Verite La Muse 2008

"A blend of 90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 3% Malbec (52% Chalk Hill, 45% Alexander Mountain Estate and 3% Bennett Valley fruit), the 2008 may have even greater intensity and richness than the 2007. Still young and unformed, it exhibits phenomenal richness and equilibrium as well as a finish that lasts nearly a minute. Its dense plum/purple color is accompanied by notions of black fruits, forest floor, truffles and spring flowers. It should age for 25-30+ years."

100 Points

The Wine Advocate

"A pinch of hard tannins gives this bone-dry young wine an astringent toughness. It shows very fine, concentrated black-cherry, cocoa and crème de cassis flavors. Aging in almost 100% new French oak adds notes of toast that the fruit easily tolerates. Nearly all Merlot, it’s a wine of considerable volume, but nowhere near ready to drink. Give it at least six years in a proper cellar, and it could be one of the rare Merlot-based California wines capable of extended aging."

93 Points

Wine Enthusiast

"Bright red-ruby. Inviting nose offers cherry, raspberry and chocolate truffle. Explosive on the front half, with sexy spices lifting and intensifying the redcurrant fruit. Today the wine's tannins give the finish a slightly dry quality but the intensity and subtle persistence of this wine suggest that it simply needs time. Pierre Seillan typically does a pre-fermentation cold soak lasting four or five days, then about eight days of fermentation and no post-fermentation maceration. The malolactic fermentation takes place in barrels of various toast levels and from numerous French forests.
Rating: 93(+?)"

93 Points

International Wine Cellar