of the Alexander Valley. This full-bodied, powerful yet elegant Cabernet Sauvignon couldn’t be better and has incredible purity, layers of crème de cassis, white flowers, tobacco leaf, and flowers, a deep, multi-dimensional texture, and loads of ultra-fine tannins. I’d confidently put this up against any Cabernet Sauvignon in the world. As with the La Muse, it has the balance, purity, and class to drink spectacularly well even today, but it’s another wine that will benefit from a decade of cellaring and keep for 40-50 years." (06/2019) 

"The 2016 Le Desir checks in as 82% Cabernet Franc, 12% Merlot, and 6% Malbec. Readers looking for world-class Cabernet Franc should beg, borrow, or steal to get hold of a bottle of this. Incredible floral, violet, forest floor, lead pencil, and cassis notes all flow to a medium to full-bodied red that’s flawlessly balanced, has ultra-fine tannins, and a finish that won’t quit. More intellectual and elegant than the La Joie, it’s still a wine of incredible intensity and class that builds incrementally on the palate, has an exotic, singular character, and the class to evolve for 30 years or more." (06/2019)

"Composed of 93% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 2% Malbec the very deep garnet-purple colored 2016 La Muse hits the ground running with gorgeous plum pudding, chocolate covered cherries, and blueberry compote notes over touches of dried herbs, violets, black tea, tilled soil, and fungi. Medium to full-bodied with a firm line of soft, satiny tannins and oodles of freshness to lift the intense black fruit and earthy layers, it finishes with lingering notes of black truffles and minerals. 2300 cases were made." (12/2025) 

"A blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot, the 2016 La Joie has a very deep purple black color and is a little closed and broody, slowly unfurling to reveal crushed blackcurrants, blackberry coulis, and Christmas cake notes with touches of cigar box, pencil lead, bay leaves, and espresso, plus a waft of lavender. Medium to full-bodied and packed to the gills with tightly wound black fruit preserves, floral, and spicy layers, it has a firm frame of grainy tannins and seamless freshness, finishing very long. 3200 cases were made." (12/2025)

"The 2016 Le Desir has an opaque purple-black color and gives up expressive notes of kirsch, wild blueberries, cassis, and black raspberries with touches of wild thyme, baking spices, baker’s chocolate, Marmite toast, and beef drippings. Medium to full-bodied and built like a brick house in the mouth, it has a rock-solid foundation of very firm, ripe, grainy tannins and just enough freshness to lift the densely packed black and red fruit layers, finishing on a lingering mineral note. This is a blend of 82% Cabernet Franc, 12% Merlot, and 6% Malbec. 3500 cases were made." (12/2025)

"Dense, smoky and powerful, featuring notes of freshly ground coffee to the roasted plum and dried blackberry flavors. Hoisin sauce accents show on the tannic finish, with green herbal shadings. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec. Drink now through 2025." - Kim Marcus (11/2019) 

"Dark and winey, with a solid beam of blackberry and black cherry fruit, lined with licorice and roasted cedar notes. A cedar edge peeks out on the finish. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2022. Tasted twice, with consistent notes." - James Molesworth (01/2020) 

"Intense, with dark plum, blackberry and black currant fruit flavors pumping through, scored with bittersweet cocoa, dark tobacco and loam accents on the finish. Muscular for sure, but has serious drive. Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Malbec. Best from 2020 through 2032." - James Molesworth (10/2019)

"The 2016 La Muse, a composition of 93% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 5% Malbec, is still very youthful at this stage. It has alluring scents of minerally Morello cherry, sage, desiccated rose petals and the first hints of maturity coming through as wafts of mushroom and cigars. The powerful, full-bodied palate is harmoniously balanced, with bright acidity, powdery tannins and a long, perfumed finish. It deserves several more years to develop in bottle." - Erin Brooks (08/2023) 

"The 2016 La Joie is a blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot. Very deep purple-black in color, it gives up the most gorgeous scents of lilacs, baking spices, incense and star anise with a core of warm cassis, Black Forest cake, redcurrant jelly and unsmoked cigars. Full-bodied and built like a brick house, it has a firm frame of very ripe, grainy tannins and bold, multilayered black fruit, finishing very long and very spicy. 3,200 cases produced." - Lisa Perrotti-Brown (10/2018) 

"Composed of 82% Cabernet Franc, 12% Merlot and 6% Malbec, the very deep purple-black colored 2016 Le Désir is a little closed to begin, opening out to reveal absolutely stunning scents of potpourri, roses and orange peel over a core of crushed blackcurrants, black cherries and dark chocolate with touches of cinnamon stick and cloves plus a waft of forest floor. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is exquisitely delicate and refined, with super ripe, fine-grained tannins and wonderful freshness, finishing with epic persistence. 3,500 cases produced." - Lisa Perrotti-Brown (10/2018)