Close
Search
Filters

La Joie 2013 75cl

Sonoma | California | United States of America
Sold out
Critics scores
100 Robert Parker
The 2013 La Joie, which is 46% from Knights Valley, 32% from Chalk Hill and 22% from Alexander Valley, is a blend of 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot. Showing loads of graphite, cedar wood, charcoal, crème de cassis and forest floor, this may well turn out to be a 50+-year wine. It tastes like a great first-growth Pauillac and has an amazing amount of complexity and richness.<br/>I suppose the arguments against giving perfect scores far outnumber those for giving them, but after 37 years of tasting just about everything of quality that’s been produced, I believe I’m in a position to recognize truly world-class efforts that are as complete and compelling as good wine can be. And if that’s the case, then why hold back? I realize that it creates possibly unreal expectations among readers, and there is the argument that nothing really is perfect. But if a wine is as good as you think it can be made, then I have no reservations about offering accolades to those rare wines. When one considers the winemaking effort that goes into producing these cuvées of Vérité, from Bordelais Pierre Seillan, the fastidious attention to detail and the use of only the crème de la crème of fruit from some of the finest vineyards in the Jackson family empire, the results are not that surprising. The 2013s are the pinnacle of what Vérité has produced, and probably all wines that will be better at age 25 or 35 than they are showing today, but they are simply the essence of a vineyard site, a vine and a philosophy of no compromise. All of these wines, basically, are aged in 100% new French oak, given 3-4 day cold pre-fermentation, cold macerations, treated like spoiled children during élevage, and bottled with no fining or filtration. The entire philosophy is that La Muse is the Right Bank Pomerol look-alike from Vérité, La Joie the Medoc-like clone, and Le Desir a St.-Emilion in the style of Ausone. These are legendary wines of great extract, richness and potential of longevity and complexity. No compromises are made and the credit goes certainly to the Jackson family for supporting the efforts of winemaker Pierre Seillan. Tel. (707) 433-9000; www.veritewines.com
Producer
Vérité
Since their first releases, critics have consistently placed Vérité wines amongst the finest selections, rivaling those of Bordeaux’s best châteaux. Vérité is the first Sonoma County estate to have received twelve 100-point scores from Robert Parker. With sites spread across the region, the estate was founded by the iconic Californian vintner, Jess Jackson while their hand-crafted wines are led by brilliant winemaker, Pierre Seillan. The diverse mountainous terroirs, varying in slope and elevation, create different micro-crus – small vineyards within vineyards that have defined Verité’s winemaking philosophy since the beginning. The Jackson family, along with Seillan, have a clear mindset when it comes to the development of their wine, from vineyard to bottle: these micro-crus should emulate the “vérité” or the “truth” of their Sonoma County soils. La Joie is predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon and takes inspiration from the lauded reds of France's Pauillac region. La Muse is more forward and opulent, Merlot-based, and honors the style of great Pomerol wines. Le Désir is a plush, opulent Saint-Émilion-style Cabernet Franc.