2008 Vérité La Joie

(14.3% alcohol): Saturated ruby-red. Slightly medicinal aromas of black cherry, tar, licorice, menthol, tobacco leaf and dark chocolate. The sweetest of this trio of '08s on entry, then firm acidity kicks in to keep the fine-grained black cherry, blackberry, mineral and leafy flavors under wraps today. Quite light on its feet and wonderfully energetic in the way of a tightly coiled spring, even if it's not yet showing the texture of the Vérité "Right Bank" blends. Finishes classically dry and very long, with some medicinal reserve and a firm tannic spine to ensure a very long life in bottle.

Bright medium ruby. Highly aromatic nose and palate combine black fruits, licorice, minerals and bitter chocolate. Round and lush, with terrific intensity but also a distinctly youthful quality that suggests this wine will need patience. Finishes firmly tannic but not dry, with impressive persistence. Beginning with this vintage, Seillan has used a new robotic sorting machine that eliminates berries that are too big or too small.

How much fun collectors will have comparing the 2007 and 2008 La Joies over the next three decades. A blend of 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec (48% from Alexander Valley Mountain Estate, 34% from Chalk Hill and 18% from Knight’s Valley), the 2008 has similar technical numbers to the 2007 (a pH of 3.68 and 14.4% alcohol). Wonderful notes of roasted herbs, asphalt, black truffles, blackberries, cassis, camphor and subtle oak are present in the majestic aromatics. In the mouth, the wine is extraordinarily concentrated, pure and dense with amazing length. It is another 30-40 year wine that confirms the confidence the late Jess Jackson had in both his vineyard sources and his winemaker, Pierre Seillan.