Buying options
Tasting notes
Exceptionally tight on the nose still with creamy lactic oak dominating. The palate is full of dense layered fruit and finely grained tannins. Powerful and still in a tight shell of oak – yet there is a coolness and effortlessness to the fruit and tannins that is very attractive, wonderful extraction and a full, rich, opulent mouth-filling finish.
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Fascinating aromas of blackberries and orange peel with dried flowers. Full-bodied and very structured. Superb density and length. Just starting to open up now. Fantastic merlot.
The 2013 La Muse is wonderfully vivid and expressive from the outset, especially in the aromatics. Graphite, smoke, lavender, menthol and licorice are all super-expressive. Those notes carry through to the palate, where the wine is dense, powerful and bursting at the seams with energy. Hints of mocha, chocolate, spice and leather add the final shades of nuance. Today, La Muse is the most expressive of Vérité's 2013s, with plenty of floral and savory notes that add complexity to the super-rich dark fruit. I tasted the 2013 from tank just prior to bottling.
The 2013 La Muse, like all of the 2013s, comes about one-third from Alexander Valley vineyards, 40-plus percent from Chalk Hill, and the rest Knights Valley and Bennett Valley – all high-elevation hillside vineyards. A blend of 89% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 3% Malbec at 14.3% alcohol, the wine is amazingly like a great vintage of Petrus, with mulberry, black cherry, licorice, truffle and unctuous, thick, juicy fruit all present in this full-bodied masterpiece. The tannins are still present. The wine has purity and savory presence and is remarkable. The finish goes on for well past a minute. This wine would probably benefit from 5-8 years of bottle age and last 40-50 years.
About the producer
The winery was the dream of Jess Jackson, the man who founded the incredibly successful Jackson Family Wines. He, however, wanted to produce truly fine wine in Sonoma County.